Saturday’s 'BirkieTour' cancelled due to snow conditions

American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation announced Thursday that the BirkieTour scheduled for Saturday has been cancelled due to poor trail conditions and skier safety concerns.

The recent one inch of new snow has not bonded to the ice base on the Birkie Trail. The new snow will be quickly sheared off, especially on downhills, exposing the solid ice trail base and creating hazardous ski conditions. While more snow is predicted, conditions are not expected to improve enough to hold a safe and quality event on Saturday.

“We are very sorry to make this announcement,” said Ned Zuelsdorff, Executive Director of the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation. “This non-competitive, fully supported 25/50K distance fun-ski event each January has become a popular tradition for skiers preparing for the American Birkebeiner in February and for novice skiers alike.

“We want to offer participants in all our year-round events the best experience possible, and trail conditions this week cannot provide that. We do, however look forward to our big 40th Anniversary event and celebration, Feb. 21-23. This will be our biggest Birkie ever, with 10,000 skiers registered for our Saturday’s races alone.”

For information about Birkie events and Birkie trail conditions, visit www.Birkie.com or call 715-634-5025.

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