Vasa brings skiers, business

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Chris Reidy, of Madison, Wis., takes a break on the Vasa trail near Timber Ridge Resort as he prepares for Saturday's North American Vasa cross country ski race. Record-Eagle/Keith King

February 10, 2012

BY JAMES RUSSELL jrussell@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Fri Feb 10, 2012, 07:24 AM EST

TRAVERSE CITY — Skiers aren't the only ones thrilled the annual Vasa race will proceed despite warm temperatures and little snow.

This weekend is important to area businesses that count on an influx of people to fill rooms, buy food and spend money in northern Michigan.

"It would have been a letdown," said Kristin Levesque, co-owner of Timber Ridge Resort, where skiers congregate for the Vasa races and festivities.

Racers book cabins months in advance, and a cancellation would have hurt. Levesque said abnormal winter weather already took a toll on cabin rentals and other bookings at the Hammond Road location.

"We always have snow here when no one else does. We're high and protected, and our woods protect our trails," she said. "But it hurts. Since there isn't snow even a mile down (the) road, people don't think we have snow up here."

The Vasa race is one of the region's many highly anticipated winter events, some of which were forced to cancel or adapt because of less-than-wintry weather.

The White Pine Stampede race was canceled last weekend. This week, the Indian River Sprint Dog Sled Race called it quits. In Kalkaska, organizers moved the Winterfest and Midwest International Sled Dog Race to early March from its initial Jan. 14-15 schedule.

Lack of snow won't dampen this weekend's third annual Traverse City Winter Microbrew & Music Festival.

Vasa organizers said skiers across the country breathed a sigh of relief when they announced plans to continue.

"I was scrolling down my phone, and I had calls from eight different states," said Vasa President Pete LaPlaca of racers' reaction.

He expects about 600 skiers to register by the weekend, with 30 percent hailing from outside Michigan and many more from downstate.

"It's almost a miracle, with just 33 inches of snow for the year, and with warming temperatures, that we're still on," he said.

A cold front is expected to keep things cool this weekend, with light snow showers forecast. Still, LaPlaca said recent warm weather slowed down registrations this year.

"We are taking a hit," he said. "We've been averaging about 900 total for (the) last four years."

Carole Mueller-Brumbaugh and her husband, Ernie Brumbaugh, are glad the race is still on. Ernie has raced in every Vasa since its start. Carole only missed a couple races in more than 25 years.

"It's a tradition," she said. "Think of it like a high school reunion, except you get to do it every year."

The Rockford couple is staying with family this year, but they plan to visit local restaurants and shops. Mueller-Brumbaugh said friends from as far away as Minnesota and Montana will stay at area hotels.

"We see a lot of people from outside of Michigan that come to do the Vasa," she said. "For Traverse City not to hold this race would have been devastating to the area."

Hannah Kaley said customers at the Don Orr Ski 'n Beach Haus are frustrated they haven't been able to hit the trails this winter.

"At first business was booming. People were getting prepared. But they're not coming back to get re-tuned," she said. "They've only been on skis three or four times. And that's hard for racers — they have to ski to get ready."

The Vasa event is one of the shop's bigger weekends as skiers come in for last-minute supplies or tune-ups. The store was ecstatic to hear the race was still on schedule.

"Oh, my gosh, it's great news. We're hoping that it brings in customers, more so than this weather has," Kaley said. "This weather is really hurting us. This is probably the worst winter for us in a long time."