A capacity crowd of
skiers braved brisk cold winds to take part in the 2006 edition of
the Morin–Heights Viking Loppet Feb. 26. Some 425 skiers from across
Quebec, Ottawa, Vermont and even Holland had registered for the
Loppet’s 10K, 20K and 38K events.
Supported
by more than 100 volunteers, a number of whom wore colourful
costumes as they cheered on skiers, participants thoroughly enjoyed
the immaculately prepared scenic trails through the Cross-Country
Ski Capital. Many skiers, some very young and many in their senior
years, went home with gold, silver and bronze medals. And all
received a souvenir Loppet pin, a delicious hot meal and memories of
a great day of skiing.
If you had asked
organizers a week earlier if they could have predicted such a
successful event, you would have been answered with a tentative, “I
hope so.”
A winter storm that had wreaked havoc across Quebec had coated area
trails in thick ice 10 days before the event. A state-of-the-art
grooming machine, called a BR400, had to be brought in to crush the
ice into fine powder and then pack, groom and track-set the trails
so the Loppet could be held. 
The machine was limited as to where it could
work because of its size. Two of the longer courses had to be
re-designed and volunteers, first-aid crews, marshals and
refreshment stations reassigned at the last minute. Adding to the
challenge was 17 centimetres of unexpected blowing snow that fell as
the weekend approached. Grooming crews on snowmobiles worked through
the early hours to ensure the trails were perfect before the event’s
first race, the 38K. Volunteer skiers also went out ahead of time to
ensure direction signs hadn’t blown down along the course, and
fixing those that did. It was an all-out team effort and local
volunteers did themselves proud.
Volunteer Rhonda Vaillancourt, who was dressed
in a bright blue, floor-length coat and sash and nicknamed by some
the “Loppet Queen,” received a number comments from passing skiers
about how well things were done as she skied the Aerobic Corridor
with ski personality and Loppet emcee, Guy Thibaudeau.
Accomplished cross-country skier and volunteer,
Brian Gill, went out the night before to dig a pit near one of the
Loppet trails, and stock it with firewood. The morning of the
Loppet, he donned an eye-catching costume, decorated his area with
flags, lit a fire in a metal bucket to keep warm and cheered as
smiling participants charged towards the Loppet’s new finish line at
the Bellevue Ski Centre.
The 2006 edition of the Loppet represented the
fifth year of a successful partnership between the Municipality of
Morin-Heights and the Viking Ski Club. The event is organized on a
non-profit basis and any surpluses are carried over to help improve
the following year’s Loppet.
The Loppet’s key event
sponsors for 2006 were Gourmet du Village, Camping et Cabines Nature
Morin-Heights, Liberal MNA David Whissell, Caisse Desjardins de la
Vallée Saint-Sauveur and SpinCom Business Communications. Many other
local companies also donated money, products or services.
The
overall winners of the Loppet were Phil Shaw, of Rosemere, in the
men’s category and Emily Heath, of Montreal, in the women’s
category. Phil completed the longest course, which was shortened to
31.7 km, in a time of one hour, 54 minutes and 12.7 seconds. Emily,
meanwhile, recorded a time on the same course of two hours, 37
minutes and 21.2 seconds. Their names will be engraved on the
event’s Smith-Johannsen trophy.
To
provide the precise timing, the Morin-Heights Viking Loppet enlisted
the services of Sportstats, the
largest timing company in Canada. The company is involved in more
than 220 events annually and uses “ChampionChip” technology,
which saw each Loppet skier fitted with an ankle bracelet containing
a passive silicon chip. Special mats buried under the finish line
recorded the skiers’ times as they crossed. The times were then
relayed via the Internet to the Morin-Heights
Elementary School where they were posted
and used to identify the winners. It was the first time such a
system had been used at the Loppet and it received rave reviews from
skiers.
Meanwhile, gold, silver and bronze medals were
presented to skiers in 52 age and gender categories at the
elementary school as participants enjoyed a nice lasagne, salad and
desert prepared by Wendy Waugh and her team. Skiers’ results are
available on this website. 
Before medal presentations began, a draw was
held for three “Early-Bird” prizes, nifty fanny-packs donated by the
Viking Ski Club. The three lucky winners were: Tobin Novosad, of
Val-David, Nicole Robert, of St-Hubert, and Frederic Drolet, of
Saint-Faustin.
Organizers
also took the opportunity to recognize the valuable contributions of
two long-time organizers, Robert Weiler and Fred Argue. Both men
took a well-earned retirement from their Loppet duties after the
2005 edition of the event. Emcee Guy Thibaudeau presented Mr. Weiler
with a plaque recognizing his efforts to build the Morin-Heights
Viking Loppet into a prestigious event. Mr.
Argue now lives in Toronto and was unable to attend the
presentation.
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