Luke Langhorst skate skied the virtual 30 km Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot in 1:36:36.
Luke writes: “It was another great Sunday out at birch. Lots of people were out and about enjoying the weather and snow. Unfortunately my heart rate on my phone didn’t seem to be recording things accurately as it had my HR much lower than it certainly felt like! Thanks again for all that you have done with the event and to everyone else. The face masks are great! Looking forward to the real deal next year.”
Anna Rix skied all three official courses for the Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot on Sunday.
She writes: “I decided to wait till the last day and ski all 3 courses back to back. 50k course classic 4:43:37 30k course skate 2:38:57 10k course classic 1:02:04 Total elapsed time was 8:57:57 including my ski to and from the start and finish lines. 54.27 miles according to my Garmin which includes one turnaround since I was not sure which turn on North Forty I was taking.
Tom O’Clair skated the virtual 50 km Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot in 4:06 on Sunday.
Tom writes: “I skied the 50k course today. Started at 10:30 in the cold with the FXC Masters folks that had various objectives. I skied with some of them the first half of the race and then skied on my own coming across several folks as it warmed up during the day. At the end of the course, I was confused about the 48-49-50k so I skied two more k. Time: 4:06 on cold styrofoam snow. Fun!”
Tom wanted to make sure he got his full workout even though Bad Bob’s course was short.
Tyson Flaharty skate skied the 30 km virtual Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot Friday in 1:50:34 with an extra Roller Coaster skied for good measure. Davya skied her virtual 30 km in 2:05:33.
Here is Tyson’s course and statistics:
Tyson writes: “We had fun in the fresh snow this morning! I did the 30k course plus accidentally skiing all of roller coaster on the start lap. But that got me a little closer to 30k. We had a little blizzard near the end. Otherwise it was a perfect day.”
And here are Davya’s data (she knew the proper course):
By finishing her 30 km virtual Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot today, Susan Sugai joined her “Kneed to Ski” teammates Bill Husby and Byron Broda in completing the Sonot Kkaazoot hat trick (all three of the official 2021 virtual Sonot Kkaazoot courses). When Bill, Byron, and Susan skied in the 2015 Turkey Day Relays, “Kneed to Ski” had the oldest skiers with the youngest knees because all three skiers have had bilateral total knee replacements. (https://www.adn.com/commentary/article/kneed-ski-team/2015/11/28/)
When Bill and Byron completed the 10, 30, and 50 km virtual courses, some of them more than once, the pressure was on Mother SCUM to ski the 30 km this weekend. She skate skied the 30 km virtual Sonot Kkaazoot in two segments, 15+ km on Saturday and the remaining trails on the 6 deg snow this morning. Her combined time was 3:18:51.
On Saturday, temperatures warmed from 22 to 26 degs as Susan skied the start loop of the South Tower and Roller Coaster Bypass, then completed all the black loops, blue, Outhouse, Tower and Medevac trails:
On Sunday, temperatures were in the low single digits so Susan utilized some of Christina Turman’s power hour training to doublepole in the tracks when it was faster than skating on slow snow:
Photo by Bill Husby
Norma Haubenstock, who wisely chose to classical ski, motivated me to ski faster and more efficiently so I wouldn’t lose the distance I gained on the downhills and graduals quite so quickly on the steep uphill sections. Watching younger skiers ahead of me pause on Heartrate Hill and in Moilanen Meadows convinced me that my pain was real.
However, once the finish line was in sight, I knew I could doublepole across it. The pain of having to doublepole and single stick uphill in subzero new snow at UAF in Christina’s power hour FXC Masters class made my finish today possible. My legs thank you Christina! (However, my wrist is complaining).
Mother SCUM (left) and Norma,awesome motivator after Sunday’s ski–photo by Don Pendergrast
Don Pendergrast, who was Sonot Kkaazoot organizer for a number of years, skate skied the 10 km virtual Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot today. Don’s official time was 54:00 after subtracting time spent chatting with friends after starting his watch, but before he started skiing.
As a former Sonot Kkaazoot organizer, Don is entitled to excuses, which he shares below:
“Upon reading the glowing reports from Saturday, I figured I’d skate, and picked out two sets of skis waxed for warm and warmer conditions. I did not check the temperatures. Don’t trust antidotal evidence, check the facts. Major error.
In the same vein, I dressed for warm spring skiing. When I arrived the temperature was 10 F. Plus there was new slow snow on the ground.
The combination of cold snow, improperly waxed skis, and new sharp snow, made for a slow, not much fun ski.
At nearly 75 I don’t expect to ski fast, but I could ski smart. Not today.
After those excuses, I do want to say a BIG THANKS, to Bob the Bad, Mother SCUM, the fabulous groomers, and all my skiing cronies. I have managed to ski a total of 50K this week, 10K classic, 30K classic, and today 10K skating. In spite of today’s whining it’s all been good.”
Within a couple of hours, Sonot Kkaazoot organizers and skiers over 70 years old always forget why they swore that they’d never do this race again. So, they continue to volunteer for this event and ski in it because the Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot is part of our spring ritual in Faribanks. During the COVID-19 pandemic, being able to participate in the virtual Sonot Kkaazoot and safely socialize with other skiers has been an awesome piece of normality in these uncertain times.
When Amy Kulp finished the virtual 10 km Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot today, FXC skiers were cheering and ringing cowbells for her. Amy skate skied the course in 55:04 with Travis, who had already completed his 10 km ski on March 17.
Mossy Mead writes “NSCF LOL Monday Night Group member, Mossy Mead, kick and glided around the 10 K Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot course this Sunday morning 3/28/21. Time: 2:03 – a possible qualifier for the red lantern award. Fresh fox tracks were followed around most of the White Bear part of the course. Near Beacon cutoff the fox left signs that it had made a dive for a fresh vole snack.
Fox snack hole on White Bear–photo by Mossy Mead
I declined the suggestion and stuck with the raisins-walnuts-chocolate chips I had in my pack. This ski is dedicated to Barb Powell who died this Equinox of cancer. She was the best buddy for hiking and skiing outings.”
Dr. Mark Simon took a break from his duties at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital (thanks for all your work during the COVID-19 pandemic) to skate ski the 30 km virtual Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot today in 2:43:24.
Mark writes: “Beautiful morning…..into afternoon. Such a treat to see so many Fairbanksans out on Sonot Sunday…. Thanks for a Great event and a Great day! Mark Ross and Bob Baker hawking posters the perfect post race ambiance.”
Sonot Kkaazoot 