:date: 2025-03-08 20:04 :tags:
I drove through the snowy forest to a Nordic ski area about 10km south of Marquette that I'd never been to. Blueberry Ridge is one of the very few in the UP that I know of which are groomed for skate skiing. Michigan Tech trails, ABR trails, Rapid River, and Valley Spur are the others I know about. While I suspect there are a few more hiding in obscurity that's the whole UP. Compare with the four Nordic skiing trail systems that are definitely groomed for skating in just Breckenridge, CO. So until I get my own grooming solution in place (or winter weather returns to the Lake Michigan shore of the UP and I can go to Rapid River) if I want to skate ski, it's a bit of a drive.
But it was worth it! I quite enjoyed Blueberry Ridge. While it had only 6 or 7 km of groomed skating track, that's enough. The terrain was gentle rolling which is ideal for skate skiing; if you want to slog up ridiculously steep grades, any skis on any trails (or Alpine slopes!) will do.
I skied 20km total there today and once I knew the layout fairly well, I was able to take some video of km 12 through 20. So I was pretty tired but still, it shows the general idea. My average pace of 15.7kph was quite a bit slower than I am on rollerskis (I shoot for 20kph), but still not bad for snow and it is my fastest and longest outing this year.