Vasa trail in good shape for weekend

Region

February 8, 2012

BY JAMES RUSSELL and DENNIS CHASE jrussell@record-eagle.com; dchase@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Wed Feb 08, 2012, 07:19 AM EST

TRAVERSE CITY — Vasa officials are counting their blessings.

Despite unseasonably warm temperatures and a lack of significant snowfall, the 36th annual North American Vasa cross country ski race is on for this weekend.

Officials made the call late Tuesday afternoon.

"I was checking the Record-Eagle (Tuesday) morning, and we've had 33.4 inches of snow all (winter) — and we're skiing on it," said Pete LaPlaca, Vasa president. "That's phenomenal. It's really a miracle."

A second work bee was held Tuesday morning to address problem areas on the course. Workers have added snow to thin spots on the trail.

"Everybody is excited," said LaPlaca. "The course is holding up well. The work bee was very effective. It's (trail) going to hold up through the weekend."

After a relatively mild start to the week, arctic air is expected to spread over the region by Friday with temperatures dropping to the upper teens and lower 20s by the weekend.

"It might be kind of a shock to some people after all this mild weather we've been having," said Andy Sullivan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gaylord.

Colder temperatures are good news for ski race planners who need to preserve what little snow has fallen in the region. Traverse City received just 33.4 inches of snow to date this winter — 40 inches less than an average winter — and much of that melted amid unseasonably warm temperatures.

Sullivan said the weekend cold front may prompt some lake-effect snow showers, but he only expects accumulations of a few inches at most. Temperatures are expected to climb again next week.

"We've had (a) hard time really getting to where we should be with more seasonable weather," he said.

LaPlaca, meanwhile, described the Vasa course as "really fast" and said officials spent Tuesday evening discussing safety concerns.

"We want to make the course as safe as we can, but still keep it challenging," he said.

"My biggest fear is this — the downhills are pretty slick. We're going to put extra people out on the course at the most dangerous downhills. We'll put caution signs out, too. The worst thing that can happen is to have a pileup at the bottom of the hill. People are going at high rates of speed, they've got steel-tipped poles, sharp skis, and lots of momentum."

LaPlaca said officials fielded numerous calls Tuesday from skiers anxious to find out if the race was a go. Several ski events, including the White Pine Stampede in Antrim County and the Mora Vasaloppet in Minnesota, were canceled. The Mora Vasaloppet, which like the Vasa is part of the American Ski Marathon series, was scheduled for Sunday.

"The phone has literally been ringing off the hook from people all over the country who want to come," said LaPlaca.

He expects a field of about 600 racers — 30 percent of those coming from outside the state. Several will be in the national masters championship race, which the Vasa is hosting this year. There will be 12K, 27K and 50K freestyle and classic races on Saturday with the Gran Travers 16K and 6K classic races Sunday.