Despite a lot of snow dancing over the last two weeks, Mother Nature did not cooperate and organizers of the Sigge’s P’ayak made the difficult decision to cancel event for this year.
“Although there is some snow and skiing ongoing at the venue, we cannot hold a quality event on the limited terrain available,” said event chair Dirk Rohde. The loppet was scheduled for February 28, with the kids’ and youth event on Sunday, March 1, 2015.
Given the continued warm forecast, the organizing committee opted not to reschedule the event for later in March.
“It’s very disappointing to have to cancel, and we waited as long as we could to make the decision,” said Rohde. “It’s very unusual for the Callaghan Valley to not have snow at this time of year, and we believe this is an anomoly.”
The Sigge’s P’ayak had over 430 registrations, which Rohde considered a good signup given the low snow season prior to February 1.
“We’d like to thank the staff at Whistler Olympic Park for trying to keep the course open for us. The warm weather undermined all their hard work,” said Rohde.
It is the largest loppet in BC, and has been attracting a significant following. The Sigge’s P’ayak is also a qualifier for the US Birkebeiner event in Wisconsin.
For more information, go to www.payak.ca or check out the Twitter feed @payakentsut. Dirk Rohde can be reached at 604 942-6410.