Two members of the Canadian National Ski Team and a former Olympian skier visited the remote community of Old Crow in the Yukon over the Easter weekend to host the 12th annual Father Mouchet Loppet from April 19 to 20.
The event kicked off on Friday as Sasha Masson, Liliane Gagnon and Knute Johnsgaard skied through Old Crow, inviting residents to join an informal festive race on the local trail. The race brought together 50 Old Crow residents, including more than 30 youth, many of whom skied for the first time, Masson told the News.
With help from community members, the historic Old Crow Ski Lodge, where Father Mouchet once trained national team skiers, was brought back to life, Masson said.
The event celebrated the legacy of Father Jean-Marie Mouchet, a priest and cross-country skiing coach who founded the Territorial Experimental Ski Training program. He is credited by the Sport North Federation with introducing cross-country skiing to Northern communities in the 1950s.
"His initial programs focused on teaching kids how to ski and building their confidence and motivation. That was his primary purpose," said John Firth, author of North Star: The Legacy of Jean-Marie Mouchet.
Mouchet, originally from France, established a cross-country ski program in Old Crow in 1954, according to Firth. He told the News that Mouchet’s goal was to introduce European sports to Indigenous children, a mission which later expanded to Inuvik in collaboration with Jack Van Pelt.
“He had been initially based in Telegraph Creek, Northern B.C., and he was down there for four or five years and came up with the idea of using a ski program to help First Nation kids make the transition between their traditional lifestyle and the somewhat overwhelming European lifestyle that was sort of rolling in on them and overwhelming them quite badly,” Firth said.
Martha Benjamin, trained by Father Mouchet in Old Crow, became the first Indigenous woman to win a national championship in 1963. Firth said her achievements symbolized the significant impact that Mouchet had in developing the sport in Northern communities.
“He would hold races and take kids to competitions, usually in Alaska. That's where Martha Benjamin emerged. She was working with him on the program and wanted to ski in Alaska. That's when he realized what kind of athlete she was and started to develop her as a competitive athlete. In 1963, she became the first Indigenous woman in Canadian history to win a national championship in an individual sport,” Firth said.
Masson wrote that Benjamin, a symbol of Old Crow’s sporting history, helped support the 12th annual Father Mouchet Loppet over the weekend. He added that on Saturday, Old Crow youth crossed the finish line beaming, proud to have skied on the very trails that carry the weight of a powerful Northern legacy.
The Father Mouchet Loppet welcomed skiers of all ages, from a four-year-old to a 71-year-old elder.
On Easter Sunday, the event ended with dancing and visits with Elders. That evening, a group of 15 kids strapped on their skis again and glided under the twilight sky until nearly 11 p.m., Masson wrote.
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com
