UPCOMING

SUN, JAN 5, 2025

U.S. National Championships at Kincaid Park - Classic Mass Start 20km (10k for Juniors)
Kincaid Park, Anchorage, AK

PSIA XC Level 1 & 2 exam (On-snow portion of Hybrid PSIA Clinic)
Forbush Corner, 4971 W Co Rd 612, Frederic, MI 49733

MON, JAN 6, 2025

XC Ski HQ: Discover Michigan Cross Country Skiing Program (Jan 6-31)
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N Cut Rd, Roscommon, MI 48653. 800-832-2663, [email protected], CrossCountrySki.com

TUE, JAN 7, 2025

U.S. National Championships at Kincaid Park - Freestyle Sprint
Kincaid Park, Anchorage, AK

WED, JAN 8, 2025

PSIA XC Level 1 & 2 exam (Virtual portion of Hybrid PSIA Clinic)
Forbush Corner, 4971 W Co Rd 612, Frederic, MI 49733

SAT, JAN 11, 2025

Vasa Raptor Rush Nordic Ski Race Fundraiser
Hickory Hills Ski Area, Traverse City, MI

XC Ski HQ: Bob’s Bean Bomb at the Stone Turtle Cafe
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N Cut Rd, Roscommon, MI 48653. 800-832-2663, [email protected], CrossCountrySki.com

SISU Ski Fest
ABR Trails, E5299 West Pioneer Road, Ironwood, Michigan 49938

Frosty Fest! Frosty Freestyle 5/15K
Huron Meadows Metropark, Brighton, MI

XC Ski HQ: "Pure Michigan” Winter Trails Day with the Great Lakes Winter Trails Council
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N Cut Rd, Roscommon, MI 48653. 800-832-2663, [email protected], CrossCountrySki.com

XC Ski HQ: Free Beginner Ski Lesson
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N Cut Rd, Roscommon, MI 48653. 800-832-2663, [email protected], CrossCountrySki.com

SUN, JAN 12, 2025

XC Ski HQ: Bob’s Bean Bomb at the Stone Turtle Cafe
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N Cut Rd, Roscommon, MI 48653. 800-832-2663, [email protected], CrossCountrySki.com

Frosty Fest! Krazy Klassic 7K/10K
Huron Meadows Metropark, Brighton, MI

XC Ski HQ: Golden Years Ski School!
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N Cut Rd, Roscommon, MI 48653. 800-832-2663, [email protected], CrossCountrySki.com

MON, JAN 13, 2025

XC Ski HQ: Silver Streak Week - Seniors ski free!
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N Cut Rd, Roscommon, MI 48653. 800-832-2663, [email protected], CrossCountrySki.com

XC Ski HQ: Free Beginner Ski Lesson
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N Cut Rd, Roscommon, MI 48653. 800-832-2663, [email protected], CrossCountrySki.com

TUE, JAN 14, 2025

XC Ski HQ: Silver Streak Week - Seniors ski free!
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N Cut Rd, Roscommon, MI 48653. 800-832-2663, [email protected], CrossCountrySki.com

WED, JAN 15, 2025

XC Ski HQ: Silver Streak Week - Seniors ski free!
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N Cut Rd, Roscommon, MI 48653. 800-832-2663, [email protected], CrossCountrySki.com

THU, JAN 16, 2025

XC Ski HQ: Silver Streak Week - Seniors ski free!
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N Cut Rd, Roscommon, MI 48653. 800-832-2663, [email protected], CrossCountrySki.com

FRI, JAN 17, 2025

XC Ski HQ: Silver Streak Week - Seniors ski free!
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N Cut Rd, Roscommon, MI 48653. 800-832-2663, [email protected], CrossCountrySki.com

SAT, JAN 18, 2025

CXC Jr. Cup / Great Lakes Division - Classic Individual Start
Rhinelander, WI - Northwoods Nordic Ski Club

Cote Dame Marie
Hanson Hills Recreation Area, Grayling, MI

XC Ski HQ: Gourmet Lunch at Trapper's Cabin
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N Cut Rd, Roscommon, MI 48653. 800-832-2663, [email protected], CrossCountrySki.com

XC Ski HQ: Gourmet Mac ‘n Cheese Bar
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N Cut Rd, Roscommon, MI 48653. 800-832-2663, [email protected], CrossCountrySki.com

SUN, JAN 19, 2025

CXC Jr. Cup / Great Lakes Division - Freestyle Individual Start
Rhinelander, WI - Northwoods Nordic Ski Club

Flying Squirrel Freestyle Junior Race
Crystal Mountain, 2500 Crystal Mountain Dr., Thompsonville, Michigan 49683

XC Ski HQ: Gourmet Mac ‘n Cheese Bar
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N Cut Rd, Roscommon, MI 48653. 800-832-2663, [email protected], CrossCountrySki.com

MON, JAN 20, 2025

XC Ski HQ: Gourmet Mac ‘n Cheese Bar
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N Cut Rd, Roscommon, MI 48653. 800-832-2663, [email protected], CrossCountrySki.com

More events...

