Organizers of the annual Northwestel Yellowknife Ski Loppet have always hoped for blue skies and a good covering of pure white snow for their event, but this year the organizers were also thinking green. For the very first time, the loppet, which took place on Sunday April 3^rd, was organized to reduce waste and facilitate use of re-usable or compostable materials.

“We encouraged skiers to bring their own cup, bowl and spoon,” said loppet coordinator Jennie Rausch. “For those who chose not to do that, we provided compostable utensils and containers. These products are made of bagasse, which is sugar cane fibre, or PLA, a naturally-occurring plant starch obtained from corn. The cost is four times the price of plastic and styrofoam, but we believe the benefits outweigh the additional expense.”

About twenty skiers did bring their own dinnerware, carrying it in backpacks as they skied the trail. Others used the compostable supplies. “We ended up with about five bags of compostables and only half a bag of actual garbage,” said Rausch. “We were very happy to see that we reduced the amount of garbage going to the landfill by that much.”

Northwestel’s sponsorship dollars, along with participant registration fees, were used to pay for the new compostable dinnerware, the food and drink, checkpoint supplies and the toques that each skier received. Another local group, Ecology North, worked with organizers to ensure that waste from the event becomes part of the City of Yellowknife’s compost heap.

The Northwestel Yellowknife Ski Loppet is organized by the Yellowknife Ski Club. This year, more than 280 cross-country skiers took part. Forty-five of them skied the 6-kilometre route, 140 skied 15 kilometres and 93 chose the 25-kilometre route. Five skiers even skied the 25-kilometre route twice, for a total of 50 kilometres of skiing.

“The Yellowknife Ski Loppet is a great community event,” said Curtis Shaw, Northwestel Vice President of Consumer Markets. “Northwestel is proud to help make it happen every year and to support the effort to reduce waste. We work on many fronts to protect our northern environment with initiatives like our directory recycling program. We congratulate organizers for their commitment to creating a loppet that is both fun and environmentally-friendly.”  

“We are so grateful to Northwestel for its continuing support and to our 54 volunteers whose hard work makes the loppet a success each year,” said Rausch. “For example, Kathi Woodward prepared 100 dozen loppet cookies! We have volunteers that prepare and serve food, work the checkpoints and ensure safety for skiers. Our trail groomers were out there for fifteen hours setting the trail until early Sunday morning and then they were back at 10 a.m., ready to ski!”

The loppet takes place north of Yellowknife at the Bert Mockford Ski Trail, which is created each year specifically for this event. “We had a light dusting of fluffy white snow in the morning and then for the last few hours of the loppet, the sun came out,” said Rausch. “The weather was good and everyone was in a happy mood and enjoyed the day. The loppet is a great way to celebrate the end of the coldest part of winter and the beginning of spring.”

In 2010, Northwestel contributed more than $600,000 in cash and in-kind donations to many northern community groups. Throughout its history, Northwestel has played a key role in the economic, social and cultural development of the North. Northwestel is recognized as a key contributor to the well-being of northern communities through its community investment program and the volunteer contributions of its employees.

Northwestel provides complete telecommunications solutions and entertainment services in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon, northern British Columbia and High Level, Alberta. The company’s operations span nearly 4 million square kilometres of the most remote and rugged areas of Canada.