Surviving the Loppet

Only the most audacious skiers came out to the ultimate endurance race.

Temperatures reached minus 30 degree Celsius for the 35th Annual Great Labrador Loppet March 27, which according to Gerry Rideout, Menihek Nordic Ski Club president, resulted in lower than normal participation.

"Regular winter here was so mild, we never dreamed we would have the two coldest days here on the weekend of the Loppet, but all in all the event was successful," he said.

This year about 75 skiers came out, which is down from last year's 175, but Rideout believes several community events including the Labrador West Music Festival Gala, which happened on the same weekend also kept the numbers down.

The course from Fermont to Labrador West was groomed to perfection, but most skiers agreed the icy temperatures interfered with the glide.

"The trails were really beautiful, the track was great, but looking at it and skiing it were two different things," expressed Rideout. "It was a beautiful, sunny day, but having such cold temperatures overnight dried the snow out and made the skiing very difficult. Very dry conditions, so the glide was very poor, and so you had to fight the snow all the way and struggle. Everybody was put to the test and it was a hard ski for everyone."

Even Konrad Kuhne, the 13-year-old wunderkind who finished the 27 km event first and was presented with the Thelma Piercey Award, believes he was hampered by the cold.

"Your time really varies around different temperatures," he said. "Last year I was 30 minutes less than what I did this year. I'm OK with what I did today because I pushed as hard as I could."

His younger brother Erik Kuhne, who skied the same event for the first time and captured gold in his age category, admitted he had to do classic skate on freestyle skies, but near the end he actually flew down the track.

Mother Karin Kuhne said five members of the Kuhne family skied the Loppet while three stayed at home because of the temperatures.

"Skiing is our thing," she said. "Living in Labrador you have to find something that you want to do for the outdoors because winters are so long. Skiing is a great thing for our family to do to keep us going through the winter and enjoying the outdoors."

The Kuhnes tied with the Manstan family, who had seven members skiing, for the Largest Family Award presented in the evening at the Loppet awards steak dinner.

This is the Manstans second year racing and this time around the kids got a lot more competitive: Robert Manstan finished the 10 km event first, while Paul finished first in his age category and Marie third in her age category.

Robert believes his training this year really paid off and he learned he has to keep going even if he's cold.

Alf Parsons, the seasoned professional with 30 Loppets under his belt, finished first in the 30-km event.

"Every day I get a chance I ski," explained Parsons.

He said skiing to Fermont was tough with the wind in his face and at the last part of the race his legs were ready to buckle.

"I felt great. It was nice just to have it done," he exclaimed. "Whatever energy you've got left you save it for the last 2K. I'm pretty pleased with the time considering really tough conditions."

Many skiers, however, took their time to soak up the atmosphere of the whole event.

Rideout finished the 27 km event hand-in-hand with Beatrice Whittle admitting he stopped to socialize with people at rest stops, which offered food, drinks, music, and bonfires.

He recalled when the Loppet started in 1975 it was less competitive and more of a fun event with people wearing costumes.

It is the only Loppet that runs across two provinces, Labrador and Quebec, and this year, Rideout said, it attracted skiers from Quebec, Ontario, and Newfoundland.

He believes those who stayed home really missed out and hopes to get the participation where it should be next year.