With the 33rd annual Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot just 8 weeks out, it is time to be putting the kilometers into the bank. Today with temperatures in the Birch Hill stadium hovering around -16 deg F and snowing, it was an ideal time to do the North Classical trails especially for balance challenged SCUM. On a cold day like today, the only skiers who showed up for our Sunday workout were those old enough to remember skiing at much colder temperatures.

After warming up our 6 decade and older bodies on one circuit of yesterday’s Town Race #3 course, we headed off for the recently groomed North Classical loops. With Frank Soos leading the first part of the Classical Bear, he managed to dump a widow’s maker’s worth of snow onto our youngest SCUM, Sam Bishop.  Sam decided that following the tallest skier among us wasn’t a good idea so he took the lead. At the Aurora Run intersection, we headed out the North Star trail and eventually came to the RSDH Bypass sign. As a faithful reader of the Sonot Kkaazoot blog, you will now know that this acronym stands for “Really Steep Down Hill” on this single track trail. Dermot Cole, photographer of the photo below, has another “S” word that he uses, but we’ve used the official acronym definition.

“Really Steep Down Hill” bypass sign

With the newly fallen -20 below snow, the RSDH was no challenge navigating, which is fortunate because with my down skirt fully zipped on the sides, I couldn’t snowplow. Dermot also took videos of our downhill ski technique so we could improve before temperatures warm up. Today,  no one crashed even though we totally encased with frost from skiing on trails that varied from -15 to -25 deg F.

What does it take to ski at -20 deg F? Two chemical handwarmers in each of your mittens and a set for either side of your phone. And friends to ski with JUST in case something unexpected happens.

It was absolutely beautiful out on the trails today and while we weren’t skiing very quickly, we were getting quite a workout just to keep moving on both the uphills and downhills.

Although Shalene Frost won the women’s 20 km Distance Race #2 last Saturday by skate skiing, the majority of participants were classical skiing as the cold weather has lingered for over a month.

The long range forecasts show a 50 to 70% likelihood that the 8 to 14 day temperature outlooks will be below normal. Thus, most mortals training for the Sonot Kkaazoot should embrace classical skiing and plan to enter some classical races to test your fitness.

The Distance Race #3 will be held on Sunday, 16 February at 11:00 a.m. This event will be held in classical technique over 10 and 30 km courses. You can register for that race here: https://www.nscfairbanks.org/programs/races/distance-series/distance-series-3/

On Sunday, 8 March, the UAF Trails Club will host the 20 km classical Skiathon race and tour on the UAF trails at 11:00 a.m. Information and entry forms can be found here: https://uaftrailsclub.weebly.com/skiathon.html

Entry fees from this race support UAF trails so your $15 entry fee before March 7 ($40 on the day of the race) is a great investment in ski trails on the west end of the borough.

The trails at Birch Hill and UAF have ample snow pack and have been getting regular grooming so conditions are great if somewhat slow. Plan to enter some classical races and you’ll increase your fitness as the Sonot Kkaazoot draws closer.

When we left the Birch Hill stadium around 10:18 a.m., it was +2 deg F with sunrise still almost 40 minutes away. We skied on fast tracks down the White Bear to the Sonot Connector, where Bill Husby, Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks groomer, had dragged and set tracks on the Southside classical trails yesterday.

Acclimated to the record warm winter weather to date, we were dressed as we normally would for double digits BELOW zero weather. We expected to find slow trail conditions. Instead the trails had firmed up so that the tracks were wicked fast. We made it to the high point in the trails a little before a spectacular sunrise (Photo by Bill Husby).

Look at those deep tracks behind us. We then chased Bill down the challenging downhill corners where one of us fell four times. However, all that was injured was my pride as the trails have plenty of padding this winter.

As this is the season of giving, please consider giving yourself and others the gift of good health. Please contribute to the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks trail fund so we can continue to enjoy skiing on spectacularly groomed trails.

http://nordicskicluboffairbanks.wildapricot.org/Donate

Happy Winter Solstice!

The trails at Birch Hill are snow covered and conditions are spectacular. Make the commitment and sign up for the 33rd annual Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot.

https://sonotkkaazoot.org/register/

Have you wanted to ski the Sonot Kkaazoot but felt that you weren’t quite ready? Kristin Rozell’s Sonot Kkaazoot training course would be the perfect Christmas gift for you. Just let your special Santa know. Or, make a New Year’s resolution for a fitter, healthier self by having the Sonot Kkaazoot as your end of winter goal. Here’s the URL to register for Kristen’s on-snow class:

https://nordicskicluboffairbanks.wildapricot.org/event-3605979

Kristen will familiarize you with all the trails used in the Sonot Kkaazoot and provide you with valuable pacing and technique insights. Confidence is key to a successful Sonot Kkaazoot, and Kristen’s class that meets weekly from January 14 to March 17 will provide skiers with the skills and practice needed.