No surprise here: You get the members of the team out to race, you have some good results, and you win the overall Michigan Cup...again! Congratulations to the Cross Country Ski Headquarters!
The HHCCSS team wasted no time getting down to business at the Cote Dame Marie, finishing first in both the men's and women's division in the Brumbaugh Cup.
UPDATED! ADDED LINK TO RESULTS! It was pure pleasure to be racing the Cote Dame Marie on a course with nice snow and grooming!
The snow we received has unfortunately left us without confidence in our ability to run even a modified distance course safely this year
The red trail base is improving, but as much as I want to include this section, it currently has a marginal and bumpy base that I fear would not positively showcase our trail system or our grooming efforts. We may shorten the race.
When the smoke cleared. Team NSR had won the day with 36 points, ending in third place with 308 points in overall Brumbaugh Cup. HHCCSS and GRNST weathered the storm, remaining in first and second place.
The Michigan Cup moved South for a weekend of races at Huron Meadows Metropark near Brighton. This is Team NordicSkiRacer’s home course and the defending Brumbaugh Cup champions began their defense. It was a defense of no small proportions.
The 10k race will be slightly longer at just over 11k, the 20k course should be just over 21k, and our long course will be around 42 km.
We’re kicking off our Tuesday Night Race Series again at Hickory Hills this week! It’s a 5-race series featuring various race formats and styles. These are free, community-based events open to everyone and are a lot of fun.
The Vasa Raptor Rush Nordic Ski Race Fundraiser ran on the a world-class FIS-homologated cross country ski course at Hickory Hills in Traverse City, MI. Races were held for middle school skiers, juniors, and adults and ranged from 2.5km to 10km.
Chris Lamer and Rachel Rosenbaum took great photos of the Frosty Freestyle and Krazy Klassic races (respectively) - hundreds of photos! These are all available for download for free.
It was a paddler's fest as both Yvon Dufour and Rebecca Davis completely doublepoled the course.
Goodman and Rand skied away from the pack on a beautifully groomed trail and in great weather.
2026 Cross Country Junior National Championships - 14.6/11.3/8K Classic Mass Start
American Birkebeiner Trailhead, Cable, WI
2026 Cross Country Junior National Championships - 4-Person Mixed Gender Freestyle Relay
American Birkebeiner Trailhead, Cable, WI
2026 US Ski & Snowboard SuperTour Finals - 1.5km classic sprint
Craftsbury Outdoor Center, 535 Lost Nation Road, Craftsbury Common, VT
Nubs Nob: No bare spots anywhere- skied the red loop - a hard pack very well groomed base with an inch of fresh on top. . Snow was granular , high moisture and a bit sticky for my wax , HF7 : but I bet others got it right . Bluebird day on a great trail !
Dunes Golf Club: Looks like Dawson tracks all over the place...
As always best snow with a base is all the way in the back (south) on the east west fairway which is last to go in the spring. Some actually will walk for their last runs. See what we get in the next snow event.
"It's the hard core skiers who last out the season."
Ernie Brumbaugh
Stokely Creek: Full trail system groom with snow and perfect temps in the forecast. Peak ski season continues just quick border crossing away. One plus side to USA being rogue is no wait at customs!
Hiawatha Highlands: We are so excited!!! It's a beautiful sunny morning up here, we got some more snow overnight and the temps cooled down....currently at -9 C.
The groomer was out this morning -- all systems were groomed with the Piston Bully for both classic and skate.
It's a perfect day to grab your gear and head on up for a ski.....the trails are dialed in and looking splendid!
Forbush Corner: Opening back up today now that cooler temperatures have returned. Icing has also returned. Fresh groom on the man-made snow loops only. Snow is in the forecast, so we should be able to get some additional trails open over the weekend. Open 9 to 5. Spring trail fee $10.
Stokely Creek: Surprisingly skiable despite no groom today. There's a half inch of slow snow in the tracks, so if you stayed in the tracks it was fine. Out of the track was a rutted frozen slush ridge clustermunch. Stay in the track.
Base is THICK so this weekend coming up looks like excellent skiing!
Forbush Corner: Looks like the warmer weather is going to retreat to wherever it came from and let colder weather and a good chance of measurable snow return. We are watching the weather forecasts just like you. A recon of the east, west and south trails today looks promising for really good skiing if we get the snow predicted this Friday and Sunday. There is adequate base, but there are a few places where dirt is showing, some icy spots and debris from the wind storms this winter is mixed in. So here is what we are planning:
Thursday and Friday: Man-made snow loops groomed for skate and setting fresh classic tracks. Total of 3.3k.
Saturday: We are hopeful that the predicted winter storm will drop enough snow to groom more trails in addition to the man-made loops. We will also be celebrating Founders Day (Dave Forbush’s birthday). We will have hot dogs, chips, cookies, baked beans, bean burgers, beverages, etc. If you want, bring a dish to pass.
Sunday: We could be skiing in a winter storm.
Monday: Should be winter like. Maybe a full system groom?
We will make a call on Monday about being open for the rest of the week.