Cross Country Skiing in Spectacular Fernie
Elk Valley Nordic Centre
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:
UPDATE: Great fall weather on a cool Saturday morning. Plenty of mud also! Many families came to enjoy the wooded surroundings of the Nordic Centre while the young ones looked for pumpkins. About 500 hot dogs were served!
Join the Fernie Nordic Society for Fernie’s 5th Great Pumpkin Hunt, our annual autumn fundraiser event! Children 9 years and under (you don’t need to be a Fernie Nordic Member) are invited to scour the forests surrounding the Warming Hut at the Elk Valley Nordic Centre for their own pumpkin. When the search is finished, each pumpkin hunter can enjoy hot chocolate and roasted marshmallows by the bonfires. It promises to be a great morning of autumn fun!
New this year: Tickets to the event will be sold ahead of time. Come by Heaven Boutique on 2nd Avenue in Fernie to get tickets for your prefered time slot. For more details, check our Facebook page.
This is an outdoor event, so please dress your children appropriately and bring camping chairs or blankets if desired. We’re tough Fernie folks so a little rain (or snow!) won’t deter us – but if the weather turns really gnarly, we may postpone it – check our Facebook page the day of for an update.
In the past many families chose to bring wienies to roast on the bonfires and enjoyed a walk on the trails around the Warming Hut after the Hunt. Please plan to do this again!
The Fernie Nordic Society thanks Our Sponsors for supporting this great annual event!
Our 5th Annual Great Pumpkin Hunt is planned for Saturday October 19, 2019 starting at 11:00 am at the Elk Valley Nordic Centre near the Mt. Fernie Provincial Park. The event should end by 3:00 pm.
March 11, 2019
Again this year, the Fernie Birkie Flying Viking Challenge was held under some beautiful weather. The event got underway at 9:50 am and all skiers were back at 3:06 pm. Thirty-three participants – two from Calgary and all others from Fernie – took part in this challenge. Six of them skied the entire 50 km with an extra 12 lbs (5.4 kg) in their pack. The young Wes Robinson Shaw completed the 50 km in the Lite category. Others skied 25 km either solo or as part of a team. Prizes, medals and cheers waited for them at the end of the challenge. Wes won the best costume award for his furry outfit topped with an impressive set of antlers.
The results of this event are at Webscorer.com HERE
We wish to thank our great sponsors in Fernie: GearHub, StraightLine, Beanpod Chocolate, Heaven Boutique and The Guides Hut
Sunday March 10 is our last major event of the season. It is the return of the Fernie Birkie Flying Viking Challenge.
Looking for a challenge? This is a the one, a long one but very casual – unless you don’t want it to be casual, and then feel free to ski like mad!. Excellent prizes, ride(s) on the Deer chair, a lot of yummy food/drinks – all for only $20! Prizes are for costumes and then as door prizes! You have the option to do the full 50 km yourself (2 loops to the ski hill trails and back) with or without the 12 lbs ‘baby’ on your back, or you can share the 50 km with a friend either as a relay or together.
All details are on our event page HERE. Pre-registration is recommended for less stress on our volunteers but doing it on the morning of the event is OK. Wishing lots of fun to all!
The 7th Annual Community Fun Race was held on Sunday Feb 17 at the Nordic Centre. It was a relief that the weather was perfect for the event. Hot food was available during the event. Twelve adult-child groups participated in the first part of the action. All skied to a hot chocolate station where the child enjoyed a hot drink while her/his partner skied another 2 km on the Cedar Loop and Lizard Lookout trails, then returning to join the child to ski together back to the hut. This was great fun for the skiers and spectators alike. The second part of the event consisted of four laps of the 3 km long course. This was aimed at both young and adult skiers. Fourteen skiers chose to do this as part of a team in a relay race. Thirteen more skiers chose to do the entire course solo. This proved to be very popular with spectators as each lap was short and each skier was cheered loudly as she/he passed in front of the crowd. The master organizer Sam Sedlowsky and the many volunteers made this event a success. Photo credits to Helen McAlister and Naomi Lentz.
Check the results out at Webscorer.com HERE
Stay tuned for the upcoming Snow-to-Ice(cream) event happening during the Fernie Griz Days on March 1-3.