Calumet Prepares for Great Bear Chase

And that’s not the only outdoor winter sporting event in the Keweenaw that weekend.

The other big one is one of the region’s major cross-country ski races.

Most area skiers generally consider 3 races to be in that group.

One is the Noquemanon Ski Marathon in Marquette County.

Another is the American Birkebeiner in northern Wisconsin, the largest cross-country ski race in North America.

The third is the Great Bear Chase in Calumet.

This year’s event is Saturday, March 13th.

Director Arnie Kinnunen says the hope is to have a spillover effect from the Copper Dog 150, since dogsled races usually have few competitors but lots of spectators while ski races have lots of competitors but few onlookers.

This is the 30th annual Great Bear Chase, making it nearly 20 years older than the Noquemanon.

It’s traditionally been on Sunday, 2 weeks after the Birkie.

But this year, Saturday should work better with the Copper Dog 150.

The 2 races won’t be using the trails at the same times — the musher teams will be a long distance away from the skiers.

Kinnunen says they could use a hand with volunteers for the Great Bear Chase.

So, to find out more about doing that, you can get it at their website, www.bearchase.org .