UPDATED! White Pine Stampede: We are having a race!

UPDATED Jan 24 6:05pm: the vertical per lap is only 500ft, not 800ft as previously posted! Sorry for the typo!

To say Mother Nature hasn’t been playing fair this season is an understatement. It’s been a challenging year for Nordic ski racers across the state, with very little trail skiing available and race after race being canceled due to lack of snow. And unfortunately, the point-to-point race as we know and love, will not be able to happen this year.

BUT WE STILL WANT TO MAKE A RACE HAPPEN.

And so do our partners at Shanty Creek Resort, so we put our heads together and have come up with White Pine Stampede 2.0, an alternative race which utilizes the resort’s King of the Hill Nordic trail. This trail has plenty of man-made snow, and traverses the perimeter of their ski hill, Schuss Mountain.

WHITE PINE STAMPEDE 2.0

The new race will be 3 loops (approximately 10.5k), and will be taking place before the lifts open for the day (so there’s no need to worry about mixed skier traffic or that pesky red chairlift). This trail will be lit and classic tracks will be added to the hill.

This race is recommended for skiers at an average or above average skiing level. Skiers must be comfortable with both climbing and descending, but there will certainly be enough flats for folks to pick up speed. There is a little over 500 feet of vertical climb each lap.

We know it’s not the race we wanted, but knowing this may very well be one of the only Nordic races of the season, we are excited to present this alternative to our skiing family.

2023 White Pine Stampede cross country ski race course map with elevations

TIMES & LOCATIONS

February 4, 2023

5:30am Registration
7:00am Race Start (outside of Ivan’s near Blue Chairlift)
8:30am Breakfast & Awards inside Ivan’s

Ivan’s Restaurant | Schuss Mountain
6500 Schuss Mountain Lane
Mancelona, MI 49615

AWARDS/RESULTS

There will be awards for both Classic and Freestyle Categories. 1st, 2nd & 3rd Place plaques will be awarded for each age group.

2023 REFUND POLICY

Even though there has NOT been a total event cancellation, we recognize that this alternative course may be too difficult for some of our registered skiers. As such, we are altering our refund policy as follows (for this year only): if you do not want to participate in this year’s race, you have the option to:

Apply your registration fee towards next year’s race (will not receive this year’s shirt).
Donate your registration fee to the Iron Vault or the Jack McKaig Memorial Scholarship (will receive this year’s shirt).
Donate your registration fee to the White Pine Stampede to assist with race costs (will receive this year’s shirt).

HOW DO I SIGN UP?

If you have already signed up for the 2023 race, a representative from the White Pine Stampede Office will be reaching out to you within the next week to connect with you about your interest in White Pine Stampede 2.0 or will confirm your selection of one of the race refund policies as listed above.

If you have not yet signed up for the race and would like to join the fun, you may register online »