Whitehorse cross-country ski community wraps up season with end-of-year race

Several Yukoners participated in a celebratory end-of-season race on the Pierre Harvey trails in Whitehorse, reflecting on and celebrating another year of competitive skiing in the territory Yukoners flocked to Raven’s Ridge in Whitehorse to catch the last competitive cross-country skiing event of the territorial 2024/25 season, the third annual Pierre Harvey Cup, hosted by the Whitehorse Nordic Centre and Cross-Country Yukon. On March 29, the cross-country ski race brought together 85 Yukoners, mostly youth, to compete in the Pierre Harvey Cup race. Yukon cross-country skiers took off from the start line in four waves on trails adjacent to War Eagle Way in Whitehorse. The Pierre Harvey Cup’s course consisted of buckles and downhill sections across five kilometres of trail network, with routes mapped out for for adults and kids. Designed for World Cup-level skiing, Cross-Country Yukon’s head coach Graham Nishikawa told the News that the Pierre Harvey trail can be challenging but suitable enough for most skiers competing. Colin Abbot, born in 1990, finished the race first with the fastest time of 14 minutes and 32 seconds. Heron Land-Gillis, born in 2008, finished second with a time of 14 minutes and 46 seconds and Matthias Purdon, born in 1989, finishing third with a time of 15 minutes. According to Nishikawa, local residents in Raven’s Ridge wanted to help organize a friendly cross-country ski race to showcase some of Whitehorse’s trails that don’t get as much use as other trails in the city. He added that Cross-Country Yukon helped groom the trail with help from local volunteers. “I think a few years ago, a few of the locals here wanted to do a fun race around these trails that don’t get used much. So that was kind of the start of the development of Raven’s Ridge as a lot of locals that live here wanted to showcase this trail,” Nishikawa said. The wrap-up to the competitive season continued after the race with a community event co-hosted by the Kwanlin Koyotes, a volunteer-run Kwanlin Dün First Nation program aimed at getting youth out on the land. The Cross-Country Yukon season finale featured an informal gathering around a barbecue with prizes and hockey at the Raven’s Ridge rink in Blackwell Park. Yukoners with notable successes during the national ski championships last week in Canmore, Alberta, were highlighted to the News by Cross-Country Yukon’s vice-president, Aisha Montgomery. She referred to Yukoner Constance Lapointe winning the U20 Sprints and Yukoner Sophia Giandgrande placing second and third in the 20-kilometre and 10-kilometre Individual Skate Race. The Whitehorse Nordic Centre is continuing end-of-season celebrations with an event set to take place at the club’s lodge on Sumanik Drive on April 4.Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com