Participation more than doubled from last year at the fourth annual Sunshine Coast Loppet on Sunday, despite inclement weather. “[It was] definitely the largest Loppet we’ve had to date,” said registration coordinator Celia Robben, adding that a number of participants registered early, which kept the event running smoothly.
Robben said the growth came mostly from younger racers, with 25 registered between the ages of three and five, and 45 registered between the ages of six and 12. Last year 58 people participated in the race in total.
Robben credited the Dakota Nordics, a ski program organized by the Tetrahedron Outdoor Club, which also organized the Loppet, with the youth turnout. Children’s programming also usually takes place on a Sunday, so more were already on location to join the race.
“The growth in the Dakota Nordics program and volunteers who have worked to get the program up and rocking this year, that’s definitely where the growth came from,” Robben said. “It speaks so much to the future of skiing on the Sunshine Coast.”
Another large group, between 15 and 20 according to Robben, came from off Coast, including the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. Loppet organizers have been reaching out to other ski clubs to create awareness in other regions.
Several races took place on Dakota Ridge Feb. 3, including a 30 kilometre, 12 kilometre and sprints. The morning started cold, with temperatures falling below 10 degrees. The race began at 10:30 a.m. and within the half hour snow began to fall.
As the system, bringing snow and high winds, swept through the high-elevation ridge, visibility deteriorated, forcing the organizers to put an early end to the 30 kilometre race. “They had white eyebrows and white snow all over their face,” said Robben of the participants.
The male and female finishers in the 30-kilometre race were neck-and-neck. Kelly Geisheimer of Coquitlam took top spot for the women’s category with a time of 1:48:51.7 and Vancouver’s Reidar Zapf-Gilje was the men’s top racer, finishing in 1:48:28.3. “They were jamming,” Robben said.
Silke Gumplinger of Vancouver came in first in the 12-kilometre race with a time of 49:52.9 while Tyrone Mutch’s time of 46:55 was enough to secure first place in the men’s category.
New this year was a Snowshoe Poker Challenge. Rather than race through a course, snowshoers embarked on a mission to find playing cards placed along the circuit. The challenge winner wasn’t the fastest, but the person who drew the best poker hand.
Robben said two pairs led most of the challenge but that hand was ultimately trumped by winner Ian Holliday, who finished with a full house.
Members from Sunshine Coast Search and Rescue volunteered at the event and Sunshine Coast Community Forest provided prizes for the children’s races. Alpha Adventures provided outdoor gear and prizes. They also took the lead in coordinating the snowshoe challenge.