LATEST TRAIL CONDITIONS

SUN, JAN 5

Vasa Trail: Arriving at the Rock early afternoon, there were already a dozen or more cars of the cognoscenti, and they kept on coming. To quote Larry H. "If you're not at the Rock, you need to be, the Snow Is Super, good for A skis," and he was right. Only a few thin spots on the route I skied, easily avoided, and same with yesterday's ski of the 10K loop. Today from the Rock I skied the usual CW direction, then took a right turn to ski the Special K - and reversed the route back to my car yielding a total skate of 15K-16K unless you skipped the Jackpine Valley as I did reducing it to 11K-12K. LF7 provided excellent glide.

Met Bud W. as he started his ski, and he asked how it was starting from the TH as he knows I usually start there. I replied, "Not so good, as I cut a couple of extra gouges in my skis there yesterday which is why I started from the Rock today. Starting from the TH there are/were a lot of real thin spots, patches of loose gravel, etc. until reaching the loop-proper at the split rail fence, then the 10K loop was fine, only a few thin spots.

Unless you have 4WD it's usually safer taking Sand Lakes Rd, rather than Strombolis Rd to the Rock that occasionally requires that option.

Made a knew acquaintance today of Steffen H., a young fellow who normally skates the 25K, plus Headwaters daily but has never raced. I encouraged him to give the Vasa Race a try, which he is thinking of doing. He has been a longtime speed-skater and anxious to meet Poleless-Glen. We compared notes on how we both rilled some new gouges from the TH into our skis yesterday. Fortunately neither of us crashed and hurt ourselves, just our "B"skis.

Hickory Hills: No material change from Ken Dawson's report on January 1st, except for a fresh inch of lake effect overnight and some fresh corduroy laid down by the Piston Bully 400 this morning on the low grade road and the part of the lower bowl that is wide enough for it to access. You still cannot ski beyond the old lodge, but it looks like the lighted loop may be connected by tomorrow based on the placement of the snow guns and spreading of some of the snow piles. I did not try the meadow based on my son's advice who gave it a try yesterday.

Cross Country Ski Headquarters: We received a couple more inches of light, fluffy snow throughout the day yesterday, and it continues to snow lightly this morning. All trails are open, though ungroomed until we get some more accumulation. Our trail crew has been working nights to spread man-made snow onto the Trapper's Cabin trail, so you may encounter some interesting conditions out there until it's finished (likely by tomorrow morning). The rest of the trails have about 3-4 inches of snow on them, and while you'll find some grass sticking up here and there, many skiers are reporting a great time out there. Classic rock skis are recommended.

The practice area has abundant man-made snow, and is PERFECT for demos, lessons, and for skiers of all ages to ski around and play. Join us for lunch, plus live music from 2:30 to 4:30!

Crystal Mountain: Good morning. We got everything packed yesterday and even got a pretty decent track set in spots. I decided to ski the hills this morning to check them out and I made first tracks on all of them. (Didn't do Eagles or Nepsa) I fell 3 times on Squirrel which I determined the reason was grooming with the gator it gets packed from the gator tracks and is soft in between them so if you get one ski in the soft area and one in the packed area it can pull you around (couldn't have been my skiing abilities.) LOL, So my plan today is to regroom them and try to over lap so I am packing the soft spots. Be aware that even though they are snow covered there isn't a lot so rocks and roots that are normally covered are not. Use rock skis and be careful.

Forbush Corner: Fresh groom on the east side trails today. Pines connector and pines loop was groomed yesterday, thin here and there but mostly good coverage if you are looking for a longer ski out to Hartwick Pines. Open 9 to 5.

SAT, JAN 4

Boyne Mountain: Classic ski on low land trails this morning. Decent base with some very minor junk poking through in a few spots. Nice machine groom. Expect this will only get better with cold temps and more LA snow.

Cross Country Ski Headquarters: Happy 50th. Rock skis/Classic only today but doable. Overheard the grandson tell Lynne he was the owner now. Here's to the next 50 years.

Unlisted trail: Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail, rte 271 southbound. 8” in the laurel highlands. Cold and snow in the forecast!

Hill Nature Preserve, The: No groom at the Hill but decent skiing on all the loops. It's thin under the pines but the cold temps help with glide over the areas with some needles showing...
Overall solid coverage and good glide on 3-4 inches of freshies over an icy base in spots. I used B no wax Evos.
Pumped to head to Munising and then Calumet over the next 10 days.

