Author Archives: Sonot Kkaazoot

Laura and Sven Grage ski virtual 40 and 50 km Sonot, respectively

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Laura writes:

Laura's_Sonot copy

Above is Laura’s Sonot. I did the 40 (25 miles). Route was relay start, White Bear, MMs, Warm Up, North 40, little gatorade break, Full House to Sunny Side, all the way down through 6 inches of crusted powder, then very slowly up the powder on the Connector, White Bear again, little gatorade break, Blue, Half House, Tower, Roller Coaster with Medivac, Warm Up, then a few laps in the stadium to wrap it up.
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Sven's_Sonot copy
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Above is Sven’s course. He skied with me and then added on 10 km more to get his 50 done. He went out the White Bear after we split up and returned at Coronary Bypass, added the MMs again, Tower, then half of the Warm Up.
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It was a great ski, much cooler today, but the snow was still warm and fast. It was pretty windy and gusty, so we could not have worn less clothes, but it sure was nice to not be dripping with sweat. Trails were great. We were going for nice, long ski pace.
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We are thinking we might go for another Sonot next weekend. Perhaps the cooler temps later this week *could* favor a traditional Sonot 50 route with the river firming up???
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Take care and thank you for organizing this; it was a great way to feel the nordic community, but stay “socially distant”,

Mark Billingsley skis virtual 40 km classic

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Mark writes:

I did the 40k on Saturday.  (Maybe a little more than 40?)
Classic style
Mark Billingsley
Time: ?? Didn’t really keep track.  A little over 5 hours.
Notes: North 40, Black Hole, Competition, Blue, Outhouse, Relay, rest, White Bear Access, White Bear, rest.  Repeat.
Thanks!
Bummed it was cancelled.  I was looking forward to my first time doing the 40k classic.

Donovan Granger skis virtual 40 km

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In Donovan’s words:

It took two installments with a geezer feed/rest break in between, but I remained vertical and ambulatory post ski, long enough to make it home to the sauna…Had moral support and company from Patrick Druckenmiller.

Granger AM

Started out with plans to do the tour-de-birch, but ended up doing a shortened version of the Black loops, and passed on Moilanen Meadows entirely. Otherwise had a pleasant tour of sunnyside, with two laps of the blue, outhouse and  the lighted loops.

Granger PM

 

Thanks to the groomers for keeping everything skiable!

Congratulations, Donovan! You didn’t miss the start of this virtual 40 km Sonot.

Joanna Fox skis virtual 20 km using both techniques

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Joanna Fox completed her virtual 20 km Sonot Kkaaoot in two segments: 10 km skating on Saturday and 10 km classical skiing on Sunday with Norma Haubenstock (who skied twice on Sunday).

Here’s Joanna’s skate 10 km from Saturday in the snowstorm:

Joanna's skate 10 km

See: https://sonotkkaazoot.org/2020/03/22/fairbanks-master-swimmers-ski-virtual-50-km-in-snowstorm/ for photos and comment on Saturday’s ski.

Here’s Joanna’s Sunday stat’s and route when trails were breezy but nicely groomed:

Joanna's classical 10 km

And here is the happy duo on Sunday afternoon:

Joanna & Norma on the classical 10 km

Joanna wrote: I had a lot of fun in the tracks today (they were fast, but I wasn’t feeling too timid due to the practice we got when it was so much colder). I also continued to work on my step-turning around corners. In all, it was a wonderful ski, and a nice way to finish my 20 km Virtual Sonot effort. Depending on what the rest of this week brings, maybe I can even get up to 40 or 50 before Bad Bob shuts it down.

 

The O’Brien Woollers crush the Sonot 20 km

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From Diane O’Brien:

We headed out around 10:30 am on Sunday for our Virtual Sonot in two parties, Mom (Diane O’Brien) with Owen Wooller (age 12) and Dad (Mat Wooller) with Phoebe Wooller (age 10).  Owen was determined to ski 20 km, sister Phoebe was less so, so we split up to enable different end times and routes.

All 4 started out on White Bear.  We gloried in the fresh corduroy on White Bear access and quickly discovered that White Bear was less pristine – a little snowy and stick-y but still eminently skiable.  Owen and Mom had pulled ahead by SCUM corner and thought that was the last they’d see of Dad and Phoebe.  Not so!  They caught us while we were feasting on Girl Scout cookies at the top of Heart Rate Hill (see below), and again while we were feasting and congratulating ourselves at the end of White Bear.
Mat,Owen&Phoebe_sm

Owen, Mat, and Phoebe Wooller

After White Bear, Owen and Mom skied: Tower, Outhouse, Relay, Blue, Warmup, and Rollercoaster/Medevac twice.  Stats and map are below. Their final distance was 12.74 miles.
Diane&Owen_Sonot-stats_sm

Stats for Diane and Owen

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Diane’s and Owen’s route

We periodically crossed paths with Team Dad/Phoebe and discovered they were in it to win it, the whole 20 km.   After White Bear, their route included: Tower, Blue, a lap or two around the Stadium, and 6 laps of Roller coaster/Medevac.  No GPS evidence but they’re generally truthful people.  (The Sonot blogger will attest to seeing Mat and Phoebe quickly pulling away from Norma and me)
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Owen and Mom made it back to the car ~ 15 minutes before Dad and Phoebe, who had taken a warm-up and snack break in the minivan after White Bear.  Phoebe, at < 60 lbs and the least confident of her ability to ski 20 km, probably looked the freshest of all of us.  All had a blast.
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Thanks for organizing this great event and thanks for the fantabulous grooming!

