Michigan Ski Blog – Snow Reports

XC Ski Headquarters Cross Country Ski Report – 03/24

Unless we receive any significant, late-season snow in the near future, this will be our final ski report for the 2014-15 season. We will remain open with normal shop hours through March 31st, after which we will be open by appointment (call 800-832-2663) or when we’re at the shop (we are usually at the shop during weekdays until middle of April, and somewhat regularly throughout the rest of the spring and summer). In the not-so-uncommon event that we get a nice big snow storm after March 31st, we will of course re-open and keep the season alive as long as Mother Nature permits! We still have excellent inventory of touring, skating, classic, and back country skis, boots, and poles, as well as xc ski and winter clothing, most of which is already marked down to Labor Day Weekend Sale prices, so don’t hesitate to come shopping. The ski park area still has ample snow for equipment demo’s, too.

What a season it has been! We had a big time these last few weekends, with our 40th Anniversary Retro Party, the Michigan Cup Relays, the 23rd annual Muffin Race, and Paintball Biathlon happening in succession. Each of these events brought people together from all over the country to, in one way or another, celebrate cross country skiing, winter, and the great Michigan outdoors.

Our 40th Anniversary Party was a complete hoot. Costumes and retro ski gear were in abundance, and the impromptu costume catwalk on the sun deck was so entertaining that we may have to celebrate our anniversary every year!

Snow Depth in Woods: 0 to 2

Packed Snow Depth on Trails: 0 to 2

Ice, Glaze, Barespots: The Blizzard XC Ski Park is the only place to ski now.

The Michigan Cup Relays saw probably the best conditions that we’ve ever had for this event, and the vibe was just as fun and good spirited as ever. It is always so great to get the MI Cup teams together to relay race and celebrate big afterwards. Team XC Ski HQ earned the title of Michigan Cup Champions for the 3rd year in a row, thanks to our huge team of great people, and our fearless team captain, Frank Rynalski.

The Muffin Race, just one week after the Relays, happened just in time to get the last bit of good skiing on the trail system. Highly enthusiastic kids from ages 2 to seniors in high school competed, most of them in costume!

By the time the Paintball Biathlon rolled around, we had to get pretty creative to be able to host a worthwhile event using the bit of snow we had left on the ski park area. It ended up being a ton of fun, with head-to-head match racing in a double elimination tournament! It was quite the spectator sport, with lots of racer interaction and a dramatic finale. Participants seemed to really enjoy the match racing format, so we will keep it going in the future! A big thank you to the volunteers who helped make these events possible. We certainly had a lot of fun.

And finally, a HUGE thank you to YOU: our customers, friends, ski ambassadors, and partners in perpetuating the sport of cross country skiing. We are deeply grateful for your patronage, and for trusting us to be your xc skiing pit crew. Please keep in touch, and let us know if there is anything we can do to help make your XC world more enjoyable!
Lots of people ask what we do in the off-season. In case you’re curious, after we all take an out-of-town respite from the busy season, we are back at it and onto preparing for next ski season! Between trail maintenance, renovations, and of course inventory, ordering, etc., we manage to stay pretty busy. Mariah also runs a yoga studio out of the day lodge all summer, so if you’re in town, stop by for a class!

Once again, thanks to all of you for your continued support, and for adding to the fun, adventurous, ski-loving culture here at XC Ski HQ.

Until the snow flies!

– Bob, Lynne, Mariah, Stu, Fran, Matt, Erin, Brian, Sarah, Steve, Kerrigan, Gage, Lexi, Dana, Henry, Matt B., and the crew

Visit XC Ski Headquarters Website >>>>

 
 
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