The American Birkebeiner (aka The Birkie) is a cross-country skiing tradition.
Thousands of skiers have been flocking to Cable and Haywood, Wisconsin since 1973 to participate in the largest cross-country ski race in North America.
The week is filled with a variety of races, activities, and entertainment with the two premier events being 50km skate and the 55km classic.
Amongst the events, the Giant Ski Race is a fan favorite.
Teams of six skiers race each other on pairs of 25-foot long “Giant Skis” up Hayward’s Main Street.
The race requires participants to move in perfect unison, or else disaster ensues.
Check out the highlight video from 2019’s competition below:
Looks like an absolute blast, right?
I’m just a little bit afraid of blowing out my knee when one of my teammates inevitably gets out of synch and causes the whole team to fall, but I still wanna do it.
This year’s Birkie is going down February 22-26 with the Giant Ski Race on Friday, February 23rd.