The annual Methow Valley Nordic Festival and Ski Pursuit – two days of Nordic racing and recreational skiing celebrating the valley’s extensive trail system – is on Jan. 20 and 21.
Participants can take part in a timed one- or two-day ski race, or an untimed 10-kilometer event with free shuttle service provided.
The schedule:
• Saturday, Jan. 20, 30K “American Marathon Series 2-Day Pursuit” skate ski race from Winthrop to Mazama as part of a one- or two-day skiing competition; 10K untimed “loppet,” a free community trail ski from Mazama to Brown’s Farm with aid stations and return ski shuttle transportation service provided. All racing begins with a mass start in Mazama at 9:30 a.m.
• Sunday, Jan. 21, 30K classic ski race for competitors in the two-day, timed pursuit event; 30K classic or skate ski for citizen racers who wish to compete in another one-day option. There will be a 9:30 a.m. interval start for pursuit traditional (classic) and freestyle (skate) racers, based on day one performances, starting at the Cub Creek Trailhead. A mass start for citizen racers will be at 10 a.m. The course goes over Rendezvous Pass to Mazama.
Aid stations will be provided at Brown’s Farm and Wolf Ridge Resort (approximately every 10K) from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, and at Rendezvous Pass and “Sick Joke Hill” on Sunday.
Costs range from $40 to $85 depending on the events. Online registration at methowtrails.org/events/calendar-events/methow-valley-pursuit closes Monday (Jan. 15).
The full schedule of events and activities is on the Methow Trails website. For additional information, call 996-3287.
Methow Trails is North America’s largest cross-country ski area with over 120 miles of groomed trails where kids 17 and under ski free every day. The Methow Trails Nordic system also has selected trails open and available to fat biking and snowshoeing.
