A great time was had by all at an Intro to Sit-Ski event recently.

Cross Country Yukon supplied the sit-skis at Mount McIntyre Saturday afternoon for people to try out on flat terrain in the stadium beside the Canada Games Centre.

Sit-skis are, as the name implies, a seat with skis attached to it.

John Ryan Christopher Morales, who only arrived from the Philippines July 18, was skiing for the first time. Despite a minor wipeout, Morales said he had a good time.

“It’s good but it’s hard to pull. But it’s so fun.”

Morales didn’t hesitate when asked if he wanted to try it on a ski hill.

“For sure,” he said enthusiastically.

Morales’s friend, Johnathan Licup, who’s only been here since Nov. 4, also enjoyed himself.

“It’s very exciting, especially, me being Filipino, it’s new to me.

“It’s a very good experience.”

Licup also wanted to try sit-skiing downhill.

“It’s much more exciting if you go fast.”

Young Shane Licup, although a bit shy to talk, obviously enjoyed himself on the skis.

Azaniah and Amber Licup, on hand to give Shane a push, said it was “fun.”

Aleena Elias and Arom Jacob also came out to try sit-skiing.

“We like adventures,” she said.

Bryn Beck came out to give it a go as well.

“I’ve never done it before and I’ve only heard of it recently, so I was excited to try it.

“It is really hard on the arms but it is a lot of fun.”

When asked if she would do it again, Beck replied, “Absolutely.”

As for going downhill, Beck said, “I’ve seen a video of somebody taking a jump on a sit-ski and I guess that would be cool. I don’t know; it’s pretty scary.”

Beck added she is “absolutely not” a daredevil.

Dhanya Thomas and Lydia Abraham were also out for a sit-ski.

“Very nice,” said Abraham.

“Fantastic,” exclaimed Thomas.

Abraham said, “This was my first experience and I enjoyed it.”

Both women said they’d like to try going downhill on a sit-ski since they like going fast.

Ben Poudou was one of the instructors on hand, along with Cross Country Yukon head coach and sport coordinator Graham Nishikawa.

Poudou said they were introducing sit-skiing equipment that the club purchased two years ago.

He said the equipment doesn’t see a lot of use, so the first step is letting people know they have the equipment.

“Sometimes we think that sit-skiing is just for disabled people on wheelchairs, but it’s not.”

Poudou explained that people rehabbing from injuries can also use sit-skis to get out and get some fresh air and exercise on the trails.

“Some people may not be comfortable going out by themselves on skis, so maybe being seated might make them more comfortable.”

Use of the sit-skis is free of charge. People interested only need to purchase a pass for the ski trails.

“Here in the stadium is the easiest place to try. Up there (on the Mount Mac trails) there is hills right away.”

Poudou said Cole Digel is a volunteer who just started this year. His job is to give a tow to people who need it.

“Just to make sure people are not stuck in the stadium,” explained Poudou.

“The purpose here is to show and tell people that we have that here if you want to get out on the trail, if you can’t stand up for a long time, you’re not comfortable – whatever your reason.”

Beck got a helping tow from Digel.

“I like that a lot more. It’s not such a hard workout on the arms once you have a little momentum. It was lots of fun. Cole did a great job.”

Darryl Tait, a well-known person in the community with limited mobility, was also on hand and received some valuable coaching from Nishikawa.

“Ben reached out to me and told me we were going to be doing this again. I was a part of this setup last year and just to help awareness and show people that this is available to the community.

“People with limited mobilities don’t think they can get out and enjoy the outdoors. There’s equipment sitting here waiting for them to be used.”

Tait built his own sit-ski when one wasn’t available to use. His thought process was, “If it’s not here, I’m just gonna make it.

“I quickly discovered that it’s much more dangerous than downhill skiing itself once you get down the hills because the level of control is a lot different than a downhill sit-ski setup.”

Tait appreciated the advice he got from Nishikawa.

“It was great talking to Graham, who knows the industry and knows so much about it that he was able to give me some tips and pointers, even with my own setup and see how I can start progressing the sport.

“First, he wanted to take a look at how I pushed and I was doing a lot bigger, longer strokes and he says it’s a waste of energy, so just to do shorter, quicker, faster, more powerful strokes would help improve my technique.

“He took a look at my cornering and how I pick going around the corners and shifting my weight and he seems to be fairly happy with how I’m managing that.”

Tait said he is self-taught.

Tait added, “It’s great to see that they’ve come alongside and they’ve got the equipment and people and manpower to make this happen. I’m really excited to see people get out and enjoy their winters.”

Local celebrity Sharon Shorty (Grandma Susie) even came out to the event to give it a try and enjoyed herself.

Tait said, “I’m so happy to see her here and giving it a go. We’ve been on city council meetings together to fight for advocacy with the snow and ice removal policy.”

Tait said instead of battling the snow, it was nice to actually be out playing on the snow and enjoying it.

“It doesn’t have to be a nuisance and it shouldn’t have to force us out of our community. We can embrace it and love it. So to have the equipment here and see her out here, it’s awesome.”