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The latest messages about events and activities

Season 2018 – 2019 starts

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The season got to a good start even considering how little snow is on the ground. Volunteers began grooming the trails of the Elk Valley Nordic Centre in late November and many skiers have taken to the trails since.

– – – Ski Lessons
The ski lessons program for children is now fully booked. Several coaches, all volunteers, will lead the lessons on Saturdays and Tuesdays starting in January. This year, fourteen young skiers are part of the Fernie Racers. Their training started back in September and their goal is to enter all eight Teck Kootenay Cup races this season with the first ones in Rossland on December 15-16.

Ski lessons for adults will be available again this year starting in January. Amy Wyatt and Tarah Leggott will be coaching to groups on weekday mornings as well as at other times for private lessons. There is more information on the this website.

– – – Trail Ambassadors and Volunteers
Many of the club members are volunteering their time to be at the Nordic Centre for a few hours during the weekends. The program started this past weekend and will run to the end of the season on Friday afternoons, Saturdays and Sundays between 10 am and 4 pm. The warming hut will be open during most of the Holidays period as well. There are additional volunteering opportunities for the upcoming Kootenay Cup event that the Fernie Nordic Society hosts on January 5 & 6. Let us know at volunteers[at]fernienordic.com

– – – Upcoming Activities
The Fernie Nordic Society has planned several events during the season. There is an early start this week with the first Toonie race on Tuesday Dec 11 at 7 pm at the Nordic Centre. No booking is necessary. Participants gather at the hut, drop their toonie and go for a fun ski. It all ends inside the warming hut by the woodstove. This event is aimed at older teens and adults.

On December 17, is the first activity planned for kids. Participants in the fun Little Critter race do as many short laps in a given time. Sign up starts at 5:30 – free to enter – and the event starts at 6 pm at the Nordic Centre.

And just before the Holidays an event for adults, the first Full Moon Ski and Social at the Nordic Centre on Saturday, December 22 starting at 7 pm. A headlamp is useful to have for this outing under the moonlight. Then end the evening inside the warm hut.

Non club members only need a day pass to participate in these events

– – – Fundraiser
The fundraiser for our newly acquired – and good looking – snowcat is still running. The official page is at https://chuffed.org/project/welcome-home

– – – Buy and Sell
There is Facebook page HERE to use for looking to buy or sell gear locally.

Ad from Heaven Boutique on 2nd Ave
Fernie Nordic Society members get a 10% discount on these brands: **Skhoop (skirts)  **NOSO (adhesive patches)  **Turtle Fur (hats/headbands)  **Auclair (gloves/mitts)  **Goodr (sunglasses)  Club members MUST show their actual membership card with the 2018/19 sticker on it for the discount to be valid.

Trail passes are now available from any of our kiosks at the trails and at the warming hut – single $10 or family $20. They are good stocking stuffers for anyone!
Enjoy the many trails that Fernie has to offer!

Our membership drive is on!

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This year it is so easy to purchase your membership that you can do it at work or at home … just kidding – about registering at work that is! We’ve been working with Zone4 Registration to get our membership online this year and now you can join the Fernie Nordic Society from the comfort of your couch. Visit us HERE (click link) to register now. Your annual membership assists in meeting grooming expenses so be sure to get yours and your family’s online now! Our early bird prices end this Wednesday November 15.

There are only a few days left to get savings off at LAST YEAR”S membership prices! So make sure you and your friends are ready … because the trail prep has begun!!

We still have several spots left in our lessons program for kids aged 3 to 16. This Saturday Nov 18 is the time to get the kids sized up for rental gear. The Skill Development Program (SDP) offered to our young skiers by the Fernie Nordic Society was actually developed by the nation-wide organization Cross Country Canada. The program is standardized across the country. All our volunteer coaches are trained according to the established structure to provide a consistent level of training to our skiers. Would you like to see your little ones learning to ski? You can register for the SDP Program online HERE (click link) together with your membership and rental gear if desired.

Welcome our snowcat home!

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snowcat
snowcat

Today we are launching our “Welcome Home” campaign for our new (to us) snow cat. Anyone can contribute to it by visiting https://chuffed.org/project/welcome-home This campaign will run to the beginning of November.

Since 2015 the Fernie Nordic Society have been renting a snowcat to augment grooming done by our snowmobile groomer? Last year we were the only facility renting the snowcat and the opportunity to use it more often meant some truly fabulous grooming for the 2017-2018 season. We had arranged to rent the snow cat for one more year, but…

In September we learned that we would not have access to the snow cat that we have been using over the last number of years. While it added some unexpected pressure to find an alternative, we are happy to announce that the Fernie Nordic Society and you, our members and trails users, are about to be proud new owners of our very own snowcat! She’s a beauty and is almost ready to help us achieve the quality of trails we all dream of. This purchase is one step in a long-term vision that you have helped create and we were fortunate that all things aligned to make it a reality just in time for the 2018/19 season!

Both the groomer and related costs were not accounted for at the 2018 Annual General Meeting and we have always been committed to ensuring our fees stay as low as possible while providing the best quality nordic skiing possible. Through our surveys and strategic planning processes, we’ve also heard that members would be willing to pay more to improve the club. We are asking that our members help us now with donations to support this additional cost. Already having an amazing volunteer crew of groomers and mechanics means that full-time access to our own groomer, with no additional monthly cost, will result in the best grooming program we have seen at the Elk Valley Nordic Centre to date.

