Jim Gower, a first time Sonot skier, missed the turnaround because he was traveling so fast. He finished the Virtual Sonot Kkaazoot 20 km in 1:17:11 and moves into the lead for the men’s 20 km. (However, I don’t believe his Garmin’s altimeter as you don’t gain 2,841 feet on the Chena River).
Byron Broda becomes the first skier to complete the virtual Sonot Kkaazoot 50 km in 4:33:47.
Way to go, Byron!
OK, where are the rest of the SCUM, who were cutting short their Sunday workouts when Byron was still skiing?
Bill Husby (aka Poles) finishes his second 20 km (see blog for his 20 + km ski on Tuesday before virtual Sonot began). His time was 1:26.13 with 33 seconds added to start and stop his phone timer.
This moves Bill ahead of Bad Bob Baker as first virtual 20 km
Sonot finisher.
Carl (Thumper) Hemming started with Bill but because he took the proper precautions finished in 1:47:33. Going the low tech route, Thumper didn’t need to adjust his recorded time.
Maybe Bill was under the influence when skiing.
Christi Eickholt is the first female finisher for the virtual 20 km on 19 March 2020, the spring equinox. Her time was 2:11:15 putting her in second place among women.
And Christie’s comments from Facebook:
Christi’s photos from her virtual 20 km ski.
Dave Prusak and Eric Buetow finished the virtual Sonot Kkaazoot 20 km yesterday in a time of 2:14:06, placing them currently in second place among men in the virtual 20 km event.
Dave, a Minnesotan who underwent shoulder surgery in December, skis with one pole and commented that they made lots of stops to chat with people Eric knows and to watch a coyote.
Dave and Eric took advantage of the Virtual Sonot Kkaazoot route flexibility by starting and ending their ski at Eric’s home on the Chena River. How many ski race courses can you access from your front yard?
Here’s Eric in a tuck as he descends from the 20 km turnaround.
What’s keeping you from joining Dave, Eric, and the Bakers as finishers in this year’s virtual Sonot Kkaazoot?
From the National Weather Service Fairbanks:
Here’s a weather timeline to help you plan for your virtual Sonot Kkaazoot:
Bad Bob and Sharon Baker, started and completed the 2020 SONOT KKAAZOOT!!
We are thinking about taking on the 50 k this Saturday. I will groom very early, and only if it’s at least 25 degrees or colder…this heat is not grooming up too well… I’ll keep everyone posted…
As of 10 a.m. ADT today, Bad Bob Baker has groomed and tracked the Sonot Kkaazoot trail from the Cushman Street bridge to the bottom of the Sonot Connector on Fort Wainwright.
Bad Bob Baker says “Get out and ski!”
Spring has arrived in Fairbanks. Bad Bob Baker, who has 33 years experience grooming the Chena River, warns that the Sonot Kkaaoot course on the Chena River may NOT be safe if you wait until Saturday, 28 March 2020 to ski the Virtual Sonot Kkaaoot.
Bad Bob plans to groom the river again tomorrow morning (Wednesday) and will set classical tracks on the edges of the Virtual Sonot Course. Stay inside of those tracks! If you notice new holes or signs of break-up, don’t ski near them. Use your head and be safe.
Carry government identification while on Fort Wainwight property and use extreme caution at all road crossings. The first road was very slick today when walking across with ski boots.
Ski one of the three Sonot Kkaazoot courses. Send us a screen shot of the display from your GPS route, date, and time to us at: contact@sonotkkaazoot.org . We’ll post the virtual 33rd Sonot Kkaazoot times for all three distances. If you ski low tech, send us your time, date, distance and who you skied with or saw while you were out on the trails.
When Bad Bob deems the Chena River to be ungroomable, the VIRTUAL SONOT KKAAZOOT will be over. Kaput! Done. So get out there and ski.
Bob also plans to groom early on both Saturday and Sunday (21 and 22 March 2020).
Starting at 10 a.m. ADT this morning, several SCUM practiced both social distancing and skating the 20 km Sonot course. It was mostly sunny and 15 deg F when we started and 28 deg when we finished.
Besides social distancing, SCUM practice foot and mouth sanitizing. We were able to use resources found under the Cushman Street pedestrian bridge at the Sonot start. There are many secrets to skiing the Sonot Kkaazoot–and taking advantage of found feeds can be important in non-pandemic years.
Dual purpose foot and mouth sanitizer
Although we are 50 km Sonot skiers, we skied the 20 km turnaround today in case we suddenly feel our age during the virtual Sonot.
Practicing social distancing on the Sonot Kkaazoot 20 km turnaround. Photo by Bill Husby.
We all agreed that Bad Bob had done an awesome job of grooming. We only saw one other skier (a young FXC skier who had come down to the river from Birch Hill) but the sunshine and trails were wonderful.
Here’s a view of the Chena River trail from the Cushman Street bridge with a fat biker heading upstream.
Enjoy the skiing before break-up starts on the Chena River. Remember that Mother Nature holds all the cards. Ski with care and with a buddy.
Sonot Kkaazoot 