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!
U.S. skier Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, VT) led the American squad taking a strong fifth in the final World Cup sprint of the season Wednesday in Stockholm. Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) finished third in the World Cup sprint standings.
The extra speed provided by ski wax comes at a cost - perfluorochemicals., , , , , ,
I thought I would share a photo of a few Michigan Cup skiers that showed up and did well at the Great Bear Chase.
The three big factors are ski selection, structure, and wax. Sometimes one of these factors plays a more influential role than the others, but in general, in order to have decent skis, you can't miss on any of the three.
In cross country ski racing, you can be the most fit, have the most savy, eat the best foods, use the best wax, have all the best equipment and get your butt kicked if you choose the wrong skis.
Kikkan Randall drops from first to third overall in the Sprint World Cup with one race to go.
Fresh snow and temperatures between 28 and 32F made for some fine skating at Hanson Hills Recreation Area in Grayling, MI for Glenn Goodman, Jamie Green, and Bill Kaltz.
Cross country endurance's elite will be heading to Sun Valley, ID for the final two distance races of the U.S. Cross Country Championships Mar. 26-27. The two long distance events of 50k for the men and 30k for women will kick off the USSA SuperTour Final
There is something for everyone at the World Masters but the one common-thread is the friendly atmosphere of all the competitors and spectators who take part in this special event. It is like our Michigan Cup family on steroids.
World Cup sprint leader Kikkan Randall earned a career best finish in a non-sprint event Saturday, placing 11th in a women's 10k mixed pursuit World Cup in Lahti, Finland. Norway's Therese Johaug topped the women's field.
Classic cross country skiing at Pigeon Creek Park, Ottawa County, Michigan.
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
Nubs Nob: Top 2-3 skate of the season this AM at Nubs. Firm and fast powertilled cord on all the loops with a deep track set. After 3+ feet of snow last weekend conditions have been world class since Tuesday. Forecast looks great for this upcoming week and World Cup level grooming will continue until they close in two weeks. Hard to imagine better conditions anywhere in North America currently. Thank you to the crew at Nubs for their commitment to Nordic skiing. Thanks to their efforts we have had an amazing uninterrupted season out there since December 1.
Forbush Corner: The weird concrete snow that we received from the last storm turned into sugar mush yesterday once it was groomed. It rained this morning and is close to freezing. It's to warm to groom with the Pisten Bully at this time. We are going to try to use the Tiddtech to smooth out the skate lanes on the loop. If the base is too soft for the snowmobile we will not continue grooming. Classic tracks are icy at this. Colder temps tonight will allow us to groom on Monday. Base is in great shape with 100% coverage.
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.