Our long term vision sees us offering more programs and facilities in a venue that is sustainable, welcoming and secure for long-term access. Achieving our goals will require a series of exciting campaigns over the coming years, but we are confident that working together, we can see our nordic community of 850+ members become even stronger. We want you, as members, to feel ownership in the club because we truly couldn’t do this without you!

Our ultimate goal for this campaign is $85,000. This will cover purchasing the cat, shipping and initial upgrades ($50,000) as well as the start of our shelter and operational costs for the winter. That means that if all of our members contributed $100 we could raise $85,000 that quickly! It’s really that simple. We welcome contributions of any size, and all contributions $1000+ will be recognized with their name on the shelter once completed.

The nature of the purchase and our goal to groom this fall gives us an element of urgency, so we’d like to see how far we can get by November 1st. Please share the campaign far and wide. We encourage participation from the entire nordic and trails community!

If you are part of an organization or company that would like to contribute a more significant donation, we will be recognizing game changer partners by applying their logo on the machine. Minimum game changer level is $10,000.

We are SO excited about the future of this club and are so pleased you’re with us for the ride. Let’s Welcome Home our new cat!

New program for Masters 50+

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masters group
Participants on a hike

The Fernie Nordic Society is offering a fall/winter physical training program aimed at its adult members aged 50 and older to prepare you for the ski season. Our head coach, Jeff Williams, has set up this program.

First: it includes a set of activities to do each week at one’s own pace (or in a group). For example on Monday: register your weight; Tuesday: strength workout; Wednesday: intervals; Thursday: easy run/bike; Friday: rest; Saturday: any fun activity (cycle or hike); Sunday: easy run or hike. Sunday is the most popular day for the group to get together.

Second: the program is web based so each participant can track her/his own progress. You receive an email notice each day to direct you to the workout to do that day.

Third: coach Jeff willl also monitor the progress of each participant and will follow up with individuals, or the group, each month if possible.

The fall program starts in September and run through November. The plan is to also offer a winter training program from December until end of February that will include ski lessons to participants twice each month.

Program cost: $60 for September to November session (only $20/month)  and from December to February: $90-120 depending on number of participants.

To become a member, visit our page at Zone4.ca
Contact Micheline at micheline_fns@icloud.com to join the fall program.
If interested, make a $60 e-transfer to info@fernienordic.com (secret word NORDIC) to get started with the fall program.

First Fernie Flying Viking Challenge

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johnny and wes

Super amazing day! Thanks everyone for coming out for our first Birkie Fernie Flying Viking Challenge! 13 racers total, 8 doing 50 km and 5 doing the first lap of 25 km. The participants skied on the trails of the Elk Valley Nordic Centre and the Fernie Alpine Resort including a brief rest on a chairlift of the resort. Check the costumes out in the photos. Thank you to our partners at Fernie Alpine Resort for giving our racers a lift on the Deer chair. Special thanks to Wild Wolves Design for very cool medals and Erika Sowchuk for our new FFVC logo.

Results can be found at webscorer.com HERE.

Start planning your costumes for next year, we will see you then!

  • briefing
  • organizer Sam
  • beautiful hair!
  • family time
  • strong women
  • getting ready …
  • crew at pit stop
  • going for a second lap
  • the fastest 50k
  • rest and refueling
  • the reward
  • awards presentation
  • smiles all around!

Fernie Winterfest 2018

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fernie winterfest

Last weekend was a great time for the Fernie Nordic Winterfest. It all started at the end of the regular ski lesson on Saturday morning.

Megan Lohmann said a few words in a short presentation about the 2018 Teck Kootenay Cup. This year the Cup was won by the young racers of our racing team with the help of many other club members and adults who have participated in the six races of the series: two races here in Fernie, two more in Kimberley, one at Nipika and the last one in Nelson. It is a great achievement as this is the third time in the last four seasons that Fernie takes the Cup home. Big smiles all around.

Next the young skiers participated in the annual Racing Rocks! event. The very young ones were busy with a scavenger hunt while the older kids skied the trails in a Barkley Marathon style event where each one had to bring a specific page from five books placed along the way. Lots of fun for all!

Presentation of the Teck Kootenay Cup

The Winterfest continued on Sunday February 18 at 11 a.m. with the 6th Annual Community Fun Race ski event. Twenty-four participants joined in several categories: a short distance for an easy-going ski and a longer one for the more competitive skiers. Some chose the skate style ski for speed while others went with the classic style. Coach Naomi did her run with the other skiers, then returned on the course pulling a chariot. The small passenger did not seem to mind the ride. And what about that best costume category?

  • Presentation of the Teck Kootenay Cup
  • Skate skiers at the start line
  • Classic skiers at the start line
  • Winners of the Best Costume category
  • Naomi and her chariot at the finish line

A BIG Thank you! to Sam, the organizer of the Winterfest, and to the group of volunteers including Robert Holmes who made this weekend a success. Check out the event results are on this page

The next nordic event in Fernie is the SNOW TO ICE(cream) challenge during the Griz Days from March 1 to 4. Get set! Ready? All the details HERE