Celebrating the groomers during the virtual Sonot Kkaazoot

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4 HOURS OF GROOMING AT 20 BELOW sm

Tom Helmers, head NSCF groomer after working 4 hrs at -20 deg F

Although so far, skiers have devoted from one hour to the better part of a day to their virtual Sonot Kkaazoot skis, the groomers have also been working. In the five days since the virtual Sonot Kkaazoot started, the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks (NSCF) groomers have spent 12.5 hours working on the trails. (Updated 3/24/20: 15 hours were spent grooming last night and today)

Bad Bob Baker, who uses his personal grooming equipment, has spent 32 hours grooming the Chena River, and an additional 10 hours checking out the river conditions and hauling equipment back and forth to accomplish his grooming.

Bad Bob grooming turnaround sm

Bad Bob grooming the 20 km turnaround

This season, Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks groomers have put 840 km on the piston bully and 1,300 km on the five snowmachines used for grooming. This is effort that allows skiers to train so that they are physically able to ski the Virtual Sonot Kkaazoot. As of 12 March, groomers had logged 832 hours of effort. They often do grooming chores during their own skiing time.

BILL HUSBY DRAGING THE WHITE BEAR sm

Bill Husby grooming the White Bear trail

The condition of the groomed trails that we are skiing on now depends upon grooming all winter in addition to brushing and maintenance work done over the non-snow months.

Bill Husby and Ken Coe doing trail maintenance

Bill Husby & Ken Coe doing pre-winter trail work—photo by Tom Helmers

Ski trails aren’t maintained by the borough, they are maintained with funds from Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks donations and sponsorships. If you haven’t already done so, please donate to the NSCF trail fund so we can continue to ski this spring:

https://nordicskicluboffairbanks.wildapricot.org/Donate/

Snow that makes everyone a champion

Trails groomed so that everyone can ski like a champion.

Thank you.

Most photos of NSCF groomers were taken by Eric Troyer, SCUM in charge of Sonot Kkaazoot media and NSCF board member, who is touring and Facebook coordinator. He is also the best-dressed SCUM at races.

Julie Esdale & Jen Humphrey ski virtual 20 km

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In the Sunday wind storm, Julie Esdale and Jen Humphrey completed the virtual Sonot 20 km in 2:30:00. The skied all the White Bear, Blue, Outhouse, Relay Start, Tower, Old Tower, Roller Coaster, White Bear Access and Warm up.

Jen and Julie reduced

Julie is wearing the crown from her Oosik Costume— They were a group of Lady Liberties (she means Liberski!).

 

Congratulations!

Norma and Susan add 10 more km to their virtual Sonot Kkaazoot

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Although the trails were somewhat windy when we started out today, the tracks were solid and the corduroy unmarred by other skiers. Susan was skating and Norma was classical skiing today. We followed the grooming by skiing the blue, outhouse, and Sunnyside.

Fresh piston bully cordoroy and tracks on Outhouse

Norma skiing the Outhouse tracks with Rode blue and Swix extra blue kick

The grooming ended at Cliffside, but we continued on opting for an adventure.

Looking for adventure

Norma warmed up from our adventure

Mistake! I discovered on one of the downhill corners that the deep transformed snow concealed an icy berm that totally engulfed my skate skis so I unceremoniously face planted–jarring my heart rate monitor to momentarily read 214.  Fortunately, Norma didn’t have a camera so I was spared further embarrassment. 

Conditions got tougher when we got to the Sonot Connector so I took off my skis and walked. The snow was deep and occasionally we could see the brilliantly blue colored ice underneath the blanket of snow from the Color Running Race that Fort Wainwright had held last Sunday. Norma classical skied our uphill adventure while I walked.

Adventrue ski up Sonot connector

Norma setting her own tracks up the Sonot Connector

Following Jamo Parrish's advise

Sometimes taking off the skis is easier than slogging

Halfway up the Sonot Connector we saw two moose (a mother and yearling) who were moving slower than we were. We waited for them to cross the trail before heading up. Although the White Bear hadn’t been groomed since Saturday morning, our adventure made that trail seem SO much easier. We finished up by taking Meridian cutoff to the warm-up and then skiing the warm-up again to enjoy the fresh grooming.

Here is our adventure data (10.64 km, 2:09.46):

Adventure data

and our ski and adventure route:

adventure route

Our ski and adventure route

So as I head into my two grad classes on Monday and Tuesday, I have only 20 km left to ski on my 50 km Virtual Sonot Kkaazoot, when I can return on Wednesday.

Carl Hemming skis virtual 40 km (in 2 installments)

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Carl skied the traditional 20 km course on 19 March 2020, mostly double poling in the tracks to avoid freeze-thaw ruts in the skating platform.. He started with and emulated Bill Husby, but his time was 1:47:33. See: https://sonotkkaazoot.org/2020/03/19/bill-husby-finishes-his-virtual-20-km/

On Saturday, 21 March, Carl once again started with Bill Husby intending to ski 40 km. However, after skiing the White Bear twice for a distance of 21 km, he opted to call it a day.

He wrote: The rapidly accumulating snow on the freshly groomed trails made skate skiing progressively more difficult. Thanks to everyone for making it possible to get out and ski for two and one half hours Saturday.

Carl slightly seized up afterwards and sent the wrong screen shot. However, here’s the second installment of Carl’s virtual 40 km.

Carl's second installment

I also witnessed Carl pacing the warming hut after his 21 km ski waiting for his carpool driver, Jerome Jackson, to finish his virtual 40 km. Carl might easily have done 22 or 23 km of combined ski/walk distance.