Whistler will be represented at Canada’s largest outdoor winter event for the first time.
A team of six local kids in Grade 7 are set to participate in the Pentathlon des Neiges from Feb. 18 to 26 in the heart of Quebec City, Que. Ella Winter, Oscar Lennox-King, Bill Deeks, Remie Craythorne, Jeremy Smerychynski and Colin Shaw will be trying their hand at five different sports set to one continuous clock: cycling, snowshoeing, skating, cross-country skiing and running.
Located on the historic Plains of Abraham, the Pentathlon des Neiges is advertised as a welcoming competition open to all ages and skill levels. Individuals and groups can choose to do all five sports, or simply two or three. According to founder Jean-Charles Ouellet, more than 6,200 people took part in the 2020 edition of the Pentathlon des Neiges.
The Francophone connection
Ella’s father, Chris Winter, played a chief role in organizing the trip. For him, it represents both a fun and memorable experience and a rare opportunity for his daughter to reconnect with their family’s heritage.
Chris identifies as a Franco-Ontarian who grew up just outside of Ottawa. His English-speaking parents sent him to a French school, and though he’s lived in Whistler for 30 years, his roots remain important to him. Ella and the others going to Quebec City attend École La Passerelle, the local Francophone school, and Chris thinks that their visit to the Plains of Abraham will complement the youngsters’ education nicely.
“We’re so far from Quebec that it just seemed like a really cool idea to … take the kids who have learned French here in Whistler and broaden their perspectives on French-speaking culture and the unique culture of Quebec, too,” he said.
Chris first thought about taking his daughter to the Pentathlon des Neiges during a 2021 vacation to Quebec City with his wife. After they returned, he decided to pitch the idea of a Quebec trip to the school, which had sent its 2019 graduating class to France. Chris hoped that Ella would be able to have a similar experience to wrap up her time at École La Passerelle.
Ella didn’t need much convincing. Like many other 12-year-old Whistlerites, she is an active girl who regularly breaks out her skis in both a downhill and a cross-country context. Moreover, she is part of the Whistler Sea Wolves Swim Club, and is no stranger to travel, having been as far away from home as Indonesia with her family.
“I thought [doing the Pentathlon des Neiges] would be really cool,” Ella said, adding that she’s never been to Quebec before and is excited to be on a team with three of her close friends: Lennox-King, Craythorne and Shaw.
‘Trip of a lifetime’
The Pentathlon des Neiges is not to be confused with the modern Olympic pentathlon, which is a summer discipline comprising fencing, swimming, riding, shooting and running. Modern pentathlon made its debut at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden, and its component sports are meant to reflect skills that 19th-century cavalry soldiers would have needed to master.
Modern pentathlon is itself descended from an Ancient Greek version of the event, which was also introduced to refine military skills in its contenders. The original pentathlon involved javelin throwing, long jumping, wrestling, discus throwing, and a short foot race called a stadion.
Also unlike its Greek and modern counterparts, the Pentathlon des Neiges is a relay race. Each of the kids will get to perform a different sport, rather than being obliged to do everything themselves.
The group leaves for Quebec City on Feb. 19, with Chris chaperoning the students over the course of their five-night stay. In addition to the pentathlon, the Whistlerites plan to ride a dog sled, sample local culinary delights like poutine and maple syrup, and tour the Plains of Abraham: where British forces effectively conquered Quebec from the French on Sept. 13, 1759.
Three years after COVID-19 put all kinds of school excursions on ice, Chris is beyond grateful that his daughter and her classmates will be able to graduate from École La Passerelle with such a unique experience under their belt.
“Trips like this, they need to be cherished,” he said. “We need to be more grateful than ever before, to be able to do these things. I very much see that this trip is going to be a trip of a lifetime.”
“[Ella] has been in the same class with the same kids since kindergarten,” Chris added. “It’s a class of six people, and it’s really intimate. Now, they’re off to high school, so the [Quebec City trip] will be a beautiful finish to a chapter in their lives.”
