The Yellowknife Multisport Club is off and running with its 2022 season and it kicked off with an event which we havenSA国际影视传媒檛 seen for a year or so.

And it ended up being one of the best in recent memory.

The Frostbite 50 returned to the trails on Saturday with more than 100 participants taking on the 50-km course. Last yearSA国际影视传媒檚 event wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 held due to Covid-19 and it appeared everyone missed it, according to Ben Linaker, one of this yearSA国际影视传媒檚 race directors.

SA国际影视传媒淚t was one of the better years weSA国际影视传媒檝e had,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淚t was so gorgeous out that day and we saw a pretty big uptick in the registrations about a week before the event.SA国际影视传媒�

Indeed, the conditions were some of the best ever. As opposed to the frigid temperatures which racers encountered back in 2020, this year saw temperatures going no lower than -10 C with overcast sky and a small dumping of snow.

Linaker said the conditions couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 have been better.

SA国际影视传媒淭wo years ago, the organizers delayed the race start for about an hour because it was just so cold first thing in the morning and they wanted to wait and see if it would warm up,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淭his year, there was no sun, perfect temperature, no huge risk of hypothermia or sunburn or frostbite SA国际影视传媒� no pun intended SA国际影视传媒� and it was just phenomenal.SA国际影视传媒�

The event gave racers an option of either skiing or snowshoeing the course on their own or as part of a team of at least two. Everything kicked off from the start line at the Yellowknife Ski Club at 9 a.m. and racers made their way to four checkpoints along the way: Walsh Lake, Prosperous Lake, Cassidy Point and the Dettah ice road. Those in teams could tag off to teammates at checkpoints but not in between. Following the final checkpoint, it was a straight sprint back to the finish line at the ski club.

The menSA国际影视传媒檚 solo ski featured one of the closer finishes in the raceSA国际影视传媒檚 history as Thomsen DSA国际影视传媒橦ont and Mike Argue did battle for nearly the entire 50-km. No more than four minutes separated them as they went pole-for-pole but it would be DSA国际影视传媒橦ont who would have enough left in the tank to beat Argue to the finish line by less than 30 seconds.

Argue said he spent most of the race trying to keep pace with DSA国际影视传媒橦ont.

SA国际影视传媒淎fter the first kilometre, he was putting some distance on me,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淚 knew that if I could pace it correctly, I could be able to keep up with him because 50-km is a long way.SA国际影视传媒�

Both of them arrived at Walsh Lake at the same time but DSA国际影视传媒橦ont managed to get to Prosperous Lake roughly three minutes ahead of Argue. That was increased to four minutes as Cassidy Point but Argue started making up time at the Dettah ice road, cutting DSA国际影视传媒橦ontSA国际影视传媒檚 lead in half. Both ended up in the grandstand section of the ski club at around the same time but DSA国际影视传媒橦ont was able to nip Argue at the line by around 29 seconds.

SA国际影视传媒淏oth of those guys were just incredible,SA国际影视传媒� said Linaker. SA国际影视传媒淭hey definitely set course records and Thomsen told me afterward that if Mike had an extra kilometre or two, he wouldSA国际影视传媒檝e caught him.SA国际影视传媒�

The womenSA国际影视传媒檚 solo ski was won by Julia Gyapay, who finished around 10 minutes ahead of Shauna Morgan, while the team ski event saw The Scantigans, made up of Heather Scott and Julian Kanigan, finish first with Dawn Patrol SA国际影视传媒� David Mahon, Clarinda Spijkerman and Natalie Lippa SA国际影视传媒� finishing second.

Scott said she wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 expecting the duo to cross the finish line first.

SA国际影视传媒淚 donSA国际影视传媒檛 think we went in with any expectations other than to get through it,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚 had a couple of injuries earlier this year and was ecstatic to have overcome them and ski properly again. We were just happy to participate, ski in these beautiful areas outside of town, and wanted to support the return of this unique event.SA国际影视传媒�

She also said the course played out nicely, especially given the chance to glide in some areas because of the above-normal temperatures.

SA国际影视传媒淪ome snow fell in the days leading up to the race, so some of the trails and lakes were definitely a bit soft,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淭here are a few steep portages on the course that can be a bit slick, so the powder rendered them a bit less scary. But overall, the warm temps provided a decent glide which was definitely appreciated.SA国际影视传媒�

There was just one snowshoe outfit and they were the Javarunners, consisting of Brandon Pludwinski, Andrea Giesbrecht, Austin Marshall, Nicole Veerman and Len MacDonald. They finished the course in a little more than eight hours.

SA国际影视传媒淪nowshoeing brings its own challenges,SA国际影视传媒� said Linaker. SA国际影视传媒淵ou donSA国际影视传媒檛 get the gliding aspect that you do in skiing and youSA国际影视传媒檙e constantly moving. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 just incredible athleticism to be able to do that for as long as they would have.SA国际影视传媒�

Putting on an event of this magnitude takes a fair few volunteers and Linaker said there was plenty of help all day long.

SA国际影视传媒淲e had about 25 people manning the checkpoints, Yellowknife Search and Rescue helped out with the set-up of the course and the Great Slave Snowmobile Association was patrolling the trails making sure everyone was safe,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淏ig thanks to all of those who helped make it an amazing day.SA国际影视传媒�

Here are the top three finishers in each division (in hours and minutes):

MenSA国际影视传媒檚 solo ski

1st SA国际影视传媒� Thomsen DSA国际影视传媒橦ont, 3:26:00

2nd SA国际影视传媒� Mike Argue, 3:36:30

3rd SA国际影视传媒� Moses Hernandez, 4:31:00

WomenSA国际影视传媒檚 solo ski

1st SA国际影视传媒� Julia Gyapay, 6:00:00

2nd SA国际影视传媒� Shauna Morgan, 6:10:00

3rd SA国际影视传媒� Danielle Stachiw, 6:30:00

Team snowshoe

1st SA国际影视传媒� Javarunners (Brandon Pudlinski, Andrea Giesbrecht, Austin Marshall, Nicole Veerman and Len MacDonald), 8:07:00

Team ski

1st SA国际影视传媒� Scantigans (Heather Scott and Julian Kanigan), 5:23:00

2nd SA国际影视传媒� Dawn Patrol (David Mahon, Clarinda Spijkerman and Natalie Lippa), 5:52:00

3rd SA国际影视传媒� Sean Shaun (Sean McGee and Shaun Doherty), 5:58:00

source: Yk Multisport Club