Craftsbury Weekend notes: January 25-26
2024 Craftsbury Marathon Ski Festival classic day. Photo - Phil Belena
Racing both Saturday and Sunday
The Center will be hosting its Craftsbury Marathon ski festival both Saturday and Sunday of this weekend (Race info). Expect a high volume of racers, few trails around campus unaffected by racing and very full parking lots until the early to mid-afternoon both days.
Saturday, January 25 – 9:25am-3:00pm – Classic 15k lap map
Sunday, January 26 – 9:55am-2:00pm – Freestyle 15k lap map
Given the volume of competitors and the 15k length of the lap both days, most trails around the Center will be impacted directly or indirectly by the marathon. This is noted on the conditions board, but worth re-iterating here:
Courses won’t be closed but will require non-racers to travel in the direction of the race, use the technique of the race and yield to racers during the times listed above.
Course will be groomed with the day’s racing in mind. Thus Saturday will have a bunch of classic tracks on all the race trails and minimal skate lanes, if any. Race trails on Sunday will have skate lanes only with no classic tracks. As noted above, day users are expected to use the same technique on race trails as the racers (e.g. Saturday = classic day and Sunday = skate day).
How to get involved with the Marathon
How to avoid the racing:
Satellite Parking
Ski further afield from the Center’s main campus. Find parking at:
See all the satellite parking options, and how to get from one to the next on this map.
Our satellite parking areas offer great opportunities for trail access for a wide variety of abilities and the chance to explore the trailsystem from a different vantage point as opposed to starting at the Center's campus. Come discover a new favorite loop!
Ski before or after the racing
Racing traffic will thin on both days after lunch and be done by 3:00pm Saturday, 2:00pm Sunday. Either option allows you some time before sundown either day to get outside without racers - though if you ski before you’ll need to match techniques as noted above.
Ski at another area with your reciprocal pass privileges.
Using your paid annual membership from Craftsbury, you can ski one day each at other participating XC ski areas. Full details.
No Fatbiking
The speed of fatbikes and the myriad intersections between our ski trails and our singletrack system are a combustible mix on race days. As such, no fatbiking either Saturday or Sunday, January 25-26.
EV Charging this weekend
With very full parking lots and a lot of EVs in the ski world EV users should not plan on being able to charge this weekend. Even if we're able to preserve some charger spaces, they will be very limited, in high demand, and unlikely to turn over very frequently if at all during the day.