Kids - the next generation of racers - line up to race the 2026 North American Vasa!
RESULTS: Jorden Wakeley and Jordyn Ross win Larry Kanaby Memorial Classic
2/7/2023 - By Mike Muha
The fourth Michigan Cup race went off without a hitch! The Larry Kanaby Memorial Classic race at Forbush Corner took advantage of both man-made and natural snow. Seniors skied 12km, juniors went 8km.
Vasa shortens Saturday's races, cancels Sunday's races
2/6/2023 - By North American vasa
All Saturday February 11th races will run on a revised 6k loop: 6k, 12k, and 18k distances. Sunday's races are cancelled.
RESULTS: Arianne Olson and Sam Holmes win tough White Pine Stampede
2/4/2023 - By Mike Muha
The White Pine defied Mother Nature and successfully pulled off a 3rd race for the Michigan Cup Series. It was a challenging race that started at 7:00am under the lights of the Schuss Mountain downhills slopes.
North American Vasa UPDATE
2/3/2023 - By Janice Davidson and Gussie Peterson
With the North American Vasa race weekend only 8 days away we have a mixed bag of news for you...
Get Waxing! White Pine Stampede and the Forbush Classic
2/3/2023 - By Mike Muha
UPDATED: Wax recommendations for this weekend's races! The White Pine Stampede AND Forbush Classic recommendations are available.
How to be successful grip waxing with Toko
2/1/2023 - By Ian Harvey
Here are some general grip waxing principles and then some Toko-specific tips. How you wax your skis has a lot to do with not only the conditions but also your skis and how they are related to you.
How to race wax for cold conditions with best results
1/31/2023 - By Ian Harvey
I think the best way to look at cold snow from a practical or usable point of view is to break cold snow down into cold and slow, cold, and cold and fast. Each wax has its “sweet spot” and there is no one wax that performs best in each.
Registration open for the Black Mounain races
1/31/2023 - By John Gravlin
There is currently one foot of snow in the woods with more on the way. The entire system has survived the warm temperatures and rain and has been groomed since early January.
Goodbye Chris
1/30/2023 - By Don Kane
Chris Weingartz, my dear old friend and ski buddy passed away last Wednesday, the 25th of January. He was 67 years old. He had a fairly long bout with cancer, one that we thought he had largely won six months back, but that was not to be.
UPDATED: Wax recommendations for JNQ races and the Noquemanon Ski Marathon
1/26/2023 - By Mike Muha
Wax recommendations for the JNQ races in Brillion, Wisconson, and the Noquemanon Ski Marathon.
Vasa news!
1/26/2023 - By Gussie Peterson
What do snow, volunteers, snowshoers, and Oleson's Food Stores have to do with the 2023 North American Vasa?
Team NordicSkiRacer takes lead in Brumbaugh Cup
1/25/2023 - By Ernie Brumbaugh
Due to lack of snow and three race cancellations, the Frosty Festival of Races became the Michigan Cup Opener. Host club, Team Nordic Ski Racer took full advantage and opened a commanding lead in the Brumbaugh Cup standings.
UPCOMING
WED, FEB 25, 2026
CANCELLED: Detroit Public Schools kids learn to ski
Huron Meadows Metropark, 8765 Hammel Rd, Brighton, MI 48116
THU, FEB 26, 2026
CANCELLED: Detroit Public Schools kids learn to ski
Huron Meadows Metropark, 8765 Hammel Rd, Brighton, MI 48116
FRI, FEB 27, 2026
Michigan Middle School and High School Championships - Classic
Hickory Hills Ski Area, 2000 Randolph St, Traverse City, MI 49684
SAT, FEB 28, 2026
Michigan Middle School and High School Championships - Freestyle and Classic Pursuit
Hickory Hills Ski Area, 2000 Randolph St, Traverse City, MI 49684
Black Mountain 31K Classic
The Chateau at Black Mountain, 10621 Twin Lakes Road, Cheboygan, MI 49721
Free Beginner Ski Lesson
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N. Cut Rd., Roscommon, MI 48653 (800-832-2663)
SUN, MAR 1, 2026
Michigan Middle School and High School Championships - Mixed Relay
Hickory Hills Ski Area, 2000 Randolph St, Traverse City, MI 49684
Black Mountain 12km Freestyle
The Chateau at Black Mountain, 10621 Twin Lakes Road, Cheboygan, MI 49721
SAT, MAR 7, 2026
Nordic Ski Junior Racers training session (Team NordicSkiRacer)
Huron Meadows Metropark, 8765 Hammel Rd, Brighton, MI 48116
Free Beginner Ski Lesson
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N. Cut Rd., Roscommon, MI 48653 (800-832-2663)
Great Bear Chase
Calumet, MI 49913
SUN, MAR 8, 2026
DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
Spring forward!
Michigan Cup Relays at XC Ski HQ
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N. Cut Rd., Roscommon, MI 48653 (800-832-2663)
MON, MAR 9, 2026
2026 Cross Country Junior National Championships - 7.5/5K Freestyle Interval Start
American Birkebeiner Trailhead, Cable, WI
WED, MAR 11, 2026
2026 Cross Country Junior National Championships - Classic Sprint
American Birkebeiner Trailhead, Cable, WI
More events...
