Whitehorse Daily Star

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Photo by Marissa Tiel

GOING LONG – Kate Tobler dips into the penultimate control during the Yukon Orienteering Championships long distance race on Grey Mountain last night.

Orienteers go long at final race of Yukon Championships series

With a newly charted map in hand, orienteers got to challenge courses set on Magnusson by a course setter with more than 20 years of experience.

By Marissa Tiel on June 22, 2017

With a newly charted map in hand, orienteers got to challenge courses set on Magnusson by a course setter with more than 20 years of experience.

Ross Burnett, who has been orienteering since the mid-70s and designing courses a few years short of that, was the mastermind behind last night’s courses, which saw approximately 60 participants navigating Grey Mountain in the Magnusson area for the Yukon Orienteering Championships long distance competition Wednesday night.

The Magnusson map was re-charted last summer.

“We’ve had a map of this area for quite a few years but it was getting out of date with changes to the vegetation that happen over time and a fair number of new trails were built and things happen in an area that make a map out of date, so this was a chance to use the map that’s up to date,” said Burnett.

When designing Wednesday night’s courses for beginner, intermediate, advanced and expert orienteers, Burnett said he considered the flow of people in his placing of the start and finish controls.

The start was situated atop a steep hill, which participants climbed before the clock started as a nearby bootcamp group blasted music.

Navigating a pine forest with moss, Burnett said the terrain was “beautiful to run through.”

Unlike the middle and the sprint, the long course was more about route choice and less about technical challenges from detailed map-reading.

“This is a little bit easier navigation-wise, but it’s more about deciding which route to take – this trail or that trail or partway through the forest, then pick up a trail,” said Burnett. “It’s just a little bit different type of challenge for orienteers.”

And experience seemed to benefit the orienteers as Forest Pearson topped the 5.9K expert division, finishing in 50 minutes and 29 seconds. Leif Blake was second in 60:46, while Darren Holcombe was third in 67:40.

Full results will be available at yukonorienteering.ca.

The next orienteering meet will be on July 5 on the War Eagle map, just off Fish Lake Road starting at 6 p.m.

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