Monthly Archives: June 2023

SCUM ski walk 4 FWW ascents for the 4th of July

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4 SCUM ski walk 4 ascents of FWW ski hill--photo by Dermot Cole (who only did 2 ascents because of a medical appointment conflict)

Tim Woster had ski walked 4 ascents of the Fort Wainwright alpine hill on 9 June with Mom. Today we paced ourselves so that we kept our effort in level 2 for the most part going up the hill. The FWW contractor was hydroseeding the bottom and top of the alpine hill today so we couldn’t take our usual route at the very bottom. However, Dan and Bill still started next to the ski lift hut:

Dan and Bill at the start of their 4th ascent–photo by Bill Husby

So Bill Husby, Dan Johnson, Bernardo Hernandez, and Mom did 4 ascents today in honor of the 4th of July and the FWW frog:

Frog who was enjoying the extra ponds after our recent rains–photo by Bill Husby

We took the ascents leisurely today since some of us plan to do the Golden Heart Trail Run tomorrow. Before heading out to FWW, Dan and Bill had already moved all the newly refurbished and painted ski racks back to the Start Mesa area.

We ascended 740 m this morning, not a bad morning’s effort for a bunch of old geezers.

SCUM volunteer 18 hours of trail work

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SCUM may not be in the lead pack in Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks ski races, but they do volunteer their time and efforts to improve skiing for all of us. Today 9 SCUM fed hungry mosquitoes while removing roots and other debris from the Relay, Medevac, and Roller Coaster trails that have been widened and reshaped to minimize erosion.

Before the trails are seeded, roots and other debris needs to be removed. Trail work has also been done on White Cub and White Bear so volunteer efforts are needed there, too. Work has begun on Blue and Black Loops, too, so volunteer effort is needed as part of the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks match for the RTP grant funding these trail improvements.

Volunteer work is fairly straightforward. All roots on the trails and trail banks need to be removed if they are larger than the diameter of one’s pinky. Sharp loppers are the most useful tools although we used saws and pulaskis, too.

Contact Tom Helmers at trails@nscfairbanks.org and he’ll direct you to the appropriate trails. After you’ve finished, let Ann Jamieson know what trails you worked on and how much time you spent. She can be contacted at: treasurer@nscfairbanks.org .

After our work party, we examined the ski racks that Dermot and Dan had repaired. These SCUM demonstrated that their versatility extends to carpentry as well as root removal.

SCUM ski walk 4 ascents of FWW alpine hill in June

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Bill leads Dan and Carl up FWW alpine hill on ascent #3
Robert smiling during ascent #3 on a day when he went for perfect technique not speed
My heartrate monitor data for our 4 ascents

Two SCUM did 4 ascents, one did 3.5 ascents, four did 3 ascents. Dermot did just one ascent and one truck load of firewood.

Dan (after 3 ascents) and Dermot (after 1 ascent and one truck load of birch logs loaded into his truck)

Dermot’s workout will generate the most heat in the long run. However, Tim and I ski walked 715 m of climb today in our 4 ascents of the FWW alpine hill. The hill averages a 19% grade over 0.84 km. I burned 864 kcal for my workout but looking at Dermot’s t-shirt, he may have burned significantly more.

Ski walking in June snow

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Snow on my fleece top after removing my gloves and poles so I could access my phone

Today we were grateful for car heaters after doing our three ascents of the Fort Wainwright alpine hill. Bernardo started an hour early so finished before the rain changed to snow. Likewise, Bob decided to do just one ascent. However, Tim, Robert, and I did three ascents (because Bernardo had already set the bar that high).

Here we are before our last ascent:

We wouldn’t have done this alone!

After our three ascents, when we were walking back down to the Birch Hill stadium and our cars, we noticed streams flowing down the trail. Seeing as our feet were already thoroughly soaked, we didn’t need to waste energy dodging the puddles.

One SCUM travels out of town to have cold and wet adventures:

https://notquiteoverthehillcorrineanderic.blogspot.com/2023/05/reframing-stupid-summer-ski-trip-in.html?

However, we were content to dodge the construction in the Birch Hill parking lots, and get our workout done. Some of our fellow SCUM were building fences, teaching paddling, waiting for furnace servicing to be done, or waiting for a flight into Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge. We missed them, but our dryland training will continue for 4 or 5 months yet.