BELLAIRE -- It's a wrap for snowmobile season in Michigan. That is, unless riders aren't afraid to race straight up the face of a ski hill.
Snowmobile racers have one more chance to prove their grit on a mountain of man-made snow. Well, at least a really big hill.
The fifth annual Race the Face event is set for this weekend at Shanty Creek Resort's Schuss Mountain in Antrim County, a single-elimination drag race in which riders challenge each other at top speeds, running side-by-side up a ski slope.
"It's the end of the year and it lets the guys come out and play. It's a challenge because it's up the face of the ski slope," said Tim Bingham, an event organizer.
Race the Face grew from about 250 racers in its inaugural year to a now-capped 400 racers, he said.
Races are organized for stock snowmobiles, an improved class and the outlaw class for high-powered sleds with boosting turbo and nitrous capabilities. Registration opens at 8 a.m. today, costs $20 for the first class and will close after the limit is reached on a first-come, first-served basis.
Races start at 11 a.m. Saturday and there's an $8 admission fee.
"We put the show on for them," said Ron Rusnell, who races each year.
Rusnell, of Mancelona, intends to register two snowmobiles in this year's outlaw class race, both fully modified Arctic Cat 800s with nitrous. That means big, fast snowmobiles.
And the mountain doesn't daunt him, Rusnell said.
"I tell people, 'we do stupid things to win a $5 trophy,'" he said.
Some snowmobile riders need convincing to climb the hill. It's not uncommon for some to begin as spectators before joining the competition the next year after getting "a little bit of nerve," Rusnell said.
Others want to be able to say they rode up the face of a ski hill. "We talk to people who know they're not going to win, they just want to drive up the hill," Rusnell said.
Skiing is finished by this time of the year at Schuss, but some wanted to find other ways to use the remaining snow pack on the otherwise off-limits area for snowmobiles, said Lindsey Southwell, Shanty Creek spokeswoman.
"It's every snowmobiler's dream to race up the mountain," Southwell said.
Visit www.shantycreek.com/snowmobile or call 1-800-678-4111 for more information.
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