Competitive, recreational, beginning and experienced skiers were all in attendance Saturday for the 25th running of the Northwestel Yukon Loppet.

The ski event is the biggest race held at Mt. McIntyre during the season and it is also one of the Cross Country Ski Club's greatest traditions.

"One of the things that I view the loppet for is promoting cross-country skiing," said Sue Meikle, chief of race for the 2008 Northwestel Yukon Loppet.

"There are a lot of families that come into it and a lot of young kids and the different distances that sort of cater to the various levels of ability."

Two hundred and twenty-six people were registered in this year's loppet and, despite cold weather as well as slow skiing conditions, roughly 218 skiers ended up participating.

The event also featured 65 volunteers who helped out throughout the course of the day.

As a way of encouraging more people to take part in the race, the loppet is held in the classic technique style of cross-country skiing, which is an easier method than skate skiing.

Participating skiers competed in different age categories, including Atom, PeeWee, Mini-midget, Midget, Juvenile, Open Men, Open Women and Masters. Masters are skiers who are 35 and older.

The youngest skier on the day was four years old, while the oldest was in his late 70s.

The loppet also allows parents to ski beside their children in the younger age categories without actually having to register to race the event.

To recognize the events' 25th anniversary, the ski club revived a couple of old traditions, including the additional distance of a 35-km route.

The route includes an ascent to the top of the 5,200-foot Mt. McIntyre, which was followed by a downhill sprint that challenged more than a few skiers on the day.

Additional race distances skiers could sign up for included a 3-km, 7.5-km, 20-km and a 30-km race.

Among the prizes, were three annual trophies, awarded to the fastest male and fastest female times in the 7.5-km, 20-km and 30-km distances.

The trophies weren't a keepsake, but instead winners would have their names inscribed on a plaque for the 2008 year.

Another prize referenced the old Yukon Gold Loppet by giving out little pokes with 25 loonies in them. The fastest male and female times in each the 7.5-km, 20-km, 30-km and 35-km were awarded the poke.

A poke is a small miners bag used to store gold nuggets.

All prizes were presented at the loppet's banquet, which was held on Saturday at 6 p.m.

The best time for the Open Men 35-km classic mass start race was David Greer, who finished at 2:17:37.8, which was 6:45.4 faster than second place Colin Abbot.

Greer, who has been skiing for practically his whole life, said it was nice to compete in the loppet this year.

"It was a hard course and it was physically demanding, but I was happy with how it went," he said.

He said it took him about 40 minutes of straight climbing to reach the top of Mt. McIntyre, but despite the difficulty involved in reaching the top, it was a fun race.

Greer said that the atmosphere is one of the best parts about the loppet.

"This is a good club we have here. Everyone knows everyone," he said. "This is a fun place to be and I really enjoy it. It's good to see everyone go in, even if they are not into winning it, it is fun and it is good that everyone comes out."

Katharine Sandiford's time of 3:12:33.8 was the fastest in the Open Women's 35-km distance route and was just more than two minutes ahead of second place Lorrie Greer.

Northwestel Inc. in commemoration of the 25th anniversary made up fleece turtlenecks for both volunteers and the skiers.

Participants had the option of paying $35, which would be for admission into the banquet and race as well as purchase of the keepsake.

Meikle said she was pleased with how the event went.

"All week it was so beautiful and warm and then this morning it was windy, but all those people still came out and skied it and it was fantastic," she said. "I think that the fact that we try to make it as much a family event as possible and we have the full spectrum of non-competitive and competitive.

So you see such a range here and we see a lot of families ski and of course we have the banquet afterwards and the post loppet lunch. It is just a fun family day."

Ian Robinson raced in the Masters 2 Men 20-km race and finished with a time of 1:35:59.6. He said he was happy with how the race went.

"I did about the same as I did last year, which means I haven't got any worse and the conditions were slower this year, so to get the same time as I did last year I think is pretty good and I didn't practice much either," he said. "I think it's because a bit of experience.

You do it the first time you learn the exact trails you are going to go on and then the second time you can just pace yourself a little bit."

This was his second year racing the loppet and Robinson said the event is a really enjoyable to take part in.

"This is just a nice event," he said. "The recreational part of it is what I do, it is a fitness thing for me. I go and try to do the best I can, but I am not really racing."

Robinson, who has been skiing for five years, said he plans on entering the loppet next year and will consider doing the 30-km distance.

Ken Mulloy has been cross country skiing for over 40 years. Saturday's 25 year milestone was also special for Mulloy, who has skied in the Northwestel loppet since its inaugural year.

This year Mulloy competed in the Masters 4 20-km race and fished with a time of 3:15:12.4

He said it is nice that the loppet has continued its annual tradition.

"It is one of the things I train for, sort of all year round," he said. "There is a certain lot of people that are racers and there's a lot of us who just go out to enjoy, so it's a nice mixture."

Mulloy, 77, said the loppet hasn't changed that much over the years and that is one of the reasons he has continued to take part in it.

This year's event was also special for Mulloy because he skied it with his daughter and son-in-law, which is starting to become a family tradition for him.

"It was great," he said. "I'm looking forward to next years. As long as I can keep moving I will do it."