Whiskey Jack Nordic Ski Club president talks about season

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Whiskey Jack Nordic Ski Club’s Loppet in March had 57 participants (photo submitted by Eliza Stanford, Whiskey Jack Nordic Ski Club)

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — More daylight hours and warmer temperatures means the end for the ski trails in Beatton Provincial Park north of Fort St. John.

As the calendar turns to April, Whiskey Jack Nordic Ski Club’s president, Eliza Stanford, spoke to Energeticcity.ca about the 2024-25 season.

She says the club’s membership was maintained at about the same level of previous years, with 230 members.

Stanford described the club’s nighttime ski event, the Lantern Ski in December, as “beautiful” with lanterns emblazoning the trails.

“The event is still relatively new,” said Stanford. “Every year it [continues to] grow and we get more people and lanterns out. We had quite a lot of people here.”

While the club does not field a competitive team, several members participated in events in Prince George and Grande Prairie.

In fact, the club recently hosted their own event: The Whiskey Jack Loppet in March, which had 57 participants in various races.

“We saw a lot of people coming from Grande Prairie and Dawson Creek to participate,” said Stanford. “It was really fun.”

Off the trails, the club is one of eight in B.C. to participate in an online fundraiser facilitated by Nordiq Canada, the governing body for cross country in the country. The deadline for donations is April 8th.

The club is currently looking for $3,000 for new ski waxing equipment with $2,440 raised toward that goal.

“There’s certain pieces of equipment that could make [the process] better,” said Stanford. “Just get a bit more equipment and improve things.”

Stanford also highlighted the students from nine School District 60 schools took part in trips to learn cross country skiing.

The visits consist of a lesson and trail skiing around the club.

For more information about the Whiskey Jack Nordic Ski Club, visit the club’s website or Facebook page.

The 2025 Federal Election is happening on April 28. Let us know what topics are most important to you for the Prince George – Peace River – Northern Rockies riding by taking our survey at https://energeticcity.ca/election