Former Michigan Cup racer and current member of the Bridger Ski Foundation Pro Team Reid Goble has had a great couple weeks. First, he won the Minneapolis SuperTour race. Then he won a gold medal serving as a guide in the Paralympics. Finally, he's been chosen to race in the Men's 10km interval start classic race (3/20) at the FIS World Cup Finals in Lake Placid NY. Way to go Reid!
Hanson Hills managed to put on a fun 6 hour relay Saturday, despite somewhat marginal snow in spots. Fortunately, the recent storm allowed the race to run, the first since the Nordic Fest sprint race on October 22, 2011.
Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) showed her continuing growth as a distance skier finishing 12th in the 10k classic in stage eight at the Tour de Ski.
Team CXC's Jessie Diggins continued her dominance at the U.S. Cross Country Championships winning the women's 20k classic mass start for her fourth career victory. Noah Hoffman had a breakthrough gold, taking the men's 30k by nearly a minute.
Team Birkie Elite Skier and Olympic Hopeful Matthew Edward Liebsch of Orono, Minnesota, placed second at the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships in Rumford, Maine, today, January 5, 2012
Jessie Diggins (Afton, MN) of Team CXC picked up her second title of the week while Ski and Snowboard Club Vail's Tad Elliott (Durango, CO) took a third career U.S. gold in day two of the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships.
Response was overwhelming for our first time effort - 45 kids signed up! We had to really scramble to get enough instructors to make sure the kids had fun and learned.
American Kikkan Randall turned in another strong performance finishing fifth in the women's 15k pursuit in stage seven of the Tour de Ski.
For topcoats, we tested many varieties including something less traditional. The less traditional won - our winner was a mix of JetStream Blue and XCold powder (for the topcoat!).
After two days of racing in Rumford for the 2012 U.S. Championships, overall results are as follows...
UPDATED Wax recommendations from the major wax companies (Swix, Toko, Fast Wax, Solda) for the weekend cross country ski races.
A day after dropping to seventh in the Tour de Ski, Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) came roaring back with a hard fought second in the stage six freestyle sprint at the Tour de Ski in the northern Italy village of Toblach.
Vasa Ski Club Sprints, 3-Jan-12, Vasa Ski Club Sprints, 3-Jan-12 Freestyle at Timber Ridge, Traverse City
2026 US Ski & Snowboard SuperTour Finals - 1.5km classic sprint
Craftsbury Outdoor Center, 535 Lost Nation Road, Craftsbury Common, VT
2026 US Ski & Snowboard SuperTour Finals - 4 x 5km mixed gender club relay
Craftsbury Outdoor Center, 535 Lost Nation Road, Craftsbury Common, VT
Team NSR End-of-Season and Groomer Appreciation Party!
Huron Meadows Metropark Ski Center, 8765 Hammel Rd, Brighton, MI 48116
2026 US Ski & Snowboard SuperTour Finals - 40km freestyle mass start
Craftsbury Outdoor Center, 535 Lost Nation Road, Craftsbury Common, VT
Citizen’s Night Ski Race Series
Main MTU Trailhead, Michigan Tech Trails, Houghton, Michigan
Forbush Corner: We did a full system groom for skate and classic today. Temperatures never did go very much below freezing overnight, and as temperatures and skier traffic rose through the day the wet corn snow on the skate deck was churned into mush, and skiers were getting a workout and leaving ruts that will take some deeper tilling to remove. The classic tracks were the best. Skins and zeros were hooking up and glide was pretty decent. Temperatures are not going below freezing until Monday, so no grooming tomorrow. If you come out bring your classic skis. We have set tracks on the whole system. Skating will not be ideal and we need to limit the ruts. If you have to skate, we ask that you stay on the man-made snow loop. We can till deeper there to remove them than the other trails. But we are still shortening the life of those trails.
Stokely Creek: Yesterday's groom was about the same today. Never warmed enough yesterday to transform the surface, plus a half cm of fresh snow overnight. A bit soft and slow for my liking to be honest. Inside scoop: the Bombardier will groom todays new snow on the inner core trails tomorrow morning. Only a partial system, but it should be ultra primo!! Go around twice.
Stokely Creek: Pretty close to perfect tracks, but skate lane was a bit soft in spots since so much fresh snow. Saw a Long Tailed Weasel on Sayer Creek, in the track! He couldn't resist the perfect grooming.
Cross Country Ski Headquarters: We attempted to clear the Rolling Hills trail yesterday, but the falling ice from the trees made it too precarious. We will not be grooming the practice field today or tomorrow due to warmth, but we will try to groom it Sunday morning. Trappers Cabin and Blizzard are still covered in sticks and pine needles, but 'skiable'. Everything else is closed. This will be the case for Saturday as well, and we will reassess Sunday morning.
Forbush Corner: We plan on being open today but the overnight rain and temps above freezing do not bode well for any new grooming. Temperatures go below freezing tonight so we plan on a full system groom for Saturday.
Sleeping Bear Dunes: ***Grooming Update!***
Our amazing Trail Groomer Milan, was out on the Norther Section of the trail this Tuesday, grooming the amazing 3 to 4 feet of powder we received with the recent blizzard. Today's warmer temps are going to make the snow a little slushier.
From Crystal River Trail head to Lawr Farm have been groomed.
Stokely Creek: Wow, one of the best tracks of the season! The last week has stacked a whole second base worth of snow on top of the already above average base.
Hickory Hills: This might be my last ski of the season so I wanted to thank the people at Hickory Hills for the fantastic grooming they have been doing all winter. For a family downhill ski venue, Hickory Hills has done so much for the Nordic skiers that it seems it is more of a Nordic center now than a downhill ski area. The downhill looks like they are closed for the season yet they are grooming with the piston bully on the Nordic trails. Special thanks to coach K who works numerous hours using the sleds to groom the trails. The last couple of days when no one was grooming, John had to spend 6 hrs a day laying a skating lane and setting a track. Saw lots of skiers still taking advantage of the great snow. Gave some instructions to a lovely lady named Margaret who I found out was a professional marathon runner in her youth and competed in the 1988 summer Olympics in South Korea. Amazing the people you meet on the trail.