But none of them minded.

Nearly 800 skiers participated in the annual event, said race director Angela Luskin.

She also thanked the 100 volunteers for being outside for several hours in the frigid temperatures.

One skier who didn’t have to worry about frost was Genevieve Connell of Madison, Wisconsin, who raced while wearing a giant bear head. She’d picked it up from a bin of animal heads she’d seen at a store.

Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Kyia Anderson of Calumet and Bryan Bredfeldt of Rochester, Minnesota, approach the final downslope during Saturday’s Great Bear Chase.

Does it restrict visibility?

“Yeah, a lot,” she said. “That’s why you’ve just got to feel the trail. All those years of training and balance and the rhythm really helps.”

She’s been coming to the Great Bear Chase since high school, when her team would come up as a fun capper to the year. Now she’s part of the Madison Ski Club, which participates as tis final race of the year.

“I just like the energy of it,” she said. “A lot of people have a lot of fun up here. People race it and they do really well, or you just ski it for fun. And you’re just with that huge community of people doing what they love.”

Paul Perkovich from Madison was coming for the second year. The casual, less competitive feel of the race is a draw, he said. He was slower than usual, but enjoyed coming out for the last race of the year.

“It was really good,” he said. “It was really windy, but not too slow. It was actually well-groomed for how much snow we got.”

Dave Kust of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, was in his fourth race.

“I love seeing the snow,” he said. “The trails are always in perfect condition. It’s beautiful up here.”

He added another reason for coming up — the post-race pasties.

Kust’s family has a connection to the area through his mother, who grew up in Laurium.

His brother’s been racing in the Great Bear Chase for about 20 years. This year’s skiers included his daughter, who came up from Chicago.

“She beat me,” Kust said.

Saturday was the second time Mike Ivey of Madison had skied since recovering from COVID.

“It hurt,” he said. “I went out too fast. Then I settled down and it wasn’t too bad, but I don’t have too much endurance.”

It was the first time at the Great Bear Chase in 20 years for Ivey, who first started skiing it in the 1980s. Family life had kept him away from the race since then, he said. But after missing the Birkebeiner, he wanted to get one last race in for the year.

“You only notice the wind at the start,” he said. “It was tough, but it was good.”

Full race results are available at my.raceresult.com/193676.

Overall winners:

50km Skiathlon (Female): Stephanie Balas; Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin; 3:21:02.6

50km Skiathlon (Male): Mark Ousdigian; Shoreview, Minnesota; 2:42:05.8

50km Classic (Female): Kyia Anderson; Calumet; 3:58:01.7

50km Classic (Male): Eric Patterson; Duluth, Minnesota; 3:14:22.7

50km Freestyle (Female): Hanna Derby; Marquette; 3:00:55.9

50km Freestyle (Male): Dennis Curran; Plymouth, Minnesota; 2:35:38.4

25km Classic (Female): Abby Scheller; Champlin, Minnesota; 1:50:11.2

25km Classic (Male): Luke Gesior; Minneapolis, Minnesota; 1:29:47.7

25km Freestyle (Female): Linnea Ousdigian; St. Paul, Minnesota; 1:31:24.5

25km Freestyle (Male): Kevin Tarras; Grawn, Michigan; 1:20:33.5

10km Classic (Female): Jaden Serafin; Houghton; 50:21.5

10km Classic (Male): Samuel Markey; Marquette; 39:48.9

10km Freestyle (Female): Ivy Dickman; Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin; 43:01.8