Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

Come sideways rain or dumping snow, this year’s Winterfest is expected to attract fierce competitors from all over the Chilkat Valley. The annual snowshoe race, glow-in-the-dark disc golf tournament, and Winter Games will take place at the fairgrounds Saturday, Feb. 25 at 11 a.m.

The Miles Klehini Classic cross-country ski tour will be held Sunday, Feb. 26 at noon. Skiers will traverse a five to 10 kilometer course. Burgers and hotdogs will be served. Admission is free with the option to donate.

The Kat to Koot backcountry race will not be held until next year, as organizers have announced the event will shift to a biennial schedule.

The Winter Games are a “silly take on the Olympics,” Southeast Alaska State Fair entertainment coordinator Amanda Randles said. “We will have an opening ceremony with a torch and flags and whichever kids are here will march while Tom (Morphet) plays the trumpet. It's goofy.”

Frozen-bird curling, water hauling, a bb-gun biathlon, and a tea-making race are just some of the events planned for Saturday. A chocolate chip cookie wrapped in tin foil will hang from each winner’s neck, the Haines interpretation of the Olympic medal. Last year, the Mayor was dressed as a Greek god, Randles said.

While the games are “silly,” competition can get intense. One year, the tea-making race got “very competitive and heated,” Randles said. Contestants must make a cup of tea using only a pile of wood, coffee can, bag of tea, lighter and melted snow.

“One person was going over and kicking snow onto other people's fires,” Randles said.

When weather “goes sideways” the winter games have been known to improvise. One year, contestants competed by walking barefoot across a patch of gravel. Another year, there was a frying pan toss. Randles said that attendance is usually influenced by weather conditions.

“In years where we had dirt and sideways driving rain, we can have 10 people,” she said. “Years where it's a beautiful, glorious sunny day and fluffy snow we can have 50. It really depends.”

Hot beverages will be served alongside submissions from the chili competition. Admission is free.