The race distances

The 7 km Straggle Muster

A 7 km loop contained within Snow Farm's main bowl area.  This event is designed for young or novice skiers, and family groups. The event typically takes skiers between 30 to 60 minutes to finish.

The 14 km Double Fleece

2 x 7 km loops as above.  Twice as long, but still within the shelter of Snow Farm's main bowl.

The 21 km Snow Rake

The 'half marathon'.  It is spectacular and challenging event - particularly for novice skiers.  The fastest will get around in under an hour, while others will be on course for up to 3 hours.

The 42 km Merino Muster

The official WorldLoppet Marathon event.  It's length and severity is deemed tough enough to qualify as an international ski marathon and elite athletes from all over the world will be taking part.  The Muster can be completed by a world class skier in under 2 hours - while others will be on course for up to 7 hours.

Wanaka XC guarantee entry into the event of your choice.  And if you are unsure about distance, don't worry, we can advise.

Wanaka XC - Helping you get the best out of the event

During the week and leading up to the event, Wanaka XC will guide you on the race course, ensuring you are familiar with the circuits and their challenges.  We promise to offer inspiration, motivation and expert advice. We will assist in working out the right race for you, given your own personal objectives. 

Post race, there are festivities at Snow Farm where we can meet and chat with fellow competitors about your experience.  We will also join other competitors in Wanaka for Saturday night's World Loppet dinner as part of the package. Find out more below:

Note, that if the weather is not perfect on the Saturday, the race will be postponed to the Sunday.  Our program allows for this.

The WorldLoppet Organisation

The 42km Merino Muster is part of the WorldLoppet series of international ski marathons.

This 20 event, world wide series is held each year, and is extremely popular in Europe, Scandinavia and North America. In 2015, the WorldLoppet races attracted more than 80,000 entrants. Sweden's Vasaloppet, which is part of the series, attracts 15-20,00 racers each year!

The Merino Muster is proud to have been a part of the WorldLoppet series since 2014.  Each year, international skiers travel from far afield to add the Merino Muster to their achievements. Many strive to be WorldLoppet passport holders with their names added to the honour roll. For more information visit WorldLoppet.