Race & Trail Updates

1/29/2026

Greetings from the 50th annual White Pine Stampede! 

Ski conditions keep improving each day as we are just over 1 week away from race day. Shanty Creek is now grooming all its trails the WPS will use for the 2026 race. Our trail crew will begin rolling the private property sections starting this week. As we approach race day, the extended forecast looks promising with a few more days of snow, and several days of colder weather. The WPS committee members of Laurie Allison, Beth McKaig, Lindsey Southwell, Kathy Lightbody, and Alyse Tarbutton have been hard at work planning on giving our skiers a great race. Consumers Energy is again joining us as a Stampede Level Sponsor of the race, along with our long-time presenting sponsors Shanty Creek Resorts and Short’s Brewing Company!
In 2026, WPS continues its support of The Iron Vault, a free store for Mancelona students dedicated to help them reach their highest potential by removing barricades like access to food, clothing, and toiletries that might be interfering with their education, socializing, and success. This program is run solely by donation and the White Pine Stampede is dedicated to helping this program succeed. In addition, the John McKaig Memorial Scholarship awards two scholarships to graduating seniors from Mancelona High School. Race entry fees and additional contributions from racers make these donations possible.

This year’s course will look similar to the 2025 course. The 11k race will be slightly longer at just over 12.5k, the 20k course should be just over 22k, and our long course will be around 42 km. All three races will finish at the Schuss Mountain Nordic Ski Center, just outside of Schuss Village. Our trail crew continues to make a challenging course while avoiding going up or down the ski hill runs that have caused concern for skiers in the past. Our longer course includes two large loops over rolling terrain through both Shanty Creek and privately owned property.

Again, for 2026, skiers, volunteers, and spectators can celebrate with us at the Short’s Cool Down Party at Shorts Brewery in downtown Bellaire at their outside Beer Garden! We will have outdoor heaters, Short’s Beer, and warm food from Cook’s Country Catering starting at 12:15 pm. Complimentary bus transportation from the finish line to Mancelona High School is provided to all racers. Mancelona Schools is allowing racers to use the school locker rooms to change and freshen up prior to heading to Short’s, located about 11 miles away.
Finally, the committee would like to recognize the volunteers and sponsors of the White Pine Stampede: this race would not be possible without you! Because of our dedicated volunteers and generous sponsors, the communities of Mancelona and Bellaire are able to host a top-notch ski race and raise funds for kids in our community. A special thanks to our long-standing partner Shanty Creek, who has worked with us year after year to make this race possible. Shanty Creek not only provides us with the perfect winter playground, its staff puts in many hours of work to make this event special for so many people.
Thank you and we look forward to seeing you in February!
Ben Tarbutton
Race Director
 

2/4/2026

One step closer to WPS 2026! Course is looking great with each pass. Race day temperatures are still holding to single digits. 

2/2/2026

Trail continues to get better with every pass and snow depths are well over 1.5′. Today we plan to start using the Tidd Tech on the second half of the course (12km – 40km). 

Race day temperatures have changed since the last post. We are currently looking single digit temps. Friday and Sunday are both warmer so race day Saturday temperatures could change throughout the week! 

1/29/2026

Snow continues to build as we get closer to race day on February 7, 2026!  We will continue the rolling throughout this week and early next week. We plan to run a Tidd Tech this weekend to improve the trail conditions. 
 
Race day temperatures are holding for a high teens to low twenties.
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