DUCK MOUNTAIN — About 150 cross-country skiers registered as participants of the Duck Mountain Nordic Club’s 45th annual loppet at Duck Mountain Provincial Park on Feb. 28.
That number is about average, said Kevin Sutton of Duck Mountain, who is serving his fourth year as the loppet chair. It was minus 28 degrees Celsius at 8:30 a.m. when the first skiers started.
A loppet is a Scandinavian-style cross-country ski event focused on mass participation rather than competition, said information from the organizers. Planning for the Duck Mountain Loppet begins well before Christmas each year, and organizers consider it one of Saskatchewan’s premier Nordic ski events.
Sutton, the club president as well as the loppet chair, said the goal is to build on the long history of both the club and the event, which were established by local ski legend Bruno Lemire of Kamsack.
Club members have been working closely with park staff to ensure a fun and safe experience across the park’s 54-kilometre trail system, the information said. Volunteers put in many hours during the fall completing pre-season trail clean-up.
New doors were installed at two of the park’s five trail shelters: Jack Rabbit and Ski Hill, the information said.
Sutton said that in advance of this year’s loppet, he gives the tracks a grade of B-plus.
“We’ve had lots of snow that we’ve had to keep packing to make the tracks,” he said. “We had snow on Wednesday that had to be packed, and then Thursday it was too warm. On Thursday night, we had 60-kilometre winds that caused debris from trees to fall onto the tracks.”
Sutton, who was raised in the area and even taught swimming lessons at Madge Lake, said that the Duck Mountain Loppet “has arguably the best cross-country ski trails in the province” and mentioned the fact that the experience is made more enjoyable because the trails are sheltered by trees.
“Duck Mountain is a gem,” he said. “It is a destination event.”
The crew setting the tracks consisted of Sutton and Les Schmidt. Skiers were able to choose courses of five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 or 40 kilometres. Along the courses were situated five warm-up shelters with two volunteers at each one offering sausages, baked treats, oranges to eat and hot Duck Mountain Dew to drink.
At the Jack Rabbit shelter located about 1.5 kilometres from the start, Kathie and Wayne Galye of Kamsack provided hot dogs and marshmallows for the youngest skiers to roast, Sutton said.
Although snowfall arrived later than usual and in stages, the club was busy grooming trails throughout the winter using a new Skidoo Skandic and roller purchased last year to support ongoing trail maintenance efforts, he said.
The trails are used year-round by local residents and park visitors, and the club continues to encourage community support through memberships, which help determine grant funding allocations from Cross Country Saskatchewan. Memberships can be purchased online through the club’s website or via Zone4.
While most participants typically come from communities across Saskatchewan, last year’s event drew skiers from every province between British Columbia and Ontario. Participation in 2025 exceeded 200 skiers, a turnout that organizers described as better than average.
Local businesses have once again provided financial support for the event, while skier safety was supported by Sask Ski Patrollers.
About 80 prizes, donated by businesses and groups that support the loppet, were won by the skiers.
After skiing, the participants were treated to a taco bar beginning at 3:15 p.m. in the Madge Lake Rec Hall.
The Iron Grill of Kamsack catered the taco bar, said Cheryl Brooke, the loppet’s secretary-treasurer for the past five years. “This is the third year the staff of the Iron Grill are providing the food. They do a good job.”
Sutton and Brooke estimate that only about 10 per cent of the loppet participants are local skiers, the others come from “all over Saskatchewan,” including Saskatoon and Regina, and this year skiers from Winnipeg, Alberta and even British Columbia have registered.
