He’s a 78-year-old cross country skier who put in 1,350 km on the trails in Prince George this past season.
In his long history as a skier, Lauri Karjaluoto has competed in the global arena, as well as at the national and provincial levels.
After growing up in Finland where he would ski to school as a youngster, Karjaluoto moved to Canada in 1968. When he heard about the great cross-country ski club in Prince George, he moved from Vancouver in 1972 because it was the place to be.
“I only ski the local loppet now,” Karjaluoto said talking about what he does now, 50 years later.
He makes it sound like such an easy thing but it’s actually 15km and sometimes he does it more than once in a single day at Caledonia Nordic Ski Centre where he mostly skis these days.
“When I turned 70 until I was 75 I skied my age in kilometres for my birthday,” Karjaluoto said. “It really wasn’t that hard. Many of the local skiers would take turns skiing along with me. It was always lots of fun!”
Karjaluoto wants everyone to know that you’re never to old to start something new.
“It’s not like your technique is everything,” Karjaluoto explained. “You just come here and get your arms and legs moving and you find that all the people here at Otway are happy people.”
Some days Karjaluoto said he thinks he could’ve skied a lot farther but most days he has to stop to socialize along the trail and that’s a good thing.
“Just come out and ski,” Karjajuoto said.
To check out the Masters in Motion show to see Karjaluoto in action visit www.youtube.com/MastersinMotionKarjaluoto or check out the show on television on Shaw Spotlight.
