“An unexpected bonus” – as it was described by Claude Chabot – greeted skiers, coaches, officials and local organizers of the 2016 Haywood Ski Nationals on Friday, just in time for the first races Saturday.

Chabot, the chief of competition, said he “would guess anywhere around 10 to 15 centimetre” of snow fell on the Mount McIntyre ski trails throughout Friday.

It meant making some changes to grooming plans, as well as coaches having to make adjustments to their own game plans.

However, Chabot said, “This is a really good problem to have.”

The day-long snowfall was officially recorded to be 8.5 centimetres according to Environment Canada.

However, officials record the snowfall at the Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport, which may see a slightly different amount than what falls on the trails at Mount McIntyre.

The heavy precipitation was also a stark contrast to earlier in the season. At that time, officials with the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club made use of snow-making equipment from the Mount Sima downhill facility to prepare for the Haywood event.

Volunteers with the ski club last month also cleared snow from the tennis courts at the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre.

The snow was then moved to the ski trails as part of the efforts to ensure there was a good base for the races.

Chabot said Friday’s snowfall alleviated his concerns over the possibility of bare spots on some parts of the trails.

As he pointed out, he thought there might be a “shoveling party” to get snow on some of the south-facing sections where it can melt more quickly, but that didn’t need to happen with Friday’s snowfall.

Even with Sunday’s warm weather – with temperatures rising to a high of 7.5C and falling as low as -1.3C – snow remained on each of the trails for the racers, though there were some challenges.

While the conditions were good for the first set of races yesterday, Chabot noted, the sun and shade later in the day made things a little tricky when it came to selecting what type of wax to use on skis.

The wax that works best in the sun doesn’t work well in the shade.

At this time of year, skiers will encounter both sun and shade on the trails in a single run.

It also impacts how competitors ski on the trail. As Chabot said, they might have to quickly change how they manoeuvre up a particular part of the trail.

As Chabot pointed out though: “That’s spring skiing.”

Many of the racers are accustomed to dealing with changing conditions, particularly at this time of year.

He noted many who aren’t from the Yukon likely didn’t realize how little snow there was before Friday.

The 40-plus Yukoners competing at the nationals, meanwhile, have a home-field advantage, knowing well each corner and the conditions that are often seen on the trails.

“It’s great,” Chabot said, adding many of the territory’s “up-and-comers” who might not otherwise get to race in such a large national event are getting the opportunity to this week.

Sunday’s warm weather also saw officials opt for an earlier race time – with the first of the races beginning at 9 a.m. rather than 10 a.m.

As Chabot noted, this was the first time in his 15 years with the Whitehorse Cross-Country Ski Club that warm weather altered the start time for a race. It’s not uncommon for a race time to be altered due to cold weather.

Meanwhile, Jan Polivka, who oversees grooming on the trails, also said Friday’s snowfall was welcomed by groomers.

“It was great,” he said, adding fresh snow makes it easy to groom.

By contrast, it’s difficult when there are warm temperatures during the day followed by cooling overnight.

Snow that has become soft during the day freezes. That makes it difficult for groomers to work with, as machines have to get into the frozen precipitation.

He estimated it takes about three times as long to groom after a warming and cooling spell over grooming freshly-fallen snow.

When all is said and done though, it appears coaches, skiers and officials are pleased with the trails, Chabot said.

While there aren’t any races booked for today, he noted, the trails at Mount McIntyre were in good condition.

Out walking in the area this morning, he said the tracks were solid and fast.

If all goes as planned, competitors will be back racing tomorrow with various competitions from 2.5 km to 15 km getting underway at 10 a.m.

Competitions will take place each day, with the exception of Good Friday, until Saturday.