There is a rich history of nordic skiing clubs on Vancouver Island that predate and then correspond with the development of nordic facilities on the Island. Cross Country Skiers have been taking to the Vancouver Island Backcountry for years and there are photos of skiers on Mt Becher in the 1920’s. Many of the original Nordic Skiing Clubs were formed and based their activities on backcountry trips – these included the Nanaimo Nordics, and the Discovery Nordics as well as several outdoor and mountaineering clubs such as the Alberni Valley Outdoor Club who hiked in the summer and skied in the winter. During the 1960’s and 70’s the development of downhill facilities at Green Mountain, Mt Arrowsmith, Forbidden Plateau, Mt Washington, and Mt Cain provided access and a basis for the development of track skiing facilities and new clubs emerged such as the Vancouver Island Nordics.
 
Track skiing at Mt Washington began with the Paradise Meadows loop and the Lake Trail and was initiated through the efforts of local ski clubs in cooperation with BC Parks. Early Loppets consisted of multiple loops of the Paradise Meadows and one year even circumnavigated Mt Washington itself. Mt Washington Resort became involved in Nordic skiing in the 1980’s, taking over the Park Use Permit and maintaining trails out Jutland and through the west meadows.
 
The Strathcona Nordics Ski Club was formed in 1999 through an amalgamation of predecessor Vancouver Island ski clubs namely: the Vancouver Island Rabbits, the Courtenay Biathlon Association, the ICCS Racing Team, the Campbell River Discovery Nordics, and members of the former Nanaimo Nordics and Vancouver Island Nordics. We were incorporated as a non-profit society under the BC Society Act in October 1999.