The unseasonably warm October temperatures in much of Alaska are predicted to continue at least through the end of October. Although much of the government has been closed down for since 1 October, the National Weather Service, because of the “essential” nature of their work, has been issuing weather forecasts and warnings. Sadly, for cross country skiers, the forecasts aren’t encouraging. The figure below is today’s 8 to 14 day forecast, and you can see by the intense red over interior Alaska that any precipitation we’re likely to see, probably won’t be in the solid form.

Although you can stone grind and wax your skis in anticipation of the upcoming ski season, you probably should plan on dryland training for a couple of more weeks. If you can’t face ski walking, rollerskiing, or watching mold grow on your snow shovels, you could consider some ski-specific strength training that might help when winter finally comes to interior Alaska:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRXB5vEOmC8

Remember that the Sonot Kkaazoot will be held a week later than normal because of Arctic Winter Games, so you’ll be less behind on your on-snow Sonot Kkaazoot preparation than you might have been.