Thirteen skiers in total - nine in the senior division and four juniors - took to the trails on Saturday morning, many of them skiing in preparation for next week's 43rd annual provincial ski marathon, to be held at the Clarenville Nordic Ski Club.
Steve Dyke made the trip from St. John's for the race. He posted the fastest time of the day in just over an hour and had nothing but good things to say about the trails.
"It was a really interesting course," he said.
"It's not a pedestrian course. The course here is really snaky and technical. It makes it kind of fun. You have to have a pretty good skill level to do well."
Connor Bolton was the first junior to cross the line, completing the shorter junior course in the 40-minute range but admits he doesn't like battling the inclines.
"One half was straight uphill and the rest was downhill. It was pretty intense. The hills were pretty tough."
Both Dyke and Bolton will be in Clarenville for this weekend's 42km ski marathon and both are looking forward to skiing the Clarenville trails once again.
"The race next week should be interesting," Dyke said
"It's going to be quite a challenge. It looks like the forecast is going to be good. We'll see how well we do when we have more competition."
Bolton, an accomplished skier for 18 years old, says he will be returning but isn't sure about completing the full marathon.
"I'm probably going to just do 20km next weekend," he said.
"I don't know if I'm ready for 42km."
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