Winter Tracks is Feb. 3 – 12, with all sorts of adventurous events. One of the most anticipated is the Volks Ski, the attempt to cover all of Cook County’s 400km cross country ski trail system. Grab your skinny skis and hit the trails on Saturday, Feb. 11. Visit www.VolksSki.com for more information and to register.
Snow has arrived and with it, Nordic skiers will have the chance to make tracks and history on the nation’s largest groomed ski trail system. The Volks Ski 400km will be held on Saturday, Feb. 11 as part of Winter Tracks, the county’s 10-day family-friendly celebration of winter.
This non-competitive event brings enthusiasts together in an attempt to cover the county’s entire 400km of professionally groomed ski trails in a single day, a feat that has yet to be accomplished. Skiers will pre-register for sections of trail, ensuring that every kilometer of the system is crossed by a set of skinny skis at least one time during that day. Skiers may sign up as individuals, form a team or join one of the local resort teams to cumulatively cover the county’s trails. Both team and individual awards will be given, including the most remote trail skied. Inspired by the European tradition of Volksmarching, a non-competitive walk or hike, the Volks Ski 400km is open to individuals of any age and ability.
Volks Ski 400km participants must sign up in advance online and in the process can select specific sections of the trail system, including Sugarbush, Cascade River/Deer Yard Lake, Bally Creek, Pincushion, Upper and Central Gunflint and the Banadad trail systems.
A Minnesota ski pass will be necessary for participants to ski Cook County’s public trails. Ski passes for public DNR trails are available on a daily, seasonal or three-season basis and can be purchased online, by phone or at a number of Cook County businesses. The upper and central Gunflint Trail systems are privately maintained and require a separate ski pass, which may be purchased at participating cross-country ski resorts on a daily, multiday or seasonal basis.
Returning to Volks Ski this year is the individual 400km challenge. Rather than covering the network of trails in a single day, individual challenge participants are invited to register and log their Cook County skiing mileage throughout the winter season, with the same goal of covering as much of the 400km system as possible. Detailed trail maps and interactive mileage tracking will be provided to all competitors.
More information on the Volks Ski 400km single day and individual challenges can be found at VolksSki.com.
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