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This weekend is shaping up to be snowy and cold — perfect conditions for the North American Vasa races, a popular two-day event in Traverse City where hundreds of people sign up for Nordic skiing, fat tire biking, and snowshoeing.
But as last year's record-warm winter showed, these conditions are not a guarantee. And for the first time, race organizers have a plan in case of low snow.
Weather has shaped the nearly 50-year history of Vasa since the first race was held in 1977, according to Gretchen Carr, a Vasa board member who handles communications for the race.
"In 1980 it was canceled because of no snow. In 2024 it was canceled because of no snow," she said, ticking off just a few of the many weather disruptions over the years. "There was a famous instance in the mid-'90s where it was canceled because there was too much snow."
Despite anticipating some interruptions, Carr said, the last few years led to a turning point in organizers' approach to Vasa. They had to cancel or scale back several races in rapid succession. First there was the pandemic. Then, a couple years of warm weather created lousy snow conditions. So they decided to make a plan for when the weather didn’t cooperate.
"We had a concentration of cancellations in a short period of time, and altered plans," she said. "Because this is such an iconic Traverse City tradition, we really wanted to have a contingency plan."
The race is usually held on state forest land just east of Traverse City on the Vasa Pathway, which is owned and managed by the Department of Natural Resources and maintained by TART Trails. The backup plan is to hold the race at the municipal Hickory Hills Recreation Area, just to the west, which has a Nordic ski trail and can make artificial snow — crucial for years when natural snow isn't enough.
Other winter event organizers in Michigan have taken a similar tack, even as cold temperatures stoked cautious optimism; as Bridge Michigan reported last month, the state has lost over a week of freezing weather annually due to climate change.
Carr said the alternate route will be useful if the winter shapes up to be too warm for the usual trail. They would need about 72 hours to pivot. Ironing out what a low snow plan would actually look like required a lot of coordination, Carr said, which was worth it: "It's a beloved Traverse City tradition, and it's part of the culture. It's part of who we are as a community."
For this year, anyways, it doesn't look like they'll need to rely on a backup; conditions are looking good, and organizers expect the race to go ahead as planned. Race registration is open until 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
