Frozen gem: The story of Saskatchewan's most northerly ski club

It's a recreational revolution in Buffalo Narrows.

The swish, swish of cross-country skis gliding through snow is becoming a common sound in the northern village, as one in ten residents have signed up to join the Buffalo Narrows Cross Country Ski Club.

The ski club — the most northerly in the province — produces some of Saskatchewan's top junior skiers and boasts 13 kilometres of trails through the boreal forest.

It's all thanks to Matt Mazurik and Rochelle Yelland.

The couple, both physiotherapists who relocated from Saskatoon to work in northern Saskatchewan, spearheaded the club.

With the help of a small team of volunteers, they cleared brush, cleaned up existing routes and have maintained a network of trails that make people in the south jealous. Skiing on a golf course just isn't the same.

Those southerners are welcome to visit. The club is inclusive of strangers and locals. If someone drops by without skis, they can borrow from the club's small arsenal of equipment.

"We knew that just because of the socioeconomics, the reality is in the north that a lot of people don't have equipment to begin with," said Mazurik.

"It's not the cheapest stuff out there so we got community equipment."

A membership costs $20 for the entire year.

Breaking trail

Longtime athletes Mazurik and Yelland never sought to change the northern village's perception of winter, but they have.

"We started the trail project on the Waskawîhew trails," said Mazurik. Waskawîhew is a Cree word that means "to move oneself with one's body." 

"Which was the whole idea of the trails, to get people moving."

The village allowed the couple to use the land and from there, the proposal writing began. They applied for grants, private donations, sponsorships and more.

Once the snow fell, Mazurik and Yelland started to take small groups out, teaching them how to ski. 

Cross-country skiing is a famously low-impact sport, which makes it popular with a wide-variety of people.

"From three-year-olds, toddlers, all the way up to elders and probably people who are close to 80 years old," said Mazurik.

Unlikely ski stars

Volunteers run the club. That means members pitch in, too.

Peter Deegan immigrated to Canada from Ireland just as the cross-country ski club began to gain popularity.

He started to volunteer here and there, and fell in love with the sport and the vast trail system in the area.

"It would really just get you through the winter, to be able to get out in the fresh air and beautiful countryside," he said.

When Deegan's family was ready to join him in Buffalo Narrows, he urged his wife, Beauty, to buy the children some equipment so they could start skiing as soon as they arrived.

Beauty had never seen snow — she grew up in Africa — but she made sure her children had what they needed.

The family showed up at the chalet one day in 2014 decked out in downhill ski gear, complete with downhill skis, snowsuits and goggles.

Once they obtained the appropriate gear, the children took to the sport in a big way. Mazurik and Yelland acted as their personal coaches. The couple has since trained several competitive skiers.

By 2019, the Deegans had racked up medals from races across the province. Each of the three were runners-up for the provincial title in their age group this year.

"Matt and Rochelle really conditioned me and taught me how to ski properly," said 14-year-old Seán Deegan.

"When I first started doing it, I fell in love with it and I couldn't stop."

Dozens of children have learned to ski thanks to the club. Teachers and school staff regularly take their students skiing, too.

Mazurik and Yelland don't really need motivation to volunteer as coaches. They give the club so much of their time it's a wonder they're able to work.

But attitudes like the Deegans' help.

"They start out and they can only ski 20 metres and had to turn back because they'd fallen 100 times," said Mazurik of the club's beginners.

"They grow and learn and a lot of them come to love the sport and that's what makes it pretty valuable."

'You come back pretty iced up'

One of the biggest tasks at a cross-country ski club is maintaining the trails.

Mazurik does most of it. He sets the track that holds skis parallel as skiers glide — or shuffle — along.

Skate skiing, a more recent discipline where the skier's motion resembles skating on ice, requires a wide path to be cleared.

Trails have to be groomed after every snowfall and every drop or jump in temperature.

"Grooming the trails takes 10 to 15 hours a week," said Mazurik.

"There's some cold nights out there where you get off work, have supper, maybe get some exercise and start grooming."

He's on the trails from 7 p.m. to midnight some evenings, often in the notoriously frigid low temperatures of northern Saskatchewan.

"You come back pretty iced up but that's OK."

For Mazurik, the work is worth it because the people of Buffalo Narrows and beyond are enjoying the fruits of his efforts.