The Buckwheat International Ski Classic returned to Log Cabin Saturday.

Log Cabin is located in B.C., almost halfway in between Skagway, Alaska and Whitehorse.

The race was put on hold since 2020 due to the pandemic, but was back this year for the 35th official running.

The event started in 1987 as a way for Skagway’s late former tourism director Buckwheat Donahue to throw an end-of-season winter party.

The Buckwheat was named one of the top 49 things to do in the north by the editors of Alaska magazine.

The event is run by the Log Cabin Ski Society (LCSS), a non-profit. The Star caught up with LCSS Vice-president Cory Thole after the race.

“I would say it went smashingly,” stated Thole.

“It was a little bit of a scramble compared to years past, starting in 2020, when typically we’d have crews getting in there starting in December, from Skagway. There was work done on the trails. We were able to bring up a team in February that came to work on the trails, and a couple folks were able to make it up on their individual days, but we also had support from Mike Kramer and Joel (Luet) from Whitehorse, who in the last couple years have taken a more substantial role in getting trails in.

“There was a team of us that went and camped out there the weekend before and then a family from Whitehorse was there all week long with Mike Kramer and his daughter Anika and helped get trails in and started getting the aid station formed up ... and it all came together.”

Society members also pitched in to get the trails ready for skiing.

The American organizers, volunteers and participants weren’t too affected by the border restrictions.

“We just needed to be tested and have our ArriveCan in order. We had a couple of hiccups. Our ArriveCan didn’t quite load properly. Just had to come back in town and redo them, but it was manageable,” recalled Thole.

There were 199 skiers registered for the race, with only a few no-shows, not bad considering the blizzard conditions in the parking lot.

“The parking lot, as usual, was definitely not that pleasant, but once you got onto the trails, and out to the aid station, it was really quite pleasant,” related Thole.

“The temperature was about perfect for race conditions, and it wasn’t windy out there. The parking lot, on the other hand, some might describe as ‘a bit of a wintery hell.’”

The temperature was in the upper 20’sF, or around -2C.

“What I got from skiers is the track was fast,” said Thole.

“It wasn’t sticky. Not too fast or icy. We got a little bit of fresh snow there, but it got groomed in that morning and race conditions were quite nice.”

Thole said there were a lot more there altogether.

“I would dare to say there was upwards of 250 people there.”

There were about 30 volunteers involved in the race.

“Some people came up to hang out at the aid stations and help volunteer. Some come up to just be a part of the event,” said Thole.

“The event as a whole is, in my opinion, my favourite holiday of the year. It’s kind of the kick-off for spring for everybody, in a way. Nice to have the return to Buckwheat and get to see lots of folks that have been involved in the race one way or the other, either volunteer or race, and get to see all those friendly faces again was quite exceptional,” he added.

Whitehorse skiers did very well in the race.

“Yes, they did,” agreed Thole.

“And there was a whole team from Juneau that came up. They ended up getting the (John Briner Award), and they did quite well in their own regard.”

The John Briner Award is for most inspirational skier or team.

“That is a memorial to a friend of ours who helped out with the race and the trails for a long time,” related Thole. Briner passed away a couple of years ago.”

The Juneau Nordic Ski Club was awarded for sending 30 youth skiers to the race and complying with all the COVID rules to travel to Skagway and cross the border and then doing well in the race.

The Buckwheat was truly an international race this year. There was the team from Juneau, people from Haines, Alaska, Skagway, and, of course, from Whitehorse and B.C.

The award for Best Costume for Theme Toga Toga Toga went to Jani Djokic, Harriet Stanford, Vivienne Steele, and Kristine McNaughton of Whitehorse.

“They all had togas and they had some pretty awesome headgear,” said Thole.

Their prize was a free night at the Upper Lake cabin with a one-way Temsco helicoptor ride.

Upper Lake Cabin is about 3500 feet up from Skagway and begins at the Lower Dewey Lake System.

The Miss Buckwheat award typically goes to the young daughter of a volunteer. This year, there were two Miss Buckwheats – Anika and Mikayla Kramer of Whitehorse, Mike Kramer’s daughters, who were awarded retroactively.

“Anika and Makayla helped on the ski trails and the aid station a bunch in the past. Mikayla wasn’t here, but Anika was up all week helping on the ski trails and it’s their father Mike who’s one of our very valuable trail crew resources on the Canadian side of the border,” explained Thole.

The Des Duncan Award for volunteer recognition was presented to past president of the LCSS, Aric Baldwin of Skagway, who is undergoing cancer treatments in Washington.

Thole described Baldwin as “a long-time faction of the trail crew on the this (American) side.”

As for the fundraising, according to Thole, each of the sponsors “kicked in what they could.”

The race fee of $25 was donated to LCSS, a non-profit. An extra $10 donation to the Log Cabin Warming Hut fund could also be made, which included a free LCSS membership.

Food was grilled on-site at the aid station.

“There wasn’t an official banquet in town, but the Skagway Brewing Company (Brewco) had live music that night and there was an event there.”

As far as Thole knows, the event was “quite well-attended.”

He spent the night up at Log Cabin wrapping everything up post-race.

As for next year’s event, Thole said the planning begins now.

“The theme that’s being proposed and has been on the list the last couple years is something to do with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

Complete results can be found at http://buckwheatskiclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/BISC-2022-Results-by-Category.pdf