March 18, 2010 (Fort Kent, ME) – Spring has come early to Aroostook County, but the snow has stayed with us. Daytime highs in the 40s and 50s with cold, clear nights well below freezing have made for excellent crust skiing, fast early morning conditions and softening snow in the afternoons. Currently, our extended forecast calls for similar conditions with chances of freezing precipitation and snow on Thursday night and next Monday.

Grooming the 50K Course at Fort Kent © NENSA

While the snowpack is well below normal for this time of year, all courses have a minimum depth of 8″ of packed snow right now. The photos below were taken at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 on the courses for the SuperTour Finals Sprint and Mass Start Classic. The skiing is unbelievably good!

Madawaska Sprint Course. Wow! © NENSA

Entries continue to roll in, and the series is shaping up to be the very best points races of the year on the North American circuit. With Andy Newell, Kris Freeman, Torin Koos, Ivan Babikov, Simi Hamilton, Chris Cook and Stephan Kuhn all planning to attend, it is very likely that the men’s point base will be below 20 FIS points. On the women’s side, Kikkan Randall, Caitlin Compton, Holly Brooks, Rebecca Dussualt, Liz Stephen, Morgan Arritola, Brittany Webster and Nicole DeYong are all planning to toe the starting line.

Confirmations include: the entire U.S. Ski Team, Canadian National and top club level athletes, APUNSC, CXC Team Vertical Limit, SVSEF, MWSC, FAST, Craftsbury Green Team, XC Oregon, U. Laval, Dartmouth, GMVS, Stratton Mountain School, Burke Mountain Academy and athletes from Sweden, Japan and Brazil.

The U.S. SuperTour Finals 2010 will feature a true Tour format, with prize money awarded for each individual race, time and cash bonuses in both the Mass Start and the Sprint, and a pursuit start Hill Climb that will leave the winners of the overall event splitting up more than $11,000 in cash. Visit here – www.supertourfinals2010.com to download the invitation and for complete details of the event. Registration closed Wednesday, March 17th.

Additionally, the U.S. National 30km and 50km Championships are slated for March 24th, in Fort Kent, Maine.