Whitehorse Cross-Country Ski Club president Bill Curtis called this past season good all the way around.

“We had warm weather. We didn’t have a great snowpack, but we have good equipment and good people,” he said.

“They work wonders with our snow.”

Days before the snowpack disappeared at the end of March, the Haywood National Ski Championships welcomed skiers from across the country to Whitehorse.

Back in black

For the first time in a handful of years, the ski club was in the black this year, posting a $117,952 surplus.

While normally hosting an event costs an organization money, Curtis said the ski club was fortunate enough to have the competition covered by grants and funds.

The club will put away $45,000 into reserve funds, with the remainder to be a rainy-day fund.

This year the club has put forward a “conservative” break-even budget of $457,000.

Early bird season prices are on sale until Oct. 31 for $275 for an adult. Family and child season passes are also available.

Just a little TLC

The ski club performed some upgrades over the summer, including swapping out some of the lights on trails from more efficient LED bulbs. The wax room also received an upgrade.

“The area occupied by the ski base has been renovated to give it more of a store-front appearance,” said Curtis.

Trail permission go-ahead

After some volunteers got “carried-away” a few years ago building an access trail called “Skyline” up to the top of the mountain as an alternative to the Hall Road, which resulted in the ski club getting fined for surpassing the 1.5 metre maximum width of the trail, the ski club has secured a license of occupation for the trail.

“It’s quite rough and it still needs some more development,” said Curtis.

Some club members at the AGM inquired into the status of the trail.

This morning Curtis acknowledged the enthusiastic volunteers in their quest for easier access to early season snow.

“I’m not going to jail for you guys,” he said laughing. “It has to be done properly. No cutting trees.”

He also emphasized the 1.5-metre maximum width of the trail.

Harvey’s Hut to stand again

Members of the Whitehorse ski community have banded together to raise funds for a replacement to Harvey’s Hut, which burned down last week.

A gofundme campaign has raised more than $14,000 and Coast Mountain Sports has donated $1,000 to the rebuilding effort. The ski club has matched those amounts, with $15,000 of its own.

Curtis is welcoming suggestions for a temporary shelter this year, with plans to have a permanent hut in place by fall 2017.