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Happenings in the Keweenaw Peninsula March 5, 2003 Text © 2003 Michele Anderson. Photos © 2001 and 2002 Michele Anderson. 2002 ski photos © Adam Johnson of Brockit.com. Reprinted with permission.

Swedetown Trails to host Great Bear Chase races March 7-9

Editor's Note: A slightly different version of this article originally appeared in the March 2003 issue of Silent Sports Magazine. It is re-published here with permission.

Besides the main events on Sunday -- the 25 Km Classic, the 25 Km Freestyle Race and the 50 Km Freestyle Race -- skiers 16 and under can enjoy the Junior Bear Chase Kids' Races on Saturday, March 8. The newest event, the Bear Scat Sprint for all ages, kicks off the weekend on Friday night, March 7, offering up to 1 Km of uphill-downhill lighted night skiing around the Chalet.

Skiers climb one of Swedetown's challenging hills during the 2001 Great Bear Chase. (File photo by Michele Anderson)

The last day to register for Sunday's race -- in person or online (Active.com) -- is Saturday, March 8, at 8 p.m.

Since its beginning in 1981, the Great Bear Chase has been cancelled only twice: In the winter of 2000 Calumet received so little snow that trails could not be groomed, and in 2002 a storm with 70 mph winds knocked down dozens of trees on the trails. This year, for the first time, the Great Bear Chase organizers have decided to offer a full refund to registered skiers if the race is cancelled.

Although the March 2002 Great Bear Chase race was cancelled, some visiting skiers braved the high winds to ski on Swedetown's trails. (Photo © Adam Johnson of Brockit.com.)

"We're the only race that does that," said Jon Neufeld, president of the Copper Island Ski Club, which sponsors the Great Bear Chase. "We've always had a lot of fun. There's always a variety of weather -- from over 40 degrees F and sunshine with people sweating in their ski suits to snowy conditions with six to eight inches of snow the morning of the race."

Despite sub-zero wind chills, downed trees, and a cancelled 2002 race, some visiting skiers decided to ski the Swedetown Bear Chase course anyway, according to Adam Johnson of Brockit.com, who took this photo during the windstorm. (Photo © 2002 Adam Johnson.)

In a March 12, 2001, email to ski club members, Neufeld described the 2001 Great Bear Chase: "Sandwiched between two blustery days, a sunny Great Bear Chase went very well, thanks to Rick Oikarinen and his 100 plus volunteers. Our groomer operator, Glenn Rowe, worked from midnight to race time and beyond, mixing the new snow with the old and smoothing the trail into velvet. We had a record of 562 very satisfied racers."

Neufeld said Rowe usually begins grooming about 10 p.m. the night before the big race and grooms all night.

"By morning we've got a perfect 25 Km loop," Neufeld noted.

During the 2001 Great Bear Chase, skiers round a bend on one of Swedetown's well groomed trails. (March 2001 file photo by Michele Anderson)

Sometimes skiers are unaware of the amount of grooming.

Rick Oikarinen, Bear Chase organizer, said the race used to be one big loop, but a few years ago it was changed to two loops for safety purposes because of a very heavy snowfall.

"One lady skier -- after finishing the race -- expressed her appreciation for the work but noted we should have groomed the trail the morning of the race," Oikarinen said. "I informed her that at race start time (9 a.m.) the Pisten Bully groomer was 12 Km in front of them on its fifth lap. That's how thick the snow was coming down. That tells the world you do as well as you can, but the weather can still mess with you."

He noted the first Bear Chase, in 1981, attracted 37 skiers, while the current number is about 600 counting kids.

Oikarinen, who is of 100 % Finnish descent, is the owner of Calumet's Cross Country Sports, a family business where his father, the late Leonard Oikarinen (a.k.a. "Mr. Ski") first sold cross-country skis in 1962.

"I do not know of a retail store in the United States that's been selling cross-country skis longer than we have," Oikarinen said.

In his Calumet ski shop, Cross Country Sports, Bear Chase Organizer Rick Oikarinen, right, explains the map of Swedetown Trails to visiting skiers Brad and Janelle Wickstrom of Marquette. Ryan Holt of Ahmeek, second from right, assists Rick with sales. (Photo by Michele Anderson)

"My Dad first started selling televisions in this store in 1954," he explained. "It was called the T.V. Center. He only started selling cross-country skis because a sporting goods store in town refused to stock them."

Oikarinen said his father was famous for having skied, at age 59, from Ironwood to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan -- a distance of 335 miles. At that time there were no groomed trails, he added.

