The SISU Ski Fest made the decision to cancel races for the upcoming weekend in Ironwood.
It’s the second year in a row poor weather conditions have forced organizers to cancel.
Last week brought rain and warmer temperatures to Ironwood.
The following cold snap turned parts of the racecourse into ice. Other sections had bare ground.
SISU Race Director Jackie Powers said in a news release they tried to scout out routes for a shorter race at ABR Trails.
ABR still has more than 20km of groomed trails right now. But Powers said they aren’t safe for 500 to 800 racers.
Because of these reasons, SISU canceled all Saturday ski events, the Expo and the SISU Party.
In a statement, Powers said, “Our claim to fame is a high quality early season race on natural snow. This year we have to live up to our name and show our "sisu" by enduring this hardship and steadfastly staying the course through the rest of winter and all the seasons until we have another chance next year.”
All registered SISU skiers can ski free at ABR on race day this Saturday.
The Depot Dash for kids 10 and under will take place on Friday from 4-5pm at Depot Park in downtown Ironwood.
Ironwood on average gets about 44 inches of snow during the month of the December that sets up a nice base for the race. Only 24 inches of snow was recorded last month.
Last year, there was even less snow and temperatures were much warmer making skiing impossible.