Vasa Trail: The Vasa Trail is back, so if you have delayed signing up for the Vasa Race, fear not, the course has a nice base now and should be in prime condition come February 8th. I skied from Timber ridge to special k, ten k, and the 25k to the rock and back to Timber Ridge. Snow coverage was especially good on the hills before the wall by-pass and pretty much all the way back. You can use your good skis. Don't forget when you sign up for Vasa race to make sure you get ticket for community celebration party. I am a big time skier but don't be surprised if the party is even better than the race. Rumor has it, a singer/song writer is preparing a special tribute song that captures the history and tradition of the vasa race.

Hanson Hills: All Trails, Green, Blue, Brown, Yellow and Easy Return have a groomed base marginal in areas. We do not have enough base yet to set tracks.

Three years in the making, and Crawford County finally got enough snow to bring the Winter Wolf Skiathlon to life!
With 75 registered racers, our inaugural event was a huge success!
A massive THANK YOU to Alan and the Forbush Crew for your hard work and dedication—it truly made this event possible. We’re so grateful for everything you did to help us pull this off!
To our incredible volunteers: We couldn’t do it without you! Your time and energy made all the difference.
A big shoutout to Northbound Outfitters for providing today’s Overall Awards—your support means so much to this event and our community.
Congratulations to our Overall Winners:
Seniors: Ryan Harris & Mandy Paull
Juniors: Zack Dunne & Sage Brownell
Thank you to everyone who participated, supported, and cheered us on. Here’s to making the Winter Wolf Skiathlon a new tradition in Crawford County! See you next year!

RESULTS: forbushcorner.com/winterwolf2024.html

Crystal Mountain: Yay, we are open again for the 4th time. We are in the process of grooming everything. We even got a pretty decent track set in spots ( open areas) other places ( under pine trees) not so good. Bear in mind that it is thin and skating lanes are slow. Definitely rock skis as there are areas of roots, rocks and other hazards, but at least it's a start and best of all no rain or warm ups in the foreseeable future.

Crystal Mountain: Yay, we are open again for the 4th time. We are in the process of grooming everything. We even got a pretty decent track set in spots ( open areas) other places ( under pine trees) not so good. Bear in mind that it is thin and skating lanes are slow. Definitely rock skis as there are areas of roots, rocks and other hazards, but at least it's a start and best of all no rain or warm ups in the foreseeable future.

Huron Meadows Metropark: I just got off the phone with a very nice person at Hudson Mills. She informed me that Buck’s Run is not ready for skiing this weekend and they are doing everything possible to get it ready for the race next weekend. So unless we get lots of natural snow in the next few days, don’t plan on Buck’s until race day.

Michaywe: Only received another 1-2 inches of fresh snow. The entire trail system has been rolled and combed. Maple ridge, herringbone, nordic, and the river trail offer the best skiing. The lake loop and both golf course loops still have a few thin areas and have been prone to drifting.

Cross Country Ski Headquarters: We received about 3 inches of snow throughout the day yesterday and overnight, and it continues to snow this morning! All trails are open and ungroomed until we get a bit more accumulation. The practice area will be groomed for the Free Lesson at 10:30 and the Ski Clinics with Jordyn Ross. Classic skiing is recommended for the trails across the street. The practice area has abundant man-made snow, and is PERFECT for demos, lessons, and for skiers of all ages to ski around and play. Snow-moving onto the Trapper's Cabin trail is underway, and we expect it to be finished by Monday.

Forbush Corner: Race day! The second race in the Michigan Cup series will be held today on Forbush’s man made snow terrain. Racers will be starting at 1000. Race activities should be wrapping up by noon. We have good conditions on all our other trails, groomed and ungroomed. Open 9 to 5.

FRI, JAN 3

Unlisted trail: McKeever (Munising)
Got about 6 inches of new snow. Snowmobiles out grooming when we were there. Beautiful top coat with a bit of a crust underneath.

Hiawatha Highlands: 2' of snow in woods, 16' of great skate track, double set classic. It does not get any better. Come get you some

Valley Spur: LES overnight which was groomed in. More LES during the day of 4” with more flurries tonight. Classic skied later in the day as a snow band went through, so very pretty in the trees. Classic will be very good.

Good News: The rubber tracks for our new groomer set up have been finished. So will provide more info after they are picked up and installed. Thanks for all those who contributed to our fund raising campaign.

Huron Meadows Metropark: I too called for HM/Bucks status and was reassured that “everything possible” was being done to open soon. My fear is that immediately following the race, “everything possible” will be done to prepare for golf season.

