Cross Country Skiing

I have  been exploring the Yukon on skis for the last 22 years.  Originally a ski racer I was on the Canadian X-C team for 7 years and went to the 1992 Winter Olympics.  Great memories from my racing days include a  4th place at the Jr World Championships and 3rd  at the 76km Transjurasienne in France.  I have more recently covered thousands of miles skijoring and ski touring.  Skiing is a way of life. I will give a few examples:

• as a park warden on the Chilkoot trail I was able to patrol the high country on skis throughout May and June
• a 12-day mountain traverse through the southern Yukon
• an 8 day skijor tour with my 1 year child in a pulk  (he’s 12 now!)
• working with kids in the village of Old Crow, north of the Arctic Circle, where cross-country skiing was a key part of their Health and Fitness program
• sharing on skis with kids, locals, and visitors the magnificent country that is my home

Canoeing

I have canoed thousands of miles of Yukon’s waterways.  Whether instructing, racing, guiding or exploring , the canoe is my passion. Certified with Paddle Canada as a Moving Water Canoe Instructor, I enjoy teaching students and guests the skills that will give them maximum enjoyment of their river experience.

Alpenglow Designs, my sewing business, specializes in custom canoe gear. I enjoy coming up with designs that help people organize their gear and stay safe.

I completed the Yukon River Quest 740km canoe race twice and finished 5th and 6th overall out of 80 –90 boats. I was proud to finish with my male partner first tandem canoe in the race, ahead of all men’s  and mixed canoe teams (the first 4 boats were voyageurs and kayaks).  That gave me the honour of first woman across the finish line at Dawson City.

The racing was a sideline I wanted to experience.  My heart is in wilderness travel, using a canoe to explore new country or to revisit beloved places over and over. I have paddled rivers that to my knowledge no modern day canoeists have visited yet certainly native people plied those waters in old times. I love to put on a drysuit to hone whitewater skills and I also love  to go out on a calm waterway and fish. So let’s go paddling!