King Trapper Events

2008 King Trapper-Durwin McKenzie

Director Allan Fredrickson --Runner Up-Gerald McKenzie--Director Wilf Lamontagne

2008 King Trappers' Competition

 

Hello! Welcome to the 61^st annual Trappers’ Festival!  Once again we will compete for the prestigious King Trapper title, and as defending champion, I welcome all challengers whether they are young or old.  I’ll be back… faster, stronger and more strategic. As all competitors know, to be good at this sport, you have to be  good at a few things, like trapping and hunting, be in great shape, and buy the best equipment.   Most of all, train hard, eat good, and refrain from getting injured. I started competing at a very young age when trapping was still the main source of sustenance for our family.   This year will make 25 years of competition for me.  On this road of many tales, I’ve met many different kinds of people, all who’ve accepted us into their communities.  Without their support and kindness, I couldn’t have been as successful as I’ve been; thanks everyone.  Trappers’ Festival is very unique and an experience you’ll never forget… you’ll either have the best time of your life or freeze your butt off, in both cases it’s a lot of fun, so come out and learn the ways of the trapper.  You’ll also pick up plenty of ways to survive in the wild.  I would like to thank all who’ve made this festival a success each and every year.  The volunteers like Wilf and his assistants; without you this festival wouldn’t be as well organized as it is.
 

Regards

Gerald McKenzie   

 

Click here to Follow the Trappers' Circuit

   

Competitor/Bib #	Thursday 9:00 Start									Friday								Saturday 3:00 Flour Packing
	Ice Hole Chop	Ice Fishing	Canoe Packing	Portage Race	Pack Race	Sled Pull	Moose Calling	Goose Calling		Axe Throwing	Log Throw	Pulp Cutting	Wood Sawing	Pole Climbing	Snowshoe Race	Raw Fur		Tea Boiling	Fried Bannock	Rat Skinning	Trap Setting	Flour Packing	Buckskin Parade	Leg Wrestling	Total
Durwin McKenzie	4	5	5	1	5	4	5	3		5	3	2		3	7			2		5	4		1	6	70
Gerald McKenzie	3		2	4	4		1	1		3	4	5	5			5		4	4	1	5	6	1	4	62
Norman McKenzie	5	4	1	5	2	5				4	2	3	3	4	5				2		1		1	5	52
John Hendrikson			4	3	3	1					5		2	5	6	4			1		3	7	1	7	52
Kirby Sinclair		2	3	2	1	2	4	5		2		4	4			3		5	3	2			1		43
Abel Crane	1					3	2	4		1		1	1		4			3		4		5	1		30
James Buck	2	3					3	2										1	5	3	2		1	3	25

 

R=Rookie (No rookies in 2008)

We have the King Trappers from 2002-2007 competing against each other.  It is the battle of King against King, and there are some very spry younger competitors. 

 

Trappers' Festival 2006----34 °F / -36 °C (2006)  February 16 an all time record was set.  Dog races were postponed from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. to get the windchill factor down a bit.  In the meantime, the King Trappers' were out on the ice, doing their icehole chop at 9 a.m. on the wide open Saskatchewan River!  Trappers events continued without delay.  Now that's Northern toughness!  Looks like 2008 will be a repeat.  Or worse, break the record!

 2007 Final Results

Check out 2007 Competitors and 2007 Events

Flour Packing Video

Prizes

King Trapper

Trophy, $1000 prize money Sponsored by Aseneskak Casino

2 Round trip ticket to Winnipeg, sponsored by Calm Air

Runner Up 

Plaque, $500 prize money sponsored by Aseneskak Casino

Rookie

Trophy, $100 prize money sponsored by Wilf's Hauling

History of King Trapper

The King Trapper contest was inaugurated in 1955. Up to that time there had always been a Queen of the Festival so why not a King? King Trapper means competition, skill and endurance and the title is awarded to the fellow securing the most total points in all of the various contests and sporting events.  There also is a Junior King Trapper event for the "trapper in training".

These events have hardy northerners competing one against the other in contests which are indicative of the art and skill required by the early inhabitants to gain their livelihood and, in some cases, their very survival. The 22 events are: Pole Climbing, Pulp Cutting, Wood Sawing and Splitting, Log Throwing, Canoe Packing, Rat Skinning, Trap Setting, Pack Race, Tea Boiling, Bannock Baking, Ice Hole Chop, Ice Fishing, Moose Calling, Goose Calling, Leg Wrestling, Marathon Snowshoe Race, Flour Packing, Wild Fur Competition, Fish Filleting, Axe Throwing, Buckskin Parade and Portage.

The flour packing contest has its roots in the early days when supplies were brought in birch bark canoes and packed over numerous portages. The contestant carries anywhere from 700 to 1000 pounds, on their back for 20 ft.  The record for flour packing is still held by Henry Sayese. In the 1920's he packed 1200 pounds!!  The winner used to get to keep the flour and also received a cash prize.  Today the prize money has increased.

The ice hole chop is done in all types of weather from -15 to -40 ^oC to open the lake or river for water and ice fishing to catch their meals.

Pole climbing is a test of speed based on the practice of shimmying up a tree to survey the land or escape animals.

The contestant's culinary skills are also tested with  bannock baking, and some years, fish frying. The food is produced over an open fire and judged by an appreciative audience.

