Although Sundays are usually busy days at Birch Hill, with the high school cross country ski season complete, and the Nanooks just returning from an extended road trip, Birch Hill trails beyond the stadium area were strangely quiet today. Rather than watching Olympic skiers race on Sochi trails in 40 to 50 deg F heat, we skied at temperatures rising to the double digits (above zero) on trails still bearing the signature corduroy even though they had been groomed several days ago. The classical tracks were wicked fast and were set best line on much of the White Bear.

Life doesn’t get much better than this. Notice the snow depth on either side of the trail. There is ample padding if you plant your ski or pole in the wrong place and crash. This is fantastic weather for training for the Sonot Kkaazoot and increasing daylight hours make skiing trails other than the lighted ones possible after work, too.

Have you made your donation to the Birch Hill Trails fund yet? Here’s the link to do so online: http://www.nscfairbanks.org/index.php/trails/519-great-grooming-costs-money-donate-to-nscf-trails-now). Without donations to pay for equipment, fuel, and trained operators, grooming that leads to our fantastic trail conditions will need to be cut back.