Last-Minute Snow Saves City Of Lakes Loppet

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Sunday's snow has been great news for a big cross-country ski event in Minneapolis. The City of Lakes Loppet Ski Festival will go on with no major changes.

Until Sunday, the event was up in the air. An organizer said they didn't know what they were going to do, because there simply wasn't enough snow.

It would have been especially disappointing because of what happened last year: The course was modified drastically because of the lack of snow, organizers cut out the portion that wraps around the Chain of Lakes and had the event solely at Theodore Wirth Park where they made snow.

The change impacted the turnout and local businesses in Uptown looking forward to event.

John Munger says this year won't be a repeat -- thankfully.

"It was a profound surprise," said Munger. "I don't think anyone was expecting this much snow yesterday. I think they were talking about this wintry mix. If you are someone who monitors the weather as much as I do, it usually translates to rain. So, when it was actually snow, we were thanking our lucky stars."

So far, registration for this year's Loppet has been low. But the executive director is expecting that to change with the snow.

A higher turnout means the better chance The Loppet foundation has of making a profit and putting the proceeds back into the community.

The foundation helps enhance cities trail systems, plants trees and funds a youth program.