Vasa Trail: It was a "classic ski" day on the Vasa Pathway... soft conditions with snow falling. We skied the Special K loop from Timber Ridge with an out and back on the 10K Trail to the 10/25 split. Guessing there was 5-6" of fresh fluffy snow by early afternoon. Some trails had been packed by groomers, others hadn't yet been packed but we skied in tracks made by earlier skiers. It continued to snow all afternoon, so I assume groomers will be back out tomorrow morning. We'll return to ski tomorrow!

Huron Meadows Metropark: I just got off the phone with a very nice person at Hudson Mills. She informed me that Buck’s Run is not ready for skiing this weekend and they are doing everything possible to get it ready for the race next weekend. So unless we get lots of natural snow in the next few days, don’t plan on Buck’s until race day.

Huron Meadows Metropark: I too called for HM/Bucks status and was reassured that “everything possible” was being done to open soon. My fear is that immediately following the race, “everything possible” will be done to prepare for golf season.

Elk Rapids Golf Course: Kind of windswept, so the couple inches of snow is unequally distributed. Surprisingly the fastest skiing was on the thin areas where there were blades of grass showing, as the blades had been glazed over with a fast icy layer. No clumping unless you stopped for a minute in the same spot. There is a rack of loaner skis, boots, and poles at the NE corner of the clubhouse parking lot.

Huron Meadows Metropark: I just got off the phone with a very nice person at Hudson Mills. She informed me that Buck’s Run is not ready for skiing this weekend and they are doing everything possible to get it ready for the race next weekend. So unless we get lots of natural snow in the next few days, don’t plan on Buck’s until race day.

Huron Meadows Metropark: Has anyone walked out to see if the parks are even attempting to open Bucks?

Valley Spur: John C is out grooming in the 6” of fresh LES from overnight. Will be great on top of our base.

Huron Meadows Metropark: After repeated attempts to get the park to provide public status updates on the plans for Bucks Run, I have been told by park administration that if you want information you should call Hudson Mills Metropark for information. I suggest people do that, as frequently as often as you feel necessary to get updated information. The number is 734.426.8211.

Cross Country Ski Headquarters: It continues to snow this morning. The trails are sparsely covered, and open for rock skiing on classic skis. Our snow-moving team is spreading snow onto the Trapper's Cabin trail at night, and we expect the ~2km loop it to be finished by Monday. The practice area currently has abundant man-made snow, and is PERFECT for demos, lessons, and for skiers of all ages to ski around and play.

For folks interested in learning how to ski, or improving their technique, join us for a FREE beginner classic ski lesson Saturday at 10:30, plus Ski Clinics with Jordyn Ross Saturday and Sunday, with options from in Beginner/Intermediate to Advanced/Expert skate and classic options. Sign up soon by calling 989-821-6661.

Hanson Hills: 
Winter Wolf Skiathlon Update

Saturday, January 4th, 2025
Race Venue: Forbush Corner - 4971 W Co Rd 612, Frederic, MI 49733

Online Registration: https://runsignup.com/Race/MI/Grayling/WinterWolfSkiathlon
Registration closes at 5:59 PM on January 3rd. No late entries!

Race Day Check-In:
Time: 8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Location: The Yurt at Forbush Corner
Important: All participants must sign a Forbush Corner release form at check-in and will receive their race bib and transition box assignment.

Race Format:

Wave Start: 4 racers every 5 seconds. Self-seeding at the start line. Classic Start, complete 2 loops before entering the transition area. Transition, then complete 2 loops of Freestyle/Skate.

Transition Rules:

Required Equipment Change: If you have only one set of skis, you must remove them, switch feet, and put them back on. If you have only one set of poles, you must remove them, then put them back on.

Need Help? Meet with timer Alan at check-in if you anticipate difficulty removing your skis. He will apply an appropriate time adjustment. (THIS MUST BE COMMUNICATED AT CHECK IN)

Reminder: This is a FUN event! The honor system is in full effect.

Awards:

Overall Male and Female winners in both Junior and Senior divisions will receive awards.

Special Thanks:
A huge shoutout to the Forbush Crew for hosting our inaugural Winter Wolf Skiathlon!
And an extra thank you to Alan Hough for his exceptional timing and co-direction of this event.

Get ready to hit the snow and have a howlin' good time!
See you Saturday!

- Justin Andre

Forbush Corner: Great news! Looks like we are in for more lake effect snow in addition to the 4 inches we received yesterday. Grooming through early morning. Expect deep set classic tracks and firm skate deck with fresh snow. Check Nordic Pulse on the website for an update on fresh groomed trails. Open 9 to 5.

More trail reports...