1/17/2023 Race Update
Greetings!
Mother Nature has not been kind to the winter enthusiasts in Northern Michigan. After the big snowfall in December, each week has been warm with mostly rain. But, this week could bring some good changes. Starting on Thursday and finishing on Friday, we are supposed to get 5 – 10 inches of snow. The issue is, the ground is soft and saturated from all the rain the past few days. We are unsure how much of that we are going to keep, but anything is a start. With our course being mostly green, Shanty Creek and the WPS committee is looking at all the possible options to keep the race going this year. As this new snow storm comes and goes, this should give us an idea for all options. Please stay tuned for any and all changes that may occurred over the next few days.
Ben
1/10/2023 Race Update
Greetings from the 47th annual White Pine Stampede!
Northern Michigan has kept us on our toes this year as February 4 is now just under a month away. Over the Holidays, the trail received over 2 feet of snow, just to watch most of it melt away the following week. Regardless, the committee members of Laurie Allison, Rebecca Kendall, Beth McKaig, Lindsey Southwell, and Alyse Tarbutton have been hard at work preparing the trail and planning on giving our skiers a great race.
We’ve also added a new Committee member: Kathy Lightbody! Kathy is actively involved in our community, including volunteering at several of our local events and within the school system, including the Iron Vault, which has been selected by our committee to be our new charity partner.
The Iron Vault is 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 Social Justice Scholarship, which awards funds to a graduating senior 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 2022 course. The 10k race will be slightly longer at just over 11k, the 20k course should be just over 20k, and our longer course will be between 35k and 40k. All three races will finish at the Schuss Mountain Nordic Ski Center, just outside Schuss Village. The race course has undergone various changes in the last few years, mainly due to change in private property ownership. These changes have given us the opportunity to develop 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. In addition to our planned course, the committee has a few alternate course tricks up our sleeves in the case of low snow.Please stay tuned with race/snow updates on our website as we approach race day.
EPIC Race Timing continues to be our chip-timing service, which allows competitors to receive almost instant results for both overall and age group classifications. Skiers can join volunteers and spectators at the Shorts Cool Down Party at Shanty Creek’s Summit Center following the race. Complimentary bus transportation from the finish to Summit Center or Mancelona High School is provided to racers.
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 near and far. 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, their staff put 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