Late January in the Flathead means its skijoring time in Whitefish.
The 16th annual Whitefish Winter Carnival World Invitational Skijoring races up the ante this year with teams traveling from all over the West to compete for more than $20,000 in cash and prizes.
The skijoring event will be held this weekend at Big Mountain Ranch, located on the historic Voerman homestead just east of Whitefish.
While a lack of snow in the valley postponed the skijoring event in late December at Rebecca Farms to early March, nearly a foot fell in the Whitefish area late Tuesday into Wednesday.
Committee member Mike Righetti said there’d be no cancellations.
“It’s never been cancelled and we have great snow,” Righetti said.
Skijoring is a traditional Winter Carnival event that pairs a horse and rider with a skier being pulled through a course that includes gates, hitting jumps and grabbing rings. The duo with the fastest time wins.