In the tea boiling, the contestants line up, race to their individual piles of wood, split kindling, start their fire, melt snow in their tea pail to make it about half full of water and when it comes to a boil, put in the tea. Speed is the main requisite of this contest.  The record for tea boiling is just over four minutes from start to finish. The bannock baking takes a little longer, (between 30 to 45 minutes) using the same fire, as the coals are already available. Each contestant is given a supply of flour, baking powder, lard and salt. These contests take place out of doors often in 20 to 30 degrees below weather.

Muskrat skinning is another interesting event. The contestants are judged on the quality of their workmanship, the condition of the pelt and the time.

The remainder of the King Trapper events are judged on time and skill of the competitors vying for bragging rights.

Many events are set up for the fastest time and each competitor must enter at least 21 out of 22 events. The contest is based on a point system and the contestant who gains the most points bears the title "King Trapper", receives the trophy and a cash prize. The winner of each category secures a cash prize also. In the later years, the King Trappers was changed to World Champion King Trapper events as it brought competitors from the North, South, East, and West competing for the honors.

An addition a few years back, has been the “Rookie” category.  This is to encourage first time competitors to enter into the World Champion King Trapper event.  They compete for a separate trophy and prize money, as well as any money they may have earned during the competition.

The competitors all work and encourage each other on as if they were one family, even though they are competing against each other for the most points and the title. The King Trapper proves to be a special breed of man - a man adapt at handling the rigorous life of a northern outdoorsman!

Hope to see one and all in mid-February for the Festival.

Wilf Lamontagne

Director, King Trapper Events

Thursday morning is a complementary invitational King Trapper Breakfast at the Wescana.

King Trapper Rules and Event Sponsors

Click here for more 2006 pics

January 14, 2008----Richard Danielson in the news

Past King Trappers

2003 Chicago Tribune Article>>>>

I found this interesting.  Mr. Hendrickson hadn't even won the Jr. King Trapper event yet, but was in training already!  He currently is the 2007 Flour Packing champ.

Flour Packing submitted by John Hendrickson 1993 booklet

To this day I can remember the first time I ever watched the flour packing competition during Trappers’ Festival.  It was 1986 and I was just a little guy still.  I didn’t even weigh as much as one of those huge sacks of flour.  Gene Lamb was running the event and was busy announcing who would be carrying next and how many pounds of flour they would be attempting to lift.  The crowd seemed to share the stress… a man, underneath a pile of flour struggling to keep from slamming to the felt.

 What makes people get so involved while watching this event?  There is definitely the element of danger.  I mean…who could even try to argue this is a safe event?  A thousand pounds on a man’s back with nothing stopping him from being crushed to the ground but his own strength, skill and stamina.  Then if this is true, why don’t we hear of men being crippled or killed from this event.  The only answer I can give is that flour packers are a special breed in their own.  No other sport in the whole world (powerlifting, Olympic lifting, even the World’s Strongest Man competition) has put any more weight on a man’s body than flour packing.

A former King Trapper, Franklin Carriere once carried 1200 pounds in his peak physical form.  That’s equivalent to the weight of about 7 adult males.  Flour packers have exceptionally strong backs, legs, and all the joints and bones in between.  Flour packers also must have confidence in their own body’s ability to hold up and perform for them under extreme levels of pressure.  Discipline, similar to that of a distance runner who has “hit the wall.”  Before a lift, men are eager and raring to go, but once the weight is on them they are immediately humbled and must concentrate on every movement.  The tremendous weight puts a constant strain on absolutely every muscle in the body, this makes the carrier feel “winded” or out of breath very fast, thus proper breathing is necessary but is easier said than done.

 Technique-To carry the maximum amount of flour a man’s body will allow, take proper technique.  Common rookie mistakes are to walk hunched over too much, to walk too fast and to take too big steps.  The best flour packers carry with an upright as possible stature.  If you see a man taking steps bigger than about 8 inches, then he probably isn’t having a very tough time and can probably carry another 100 pounds or more.  There are other tricks that are necessary to winning at flour packing, but you’ll have to pay your dues competing and training to learn them.

Just as intense and interesting to watch is the loading of the flour onto the carrier.  A heavy duty 3 inch wide strap is the base of the pack.  The strap is harnessed around 3 or 4 (depending on the participant’s height and preference) sacks, then one sack is rested on the edge of the top sack and the back of the carrier’s head.  Then, two bags are rested side by side on top of all other sacks.  Then, two bags tied together with about 4 feet of strap (called saddlebags) are draped over those two sacks.  All additional flour is either added ahead of time in the saddlebag fashion and/or pile on top of those last two sacks.  This all must be done within about 10-15 seconds as just standing with that weight is a challenge and the carrier will tire quickly.  A well balance and quick load up is required for a successful carry.

 I challenge any men who think they are strong to sign up for King Trapper and come flour pack.  How much you can bench press, squat or deadlift means little in this event a flour packing measures your whole body’s toughness—or ability to handle pain and concentrate at the same time.  To me, the most entertaining carry is one in which the carrier is pushing his body to new level and poundage.  The harder the time it appears the carrier is having, the more the crowd “gets into” the event.

 I guarantee this year’s King Trapper flour packing competition will be one of the best ones ever!!  There will be veteran and rookie flour packers, but they are all out to give 100 % effort to win!

Coming Soon!

Website by Gerald McKenzie and Franklin Carriere

Trappers' Demonstrations and Culture Events

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