In 1991 Calumet Township received a grant for a Pisten Bully grooming machine and for the Chalet building. In 2001, the township, along with the Copper Island Ski Club, purchased a new Pisten Bully. The club members take care of all the trail maintenance and Chalet staffing. The township operates and maintains the groomers, with the club reimbursing the township at an hourly rate. Swedetown has 30 Km of trails in more than 1,400 acres of land in public hands.

"It's a great public-private partnership," Oikarinen said.

New signs clearly mark the trails, from beginner to advanced, at Swedetown. (Dec. 1, 2002, photo by Michele Anderson)

Tree planting, thanks to hundreds of volunteers, has been an annual springtime project for both Swedetown in Calumet and the Maasto Hiihto Ski Trails in Hancock.

The Keweenaw Nordic Ski Club maintains the Maasto Hiihto Trails. Membership in both clubs overlaps. In addition, club members can now purchase a joint ski pass for three local ski areas: Swedetown, Maasto Hiihto and the newly expanded Michigan Tech Trails in Houghton. The three areas offer a total of 75 Km of expertly groomed skiing and plenty of places to visit beyond Swedetown.

Craig Hughes, a board member of both clubs, said members from both clubs do volunteer work for the race and participate in it.

"I like the Bear Chase because it's a marathon ski race on an excellent course, but it has a friendly, small-race atmosphere," Hughes noted.

He said a new section of the course now includes more hills with ups and downs. Another addition this year, besides the money-back guarantee, is the online registration at Active.com 

Ken Wikgren, 45, a longtime Upper Peninsula resident whom Neufeld calls one of the fastest skiers in the local area, has placed in the top three at least twice in the years he has participated in the Great Bear Chase.

"Placing is not that big a thing. Just to make the top 20 is good," said Wikgren, who is also a trail runner and a downhill and backcountry skier. "A lot of good skiers come for the Bear Chase because it's at the end of the season after the other races. It's a good time of year for racers."

Wikgren said the Bear Chase offers the opportunity to compete against some of the top racers in the Midwest.

"Also, Calumet offers excellent snow conditions," he added.

The Junior Bear Chase for ages up to 16 is sponsored by the Ski Tigers, a local kids' ski club whose goal is to introduce kids to skiing, and, if they are interested, to racing. This year the Junior Bear Chase on Saturday, March 8, includes a striding race (at 11 a.m. EST) and a freestyle race (at 2 p.m.). Racers can register for either one or both. Both races have age categories ranging from 5 and under to 14-16 years old.

During the 2001 Junior Bear Chase, the 6-7-year-old age group of Nordic skiers takes off from the Chalet in the 1 Km race at Swedetown Trails in Calumet. (March 2001 file photo by Michele Anderson)

One of the Ski Tigers' top racers is Alan Toczydlowski, 9, who has often been first in his age group in the Junior Bear Chase and other races -- including the Feb. 21 Junior Birkie and the March 1 Howard Young Cup Nordic ski series in Minocqua, Wisconsin.

"I'm not always sure I'm going to be first, but I'm not worried about it," Alan commented.

He said he skis "just about" every day with his sister Rachel and his mother, Pat Toczydlowski.

Pat noted the 2002 Bear Chase weekend featured a new event, the Bear Scat Sprints at the sledding hill near the Swedetown Chalet. This wild, fun-filled, Friday night event, with uphill-downhill skiing under lights, is for all ages. It consists of heats of 2-4 skiers, depending upon the number of entries, with single elimination. The fastest skier in the final heat is the winner.

Ski Tiger Ruth Oppliger, 9, noted the first place winner in the kids' Bear Scat Sprints received drop fudge with blueberries in it, the second place winner plops of fudge with cranberries and the third place winner several blobs of fudge with white chocolate bits. 

"This Bear Scat is the best!" Ruth said.

Pat Toczydlowski agreed. "That was really a lot of fun," Pat said of the first Bear Scat Sprints event, noting her husband, Dave Toczydlowski, helped with the timing while Alan participated, taking first in his age group. Pat, along with volunteer Jan Klemp, made ice luminaries to light up the course.

Pat and Jan also volunteer for five or six hours at the aid stations during the Great Bear Chase race. These provide fruit and liquid refreshment for the racers. A radio is available for emergency services if they're needed.

"I think the aid station workers are important because they have to keep the racers hydrated," Pat added.

Since Swedetown's 25 Km loop has three aid stations, the 50 Km skiers can be refreshed six times in the course of the race.

For more details on the Great Bear Chase, online registration forms and maps see www.keweenawtrails.com.

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