Inuvik’s 2018 Top of the World Loppet will take place on Saturday, April 7 and Sunday, April 8, 2018.
Next year’s races mark the 50th anniversary of the first Top of the World Loppet, hosted by the Inuvik Ski Club during its founding season in 1968.
Cross Country NWT is excited to support the Top of the World Loppet and celebrate Inuvik’s continuing contribution to Canadian skiing, while honouring the community’s place in the sport’s heritage.
If you would like more information about travelling to the Top of the World Loppet as a participant, volunteer, spectator or media, get in touch with us or you can contact Inuvik Ski Club.
The club says:
This event will offer some of the finest spring skiing in the world, even after the end of many 2017-2018 ski seasons. Sunshine into the late night, excellent snow conditions, and the unique setting of the Mackenzie Delta will ensure an unforgettable loppet experience. Inuvik was home to the Territorial Experimental Ski Training (TEST) program, which trained a host of Olympians, including Canada Sports Hall of Fame members and Aklavik sisters Sharon Firth and the late Shirley Firth Larsson. The Inuvik ski trails remain an important community heritage facility.
The Inuvik Ski Club has a large network of groomed trails and seven months of snow cover, providing one of the longest ski seasons anywhere. Ski trails are nestled between the treeless tundra and the northern boreal forest, with spectacular views of the Richardson Mountains and town centre. A mixture of winding, forested loops, and open, willow-lined descents make for a technical and fun topography. Inuvik (‘place of people’ in Inuvialuktun) is the homeland of the Inuvialuit and Gwich’in peoples and residence for a wide variety of people and cultures. A place of rich diversity, Inuvik is located on the Mackenzie Delta – a maze of lakes and streams forming Canada’s largest freshwater delta, on the edge of the Arctic Ocean. The community is alive with activity during the spring, with weekly festivals and celebrations marking the return of warmer weather.
As this event approaches, the volunteer-led Inuvik Ski Club hopes to engage with potential attendees, racers, and supporting organizations to make the 50th edition of the Top of the World Loppet an unforgettable event. July 1st, 2017 will mark the opening of our TOWL Logo Contest, which will invite contestants from across Canada to design the emblem used for the Loppet. The club will also hold open TOWL Committee meetings monthly leading up to the event. We invite any interested parties or individuals to engage with the club online or by mail. Please help us celebrate five decades of ski racing in Inuvik!