It’s time to switch to road bikes, running shoes, rollerskis, and lap swimming until next fall.
Photos 1, 6, & 7 by Bill Husby; photos 2, 4, & 8 by Dan Johnson
Last stop before storage waxing the rock skis
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Monthly Archives: April 2015
Happy Earth Day!
Skiing on Smith Lake on Earth Day in the sunshine,
requires a little preparation, like putting one’s iphone in a ziplok bag
and having friends to share the day. Happy Earth Day!
We wish our hard working friends could have joined us.
We send “happy birthday” greetings to Robert Hannon, and know he would have been with us if he were in town.
Wet photos by Bill Husby’s iphone
Doing transitions Robert’s way–a comedy in three acts
One down on Smith Lake (with witnesses),
another on the T-field notch for no obvious reason.
Poles tests the waters at the base of the T-field and shows how he stays on the top of this game, while
Robert finds his own way to wash the mud off his warm-ups from when he took the muddy path down from the top of the T-field instead of the icy one.
End of the season ski and swim scheduled from Wednesday, 22 April 2015 beginning at 11:00 a.m. ADT on Smith Lake. Come join the fun. Bring skis. shades, and sunscreen. For the gullible, a snorkel might be handy.
Spring Gala coming this Saturday
The Spring Gala, put on by NSCF-FXC, will be held this Saturday, April 18 from 8 to 11 p.m. Music will be provided by Steve Brown and the Bailers, an acoustic trio, and the floor will be open for dancing. Refreshments will be provided by HooDoo Brewery. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the door or from an FXC skier.
A silent auction will be held throughout the evening, and a dessert auction will also be held. The silent auction has many items. Some are ski-related, but many are not. All proceeds of the event go to FXC, the junior race-training program of the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks.
Last weekend ski at Birch Hill likely today
Traditionally some of the best skiing of the year happens after the Sonot Kkaazoot. However, with the overall winter being warm and low snowfall with a record loading of birch seed and spruce cones, the ski season at Birch Hill for 2014 to 2015 is drawing to a close. In addition to the Ski for Women participants, we enjoyed the wonderfully groomed ski trails today and some unexpected sunshine.
We close out the ski season at Birch Hill with this rare shirtless photo shoot.
Skiing at West Ridge is still feasible for at least another week so we may post some photos from our annual Smith Lake biathlon (ski, swim) event that will likely be no earlier than late April.
Sonot Kkaazoot organizers relax
Birch Hill trails are wonderful thanks to trail donations and the piston bully work of Tom Helmers. The Sonot Kkaazoot organizers were able to take a relaxing ski on Easter Sunday in preparation for the 2016 event, when our technique and fitness will be much improved.
Here’s Eric Troyer, the head of Sonot Kkaazoot publicity showing the uphill technique he’s learned from Pete Leonard’s FXC Masters class.
And following him are Frank Soos, head of Sonot bib pick-up and late registration followed by Eric Buetow, one of our Fort Wainwright road crossing team leaders.
Bill Husby (aka Poles) was skating today after a season of grooming at Birch Hill and heading up Sonot Kkaazoot trail snow enhancement and brushing parties.
Dermot Cole was the SCUM reporter on the course and videotaped the 50 km start as well as the last wave of skiers up the Fort Wainwright alpine hill. Dermot (on right in photo below) was a key snow enhancement worker on the river and on the Sonot Connector in the week leading up to the Sonot Kkaazoot:
and all the skiers were enjoying the easy ski out of the black loops today:
Enjoy the wonderful trails while they last. Spring really is right around the corner.
Some of the SCUM who played a major role in the Sonot Kkazoot weren’t skiing on Easter Sunday, so here is a partial group photo taken by Kent Karns on race day.
From left to right: Steve Clautice (#508) helped set up and serve at the Awards Ceremony; to his right is Robert Hannon who headed up contact with the military and organized the Fort Wainwright road crossing teams; to his right with the ball cap is Mike Schmoker, who with Bernardo Hernandez constructs and distributes Sonot woodels and other awards; #551 is Mom, head Sonot janitor and crisis coach; #96 is Mike Ruckhaus, snow mover and trail enhancer; #550 is Frank Soos, guru in charge of bib distribution, late registration,and swag; Dermot Cole with all the extra clothes was a key snow enhancer on the river and Sonot Connector; and to his right is Chris Puchner, who organized all the feed stations and headed up the set-up and take-down of the finish area on the river.
40 and 50 km Sonot Kkaazoot skiers
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- 40 and 50 km start
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- Colleen Personett and Johnna Underwood
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- Owen Hanley
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- Eric Troyer
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- Frank Soos
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- Mike Hays and Bryan Norris
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- Colleen Personett
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- Cathy Weeg
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- Graehl St. bridge at 2:15 p.m.
Photo of Chena River start by Denise Jerome, photos in the Birch Hill stadium by Corrine Leistikow; photos from Fort Wainwright by Chris Broda, and photo of the return trail under the Graehl St. bridge by Dermot Cole.
More volunteers responsible for the “Miracle on Snow”
Reports from Sonot Kkaazoot participants (both local and from Anchorage) were that the trail conditions were fantastic in spite of the record heat during the week prior to the 28th annual Sonot Kkaazoot. Here are some photos of the heroes behind those trails at work and the final results of their efforts:
Although most skiers were too tired when they got to the crest of the bunny hill to look up at the slope that had melted away as a river of water on Friday, Sonot Kkaazoot skiers really owe their great day to Jeff Skeels who bulldozed this alternate route for them.
All photos by Chris Broda, Fort Wainwright alpine hill crossing volunteer and leader of Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks “Ladies of Leisure”
Sonot Kkaazoot 