LATEST TRAIL CONDITIONS
TUE, FEB 24
Timber Ridge: After a little drizzle last weekend, I’ve gotten 5” of snow at home since with a frozen base. The Piston Bully groom today was deep, firm classic tracks, and perfect corduroy, esp on the 25k, so get out & enjoy while it lasts. Timber Ridge Season Passes expire 3/1, which will probably be the end of TART grooming at TR. Skiers will still be able to access the Vasa trail from the Bartlett trailhead, the Rock, and the Singletrack, when groomed, so check the Grooming Report before you head out since we may be lucky to enjoy more days to ski in March than other yrs in the past! Let it snow!
Towpath Trail: Center Road parking lot, Clinton
What a fine day skiing! The extra inch we got overnight was staying powdery. Easy skiing on this multi purpose trail. Went South to Lock 2 and back. North would probably be good too from there.
Get out! It's not going to last!
Hiawatha Highlands: Good Morning!! It's a chilly one this morning....temperature sitting at -19 C.
There was no grooming overnight/this morning -- we simply need some new snow (which is supposed to be coming today)!
Have a great day everyone :)
NOTE: Please be cautious in the parking lots as they are slippery. Also, due to the winds debris has settled on the trails, please be careful.
MON, FEB 23
Huron Meadows Metropark: Bucks Run in great shape, groomed Monday morning. Get here while you can! Very fortunate to have this great facility despite the recent melt.
Huron Meadows Metropark: Deep tracks,somewhat icy. Skin skis worked great. Skate lane looked fast and fine. There 's no trail to Bucks run. Suggest walking but be careful of the ice.
Forbush Corner: 16° and 20 mph wind, 1/2” dry powder. Fresh groom on East side trails where skate deck was flat, firm, crispy and fast. I used Rode super blue on classic skis, hitting Pines connector to Pines B as it was out of the wind. Medium speed due to fresh snow blown in the track, which were in great shape since yesterday‘s groom. Next, Badlands, which was clean and fast. Homerun Hill, 240 and Roller Coaster had very fast tracks, where previously skied, but occasional spots were crunchy with very shallow side walls. On a couple steep downhills, nervous about jumping the track, I did one leg snow plow on the very even deck and bled speed; I exceeded 20 mph on the steeps. Beautiful blue sky with white puffy clouds and occasional snow devils, as wind picked up. 9.8 miles/15.8 km
Forbush grooming has been consistently outstanding. This weekend had excellent conditions despite the major warm-up and heavy rain Thursday, plunging to 15° and 1° windchill Monday.
Cross Country Ski Headquarters: Hard to believe how nice it is after last week rain & melt. 20 degrees and sun. Solid base with a soft top. Swix blue Xtra worked great. Better than Sundays Olympics. That looked painful, especially the new wax stickies at the ski exchange.
Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail: 6" of fresh snow at the Rte. 271 trailhead area. Good skiing on the gated forest roads, but not enough snow to carve downhill turns--negotiate, but not carve. Remember, the huge snow-depth gauge on web cam at Rte. 653 generally reads low. How can that be you say? My theory is that something about the sheer size of the thing and/or proximity to the building affects the snow depth around it. As the snow gets higher and higher, the measurement bias seems to get worse and worse. At any rate, going off my experience reading that snow gauge, and the snow I skied on 40 miles north of there at Rte. 271...I think there is a little more snow in the southern highlands than the north.
Black Mountain: Black and Blue Day at Black Mountain. Groomers have been out rolling and widening the race course. With our recent major accumulation, and more on the way, We have adjusted the race courses a little more with all races now being held on the Presque Isle side of the system
Cross Country Ski Headquarters: The grooming team set fresh classic tracks yesterday, and snowcombed all the trails this morning. The fresh snow we've gotten in the last 48 hours - about 3 inches - has revitalized the snow surface into beautiful conditions. The demo center and the Stone Turtle Cafe are open all day today.
Yesterday was the 33rd Annual Junior Muffin Race! We had a ball watching skiers age 3 to 19 years old compete in varying divisions, including an exciting Team Sprint Relay for the teenage division. In keeping of Muffin Race tradition, prizes were awarded for best costume! Thanks to all who participated.
Michaywe: Rolled and combed maple ridge. Rolled, combed, and set track on herringbone, most of the lake loop, and the front 9 loop. Conditions have significantly firmed up since yesterday.
Hiawatha Highlands: Happy Monday Morning! It's a perfectly sunny morning up here....a little cooler than what we've been getting used to.....temp currently at -14 C.
The groomer is currently out on the trails -- The Pinder system and the 2k Lighted skate lanes have been Ginzu groomed, as well as the Crystal 5k. He is currently on the Red Pine.
We hope everybody has a terrific day.....get out and enjoy this beautiful sunshiny day :)
Hanson Hills: Fresh classic tracks were set yesterday on Yellow, Brown, Blue, M-93, and Easy Return.
Lodge and Trails Open 9am.
This morning Groomer Dan is out in the PB100 resetting track and laying fresh corduroy on Red and Jugivny.
Black Mountain: More than a foot of new snow last week and more on the way for Tuesday. Conditions should be excellent for Black Mountain Race Weekend. See you there
Forbush Corner: Open 9-5. Winter has returned. The surface has firmed up with the colder temps. Skiing should be pretty good, but do dress warmer than Saturday and Sunday. Everything was groomed yesterday, so the groomer will redo some of those trails today, the main loop for sure.
More trail reports...
