Our Story
The Hay River Ski Club and biathlon facility is laid out around a cozy clubhouse nestled in the midst of a forest of spruce and aspen.
The first skiers in Hay River were recreational skiers who used Vale Island as an early site. They established trail networks throughout the spruce woods adjacent to Great Slave Lake. Later this group initiated a move out to a site 15 km. south of Hay River. This location provided the added feature of the elevated river banks and picturesque river valley skiing. At the same time, the Hay River Elks made an ambitious commitment to developing the area into a nine-hole golf course. What has evolved is a remarkable year-round facility with outstanding recreational opportunities for all seasons.
The Northwest Territories has a proud tradition of participation in cross country skiing. The T.E.S.T. (Territorial Experimental Ski Training) program which began in Inuvik in the early 70's developed young northern skiers who excelled at the sport. Twin sisters, Sharon and Shirley Firth, went on to become the most celebrated skiers in Canada's cross country skiing history.These athletes along with their Mackenzie delta team-mates formed the nucleus of Canada's national cross country ski team in their day. They represented our country in world championships and winter Olympic games. This inspiration percolated throughout the north and inspired ski club development in small settlements and larger communities alike. In the mid-1970s, Sport North established itself, providing support for various ski development programs. The Arctic Winter Games came into their own at this time, doing much to encourage the development of skiing in the Northwest Territories. Hay River was the site for the cross country ski competition in the 1978 Arctic Winter Games.
Trails:
The Hay River Elks were formidable early course and facility builders. Through the work of dedicated Elks club volunteers who gave countless hours to developing this recreational area, the site took shape to accommodate both golf and ski programs. Thank you to Rein Langner for the Elks Club chronology which follows:
The Hay River Ski Club worked Classical ski trails on both sides of the Hay River up until the early 1980s. This meant for a later start to the season in those days since so much of a base had to be packed before the track setter could cut the trails. Even then, wooded trail sections opened up only as the heavier snow accumulations arrived.
In recent years skating trails have been excellent in early November and there is often excellent skiing through into late April! The present trail system has state of the art lighting and is arguably the longest lit trail system in North America. In addition, the Hay River ski facility and clubhouse are open for skiing twenty-four hours a day from November to April.
Buildings:
The first ski club building at the present site was a 12' x 12' spruce log cabin built on the heights of the south side of the Hay River. Pat Bobinski, Bruce Green and a crew of club volunteers put this building together in the mid-70s. It is still in use, mostly as a staging spot for trail signs, and as every skier's postcard start to the classic Solitude Trail. In the fall of 2000, the cabin underwent novations with the addition of a new roof, floor, windows, and a new stove. The cabin will be a great retreat for warming up in, staging training or spending a night under the stars.
Railway cars served as the clubhouse and storage facility in the early 1980s. The youth group Katimavik spent a year at the site in 1980, living in the railway cars and starting up a log building intended to house golf and skiing. It was quite an adventure for the youth group who had lots of energy but lacked the resources to carry off this ambitious task.
At the end of that year, this tentative structure was dismantled. The Hay River Elks undertook a serious construction project, gathering volunteers and professional Log builders, to create a large log facility. This construction was a credit to the Elks and the incredible volunteer community in Hay River. It was a large high ceiling log building with a kitchenette, a separate ski club room with its own entrance, two wood stoves, and situated high up on the bank of the Hay River overlooking the river valley below.
Rebuilding:
A devastating fire in the winter of 1991 completely destroyed the Hay River Golf & Ski Club. Formidable leadership in the Hay River Community at this time came from the Hay River Elks under president Gary Hoffman, the Hay River Ski Club represented by Pat Bobinski and Rick Holmes, the Hay River Community Recreation Board, presided over by Dave MacDonald, and the Hay River Golf Club under president Rick Babkirk.
This team and its members used their energies to rebuild the facility. With support from the Territorial government and the local representative, John Pollard, core resources were made available. The new facility celebrates the energy and vision of golfers, skiers, biathletes, and the community of Hay River at large.
There is, at present, a magnificent log golf clubhouse with outstanding facilities. The ski club building with the recently added waxing room is ideal for families, racers, and touring ski enthusiasts. For big ski events, such as the annual Ptub Race, both buildings open wide to capacity crowds.
Pat Bobinski was the guiding force for many years, coaching, trail preparation, trail grooming, and race coordinating. Pat passed away July 30, 2017 at the age of 77.