Ready for a 'Blast' of Winter Fun?
The Iron County Pursuit (formerly the Stormy Kromer Pursuit), will test the mettle of cross-country skiers the weekend of Jan. 8 & 9 on two of Iron County's Nordic trail systems. The eighth annual Pursuit challenges the skier's classical and freestyle capabilities.

To top it off, each racer gets a free Nordic ski hat with the registration. Register on active.com or same day registration (arrive early). Various age categories starting with 15 and under and ending with 70 and over.

The race weekend will start on the ski trails in Historic Montreal on Saturday at 11 a.m. with the classical 9 km race using an interval start. Then on Sunday skiers switch styles and locales to Mercer for the 14 km freestyle event starting at 10 a.m. on the MECCA trails. Racers start Sunday's race in the order they finished Saturday; the winner is considered the best overall skier. All finishers will receive a pin to go on the hat. Trophies awarded to overall male and female racer. Post race socializing both days. You may choose to race only one day, but you will not receive a pursuit time.

For team fees and other information go to www.active.com. Directions to Historic Montreal: three miles west of Hurley on Hwy. 77 to Montreal. Parking on both sides of the highway. To MECCA trails: From Hwy. 51 in Mercer, turn west onto Beachway Drive (near Great Northern Motel) at the south end of town. Follow signs to the MECCA trailhead.

Candlelight Ski
After the Pursuit, you can look forward to a relaxing evening of candlelight skiing on the MECCA Trails on Saturday, Jan. 29 from 6-9 p.m. Meet at trailhead on the west side off Joe Shack Road. There will be one mile of the trail lit with luminaries and open to both diagonal striding and skate skiing. Snowshoeing and hiking also welcomed but not on tracked portion. Warming fires will be lit at the trailhead, and refreshments include oh-so-good cookies. Free, but donations accepted. Call the Mercer Chamber of Commerce for more information.