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Sports
Matt Mikus

Cross-country races preparing for less snow, but need more cold temperatures

Two cross country skiers race.
Jessie Diggins of Team United States in action during the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships Cross Country Women's 10 km Individual Free on Feb. 28, 2023 in Planica, Slovenia.
Christophe Pallot | Agence Zoom via Getty Images

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Some organizers of cross-country skiing races in Minnesota, like the Stifel Loppet Cup and various high school and college competitions, aren’t worried about the lack of snow so far this winter.

But the lack of cold temperatures? That’s another story. 

While a number of cold-weather sporting events are changing plans, from the recent cancellation of northeast Minnesota’s annual John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon to the decision to move the annual Gunflint Mail Run sled dog race in northeast Minnesota to February, cross-country event planners are holding their plans in place.

Claire Wilson is the executive director of the Loppet Foundation, which hosts the Stifel Loppet Cup race, a World Cup cross-country event set for Feb. 17 through 19. She said the lack of snowfall and warmer temperatures puts the race organizers in a difficult position. 

But with events hosted at facilities that can create artificial snow, the lack of snow won’t shut down the Loppet.

“We feel very, very confident that we’re going to be able to provide a course. It is a race against time, because we need prolonged cold for days on end to be able to produce the snow that we need,” Wilson said.

John Richter is the executive director of Endurance United, a nonprofit that will host the Battle Creek Ascent on Jan. 13 and 14 in Ramsey County’s Battle Creek Winter Recreation Area. It’s a national qualifying race for 10 central states for U.S. Ski & Snowboard.

This is the first year that Ramsey County has had full snowmaking capabilities for a cross-country event, opening the opportunity for the east side of the Twin Cities region. 

Richter said the new infrastructure at Battle Creek will be able to help build snow cover on cross-country trails, but they still must contend with higher-than-average temperatures. 

“The big downturn is that we haven’t had the cold nights at staying above freezing. So it never has a chance to reform and stay solid,” Richter said. “So it just continues to melt. If it was cold at night and would refreeze, it tends to stick around for quite a while.”

Wilson said the ideal temperature is 28 degrees to efficiently make snow and maintain a trail for cross-country races.

“Typically in December, we would have snow guns going pretty much 24/7, day and night. And this December, we had very limited windows of snowmaking,” Wilson said. 

The lack of snow isn’t a detriment to professional athletes training for the race — many have been training in Europe throughout this warm spell — but it comes as the U.S. is gaining momentum on the world stage. 

“We’ve had men on the podium; Jessie Diggins has been consistently winning her races or placing in her races. And the excitement for that team to come here and race,” Wilson said.

“Think about it: if you’re a Vikings player, you’re playing in front of a hometown crowd with some frequency. These are folks who in 20 years have not been able to have a World Cup race in front of their family and friends.” 

But high school and college teams are making do with what opportunities are available. Richter said the athletes are using whatever size course is available, and other athletes may be training through trail running, strength training or ski skates until the temperatures are consistently cold enough.

“We’re going to have the event, but it’s going to be adjusted to accommodate what Ramsey County is able to actually make,” Richter said. “If they have a 2K of a course, we’ll utilize that. If it’s 2.5K, we’ll utilize that. We’re okay with the fact that if we are able to pull the event back into a 5k and do a couple laps and maybe having to do a multiple lap race. It’s still an event it still gets people outside there.”

Richter said it’s the community that tends to bring athletes out, whether on a team or strapping on skis for fun. And community will find a way to adapt, no matter the conditions.