Cross Country Skiing in Spectacular Fernie
The club invites all skiers, young, adult, families, to our annual Fernie Community Fun race event on Saturday Feb 22 at the Nordic Centre. It is open to club members and non-members alike. The fun starts at 10:30 with the Hot Chocolate Run followed by relay and solo races plus short sprints to finish. It is totally FREE to participate. Read the details on our page (click to open).
Fernie skiers were very active in the past weekend of February 8-9 with a few events.
On Saturday twenty skiers gathered in the hut before starting on the trails under a very bright moon. The evening ended back at the hut for snacks, refreshments and a good time.
The race weekend in Kimberley was the Teck Kootenay Championships, a tier 2 points qualifying race, so it was a higher level event than usual races for the team. The Fernie racers competed against other racers from several clubs, including Telemark, Sovereign Lake, Revelstoke, Canmore, Foothills, the Kootenay teams – Nelson, Kimberley, Black Jack and Toby Creek – plus Montana teams, Glacier Nordic and Seeley Lake. The weather was perfect and excellent snow conditions.
Eleven young skiers from the Fernie Nordic Racers team took part in the two-day event together with nine adult skiers from Fernie. Our team is coached by Jeff Williams. Overall the team had 28 starts in the classic and skate races. Race results may be found HERE. The current cup standings are HERE.
Saturday was also the day of the 2020 Canadian Birkebeiner in Edmonton. Two skiers from Fernie completed the challenging course. Ron Lentz finished the 31 km tour race while Naomi Lentz did the 55 km race with a 12 lbs pack (5.4 kg) on her back. Congratulations to both!
from the Full Moon Ski:
from the Kootenay Cup races:
Last Saturday was another Skill Development Program lesson for 46 young skiers at the Nordic Centre.
The new Family Friendly Ski event followed on Sunday afternoon at 4 pm. We inaugurated the new and very long string of lights along the kids loop by the staging area. A fun place to ski after dark! About twenty adult skiers participated in the event as well as a few children either on dad’s back or in a chariot. The trails were well groomed and the skiing was great!
The January 25-26 weekend was also the time for our Fernie Nordic Racers to shine at the Teck Kootenay Cup in Nipika.
Twenty racers from Fernie completed the classic races on Saturday and 17 did the skate races on Sunday. In total the racers received 9 podium positions. Three young racers did amazingly well in their first cross country ski race ever. The trails were well groomed and track set although hard and very icy. Good participation by our young racing team and several adults from Fernie.
The results of the classic races are HERE and the ones from the skate races are HERE. The current standings in the Kootenay Cup are on this page. Go Fernie Racers!
The Family Friendly Ski is coming up! This Sunday is an opportunity for anyone, kids, adults, families, to ski on the trails of the Nordic Centre. Meet at the Elk Valley Nordic Centre at 4 pm for a group ski for all ages. Headlamps may not be needed! Free for members, day pass required for non-members.
Several club members joined in for the first Full Moon Ski and Social of the season on Saturday evening at the Fernie golf course. About sixteen skiers took to the trails at 7 pm from the clubhouse – perhaps even a few more participants coming in late.
The evening was cool and the sky was overcast with no visible moon or stars. The grooming of the trails had just been completed so skiing was excellent for both skate and classic skiers. A big Thank You! to groomer Jason who worked late on Saturday at the golf course as well as on the dyke and the RV Resort loop. The evening ended with a chat and drinks at the Cast Iron Grill restaurant after the ski.
The next event is the Friendly Family Ski on Sunday Jan 26. The next Full Moon Ski will be on Feb 8. Both events will happen at the Nordic Centre.
A great evening is planned at the Fernie Golf Course this Saturday January 11 starting at 7 pm. The trails just opened and skiing should be excellent after all the snow that Fernie received this week! Bring a headlamp to ski from the clubhouse.