Monthly Archives: January 2015

It’s still warmer than normal

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Although two recent Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks events have been postponed due to cold, 2014 was the 4th warmest year in Fairbanks in over a century.

http://akclimate.org/Summary/Annual/Fairbanks/2014

Deviation of temp means from normalNordic skiers in Fairbanks are just not acclimated yet. Look at how much warmer (red bars) we’ve been than normal this winter. Also, remember we had a cold dip last January as well as a colder than normal February.

We should embrace our cold because our ski trails are snow-covered, and they won’t be melting soon. This cold weather is also good news for skiing on the Chena River this winter and spring.

 

Distance Race # 2 Postponed

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After a record warm winter so far in Interior Alaska, when the temperature was colder than -20 deg F this morning with wonderful hoarfrost snow still condensing from the skies, Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks Race Coordinator, John Estle, postponed Distance Race #2. However, with the course already groomed (but not marked with “V” board and pin flags), race-ready skiers ventured out onto the trails to take advantage of the opportunity to do their own time trial. As it turned out, they also got an opportunity to do their own course because of late changes only the groomers had seen:

New course

Like little vegetable and flower starts that have spent the winter in a greenhouse, our training session today was like the “hardening” sessions that transplants get before moving outside to garden plots.

Thanks to Dermot Cole (cold weather photographer), here’s an action shot of two skiers on the course:

Action shot

 

and one of them at the end of the “race”, sufficiently “hardened” to thrive in the race when it is rescheduled.

IMG_2293

 

Stay tuned for the new race date.

 

Besh Cup Races 3 & 4 moved to Birch Hill

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The Competition Committee of Cross Country Alaska decided last night to move Besh Cup Races 3 & 4 (scheduled for Soldotna on 17 and 18 January 2015) to Birch Hill. This change of venue was unavoidable because of lack of snow in the Kenai. Besh Cup Races 3 & 4 are both classical technique races (one sprint, one mass start) because the Besh Cup Race 1, held in Anchorage in December, needed to be changed from a classical to freestyle technique sprint format because of lack of snow.

Thus, the Distance Race #2, scheduled for 11 a.m. on 17 January 2015 at Birch Hill will be rescheduled to allow the Birch Hill Recreation Area trails to be used for the two Besh Cup Races.

We’ll post the new time and date when available. You’ll have a little more training time before the 20 km CL test that the Distance Race #2 will provide.

Grooming transforms tracks after winds for Alaska writer laureate

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Winter weather finally arrived in Fairbanks, but thanks to the elevation of the Birch Hill Recreation Area, temperatures today were roughly 20 degrees warmer than the official airport temperature hovering around -20 deg F. Unfortunately, Friday night winds in excess of 25 mph toppled leaves, twigs, and birch seed onto the trails, and the classical tracks as the lowest depression in the trail surface collected the most debris. Several of the SCUM (Sonot Kkaazoot organizers) had attempted to ski at Birch Hill on Saturday and commented that it was more like hiking on skis.

Once the winds had passed, the Birch Hill groomers started at 5:30 a.m. Sunday to drag out the tracks and reset them on almost all the trails. Sunday morning when we started at 11:00 a.m., the tracks were virtually 96% free of vegetative debris–an awesome improvement over Saturday. Below Jerome skis in the clean classical tracks while Kent overtakes him on the skate portion of the trail.

Kent & Jerome on White Bear

So as a reminder, grooming doesn’t just take place when we get new snow or when races are planned. Groomers reset tracks when Mother Nature soils them. Groomers make snow that they haul to downhill corners where skiers have worn down the snow by snowplowing. While you were still sleeping (or leisurely drinking that first cup of coffee) this morning, the grooming crew had already begun their magic. Fuel, equipment maintenance, and some salary support comes from your trail donations. Please consider giving or adding to your gift so that we can continue to have the best ski conditions in the Interior (and thanks to the crazy winter weather, probably in the entire state right now). Weren’t the clean tracks today (and the 20 deg F temperature inversion) worth the cost of a latte or a beer? Think about it. How much was today’s ski worth to you?

Here’s the link to make your donation:

https://nordicskicluboffairbanks.wildapricot.org/Donate/

Happy New Year!

On 29 January 2015, Frank Soos, a primordial SCUM (and Sonot Kkaazoot volunteer in charge of registration and bib distribution) will accept the Alaska State Writer Laureate award for 2015 and 2016 at a banquet in Juneau.

http://www.adn.com/article/20141222/literary-ambition-alaska-state-writer-looks-promote-work-others

Therefore, during our first ski in 2015, the SCUM honored our first SCUM Laureate (kneeling in front with red boot covers and the black SCUM hat) with the SCUM ski pole salute.???????????????????????????????

At a Fairbanks Arts Association reading and reception held Saturday, 3 January at the Bear Gallery in his honor, Frank read the following piece that expresses well the importance that ski trails play in our lives beyond sports.

http://sportliterate.org/2016/02/another-kind-of-loneliness/

Congratulations, Frank!