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Author Archives: Sonot Kkaazoot
First midweek SCUM workouts
With enough snow to groom the Birch Hill trails, the SCUM met for the first time this season on Tuesday and Friday.
We were just getting our snow legs, so trying to get the entire group together was challenging. Please join us on Tuesdays and Fridays at 10:30 a.m. Note this is a change of time on Friday, which will allow SCUM to take FXC Masters yoga and ski on Fridays.
SCUM rises to the top although more slowly now
When the SCUM started back in the 1995 to 1996 winter, most of us were in our 40s. SCUM offspring were skiing for high school teams. Thirty years later, most SCUM are in their 70s and many are grandparents. In our first two decades, the 50 km Sonot Kkaazoot was our end-of-season goal and our “final exam.” However, by 2022, winters precluded the Chena River staying frozen to late March, so the Sonot Kkaazoot was moved entirely to Birch Hill. The new course traded 20 km of flat terrain on the river for 20 km of challenging hilly trails. Fewer of the SCUM were able to ski the 50 km course.
Now the SCUM can no longer ski and volunteer for organizing the Sonot Kkaazoot. With no race director for 2026 stepping forward to date, we will continue to ski and volunteer, but at an intensity and duration that is feasible given our advanced age.
Many years ago, Bill Husby, a SCUM and longtime NSCF groomer, issued the challenge for the SCUM to complete 4 ski walking ascents of the Fort Wainwright alpine hill by the Fourth of July. This season, between travel and air quality issues, only three SCUM (Bill Husby, Eric Buetow and Dave Prusak) successfully achieved that challenge. Five more SCUM (Joanna Fox, Mom, Robert Hannon, Bernardo Hernandez, and Tim Wooster) did their 4 ascents in the week following the 4th of July.
Carl Hemming, who spent much of the early summer rebuilding an outhouse at his Quartz Lake cabin and then spent several weeks in Michigan visiting family, finished his 4 ascents today. They weren’t fast, especially compared to those we’ve done in the past, but they were done under brilliant blue skies and golden leaves. Instead of mosquitoes, only a few no-see- ums flew around our faces.
Although negative splits would be desirable for well-trained athletes, for SCUM who are closer to 80 than 70 years old, and injured, we were happy to do 4 ascents.
Our workout included 735 m (2414 feet) of climb and a total distance of 9.24 km. The average climb on the chairlift ascents was 22% (170 m climb over 0.84 km).
So, please let us know if you know anyone who is willing to take on the organization of the Sonot Kkaazoot. Bad Bob Baker and the rest of the SCUM will be happy to help you out. Woodels for this year have been cut and sanded already.
Teacher needed in Minto
Note from Scott Brucker, Minto trail builder, skier, musher, and teacher:
If you know any skiers or outdoor enthusiast, there’s a Middle School and/or Sci-Math opening in Minto. It would be nice to share these trails with another person.
Thanks
Scott
If you have any questions, you can contact Scott at: sbrucker@yksd.com
New Sonot Kkaazoot race director needed
On 29 April 2025, we posted that the current Sonot Kkaazoot director was stepping down after 37 years. To date, no one (or group of people) has stepped up. A lot of work is needed to make the Sonot Kkaazoot happen, so the race won’t be possible without a race director. Bad Bob and Sharon Baker are willing to help the new organizing team but have retired from doing it themselves.
Remember 1988?
Even in 1988, the Chena River threatened to move the inaugural Sonot Kkaazoot off the Chena River. However, a last-minute cold spell allowed race organizer, Bob Baker to start and finish the first Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot on the Chena River near the Cushman Street Bridge.
A total of 23 skiers competed in the 50-km race, and another 8 in the 20-km event. As the Fairbanks News-Miner reports, “the first Sonot Kkaazoot cross-country ski races came off without a hitch Saturday, with Tim Kelley and Dexter Ittner posting victories in the two races.”
Bob and Sharon Baker organized that first Sonot Kkaazoot and the majority of the following 37 events. In his post-race report to the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks board of directors, Bob announced that the 38th Sonot Kkaazoot will be his last as organizer. It’s been a long run for the Bakers. Since 1988, the Sonot Kkaazoot has grown almost tenfold in race participants and in the volunteers required to successfully put on the event. Volunteers younger than the SCUM are needed as our physical and mental abilities are rapidly declining.
If you know of someone interested in taking over the organization of the Sonot Kkaazoot, urge them to contact Thad Keener, executive director of the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks. His contact information is: executivedirector@nscfairbanks.org.
SCUM move from snow to dirt
After last Sunday’s delightful Easter ski on over 10 km of pistenbully-groomed trails, weather conditions weren’t favorable for additional grooming. We skied Wednesday and Friday as more ground and less snow as visible on the trails. So today we made the switch to dryland training and headed up Ester Dome.
Ester Dome Road was ice free and dry to Ullerhaven and had patchy wet spots beyond the first set of towers. However, at the second set of towers, the trail was still wet and icy. The roadway lacks sufficient dry ground to turnaround so park at or before the first set towers. While we were on the top of Ester Dome, one offroad vehicle ended up backing up on the road from the second towers to the first towers.
It was a great day for an Ester Dome ascent as it was 45 deg at 10 a.m. when we started and in the mid-50s when we finished 2 hours later. We saw a number of runners on Ester Dome Road–all of them in shorts.
Thus, Wednesday SCUM workouts will officially move from Birch Hill to Ester Dome starting 30 April 2025. We’ll start from the bike trails parking lot on Ester Dome Road (roughly one mile above St. Pat’s Road) at 10 a.m. The general plan is to ski walk down to St. Pat’s Road from the bike trails and then ski walk up to Ullerhaven for a 5 km uphill ski walk and then walk back down (2 miles) to our cars. Starting out, you could just start ski walking uphill (like we did today) and you can turnaround whenever you feel like you’ve done enough or have to get back to work.
Ski walkers, hikers, or runners are welcome to join us for all or part of our workout.
4/28/25 NOTE: The SCUM made their training transition Sunday before the Nenana Ice Classic tripod on the Tanana River had gone out. We make our weather observations based on our 29 years skiing together and act accordingly. We’re not climate deniers.
SCUM enjoy Easter grooming
Above are some of the happy sounds and faces seen on groomed trails at Birch Hill Recreation Area on Easter Sunday. An absolutely fun ski for all.
Two inches of wet new snow greet SCUM
Some SCUM missed the grooming yesterday as one of us needed to file her income taxes. However, two inches of fresh snow covered the icy trails, so we enjoyed a day that looked more like Christmas than approaching Easter and Passover.
A busload of kindergarteners and first graders arrived on skis (no poles needed) as we were leaving, excited to have fresh snow approaching some of their knees.
Enjoy the spring skiing. Today’s snowfall has definitely extended the season.
Donate to the NSCF trail fund please. https://nordicskicluboffairbanks.wildapricot.org/Donate
SCUM Foolery
With the post-Sonot Kkaazoot fatigue lingering in our weathered bodies, the SCUM decided to enjoy the sunshine, scenery, and each other’s company while skiing the White Bear and Moilanen Meadows today.
Here is the entire gang at the bottom of Heartrate Hill:
Below are photos and videos of the SCUM foolery. In between the photo and videos, I managed to get 1:12 of low level 1 training.
Moilanen Meadows looked prime for spring snow angels:
The SCUM encountered wildlife on our ski including an early rising honey badger:
Enjoy spring skiing. Contribute to the NSCF grooming fund for continued skiing under warm inviting conditions for the next generation of SCUM:
Sonot Kkaazoot 