Barry Nontell’s most memorable day on a sled is also a day of bringing hope and riding for someone you love—it was a snowmobile ride for breast cancer. The Prairie Women on Snowmobiles (PWOS) make an annual trek across Saskatchewan, touching the lives of people in many communities in the province.
Nontell has had a couple of opportunities to help out with the PWOS missions, and each time he has come away with positive and powerful memories.
During the PWOS 2011 mission, Nontell did not ride with the ladies of the mission until the last leg—a stretch from the Timberlost shelter to Big River, where the mission would end. He recalled it was very emotional.
“There were tears of joy, sadness, many hugs and well wishes,” Nontell said. “Some may never see one another again, although, thanks to the Internet, they all seem to keep close contact.”
The women who participate in the mission have usually never met each other, but Nontell said they bonded together quickly with all of them riding for a common goal.
Bringing meaning to the mission
Nontell said that in each community they stopped in, they would be greeted by breast cancer survivors and many of the locals. Stories were shared and food was provided; Nontell said it was “some of the finest home cooking we had ever seen.”
It wasn’t always easy to get up and going again, Nontell said.
“Sometimes it was hard not to stay longer,” he said, “but the mission had to move on to the next community.”
It was an emotional ride for the ladies of the mission; they would often have to stop unexpectedly, tears streaming down their faces as they thought of their friend or loved one they were riding for.
On that last leg of the mission, when the team reached Cowan Lake at Big River, pink ribbons had been placed as trail markers across the lake to the townsite.
“The ride stopped for a few minutes to savour the sight,” Nontell said. “But soon we continued on to the edge of town, where the final goal of 2011 was reached.”
With great effort and no regret
Every year the PWOS riders snowmobile for a total of eight days and travel almost 1,800 kilometres.
Nontell's first chance to help out PWOS was when his wife was chosen as a core rider in 2009 and he was asked to be member of the pit crew. Nontell enjoyed that experience, but he said it was nothing like riding with the ladies as he did in 2011.
PWOS was formed when a breast cancer survivor asked her friend to snowmobile across the province to raise money for breast cancer research. Since then, PWOS has raised more than $1.6 million. If you are interested in joining or supporting PWOS (you don’t have to have a snowmobile to help out) call 1-306-338-2860 or 1-306-338-7958.
