Author Archives: Sonot Kkaazoot

Happy New Year

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The Birch Hill groomers have been working overtime during the last few days of December and on New Year’s Day. Over a foot of new snow fell within 24 hours followed by intense winds that toppled trees and brought down lots of debris. Two of the groomers have been sick but still spent long hours clearing and grooming trails that we enjoyed on New Year’s Day. (Thank you, Bill and Ken!)

However, these groomers (using snowmachines and drags) created SCUM traps when they sneezed and created snow pits in the trails as seen below:

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getting-out-of-the-hole

after-scum-mashing

Some SCUM are pretty effective snow mashers. After the skiers shown below finished skiing the White Bear, the Piston Bully corduroy was fairly torn up with deep ruts (cut especially deep with someone’s left ski).

makers-of-mashed-potato-snow-on-wb

More snow is predicted this week, so our New Year’s Day scars will be soon buried and smoothed.

Make sure you make your trails fund donation.

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

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

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The National Weather Service is now predicting (with the highest probability that I’ve seen this winter) that we’ll have significant snow to close out 2016. 610prcp-new

So “Ski your age in km” on Monday, support the Groomers’ Ball on Friday, and plan to sign up for the 30th annual Sonot Kkaazoot soon. We’ve been having some difficulty getting the Wild Apricot online entry system updated for 2017, but when the elves can find time to do this, we’ll let you know. We have special swag to celebrate the 30th annual celebration of spring skiing in Fairbanks.

If you haven’t already done so, support the Birch Hill Trails fund. We cannot have the Sonot Kkaazoot without grooming.

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

Bad Bob, Sonot founder, will run Equinox Marathon with “new heart”

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Tomorrow’s 54th annual Equinox Marathon will feature a little additional climb thanks to the last-minute addition of the “zipper” and “tunnel” sections of trail on Ester Dome. However, Bad Bob Baker, the founder and longtime organizer of the Sonot Kkaazoot will be unfazed by this minor diversion. Baker will be continuing his personal Equinox glory in spite of a brush with death in late June when he collapsed at the Loftus Mile after winning his age category by 1:30! Cleared by his doctors to do the Equinox Marathon if he keeps his heart rate under 135, I hope that I get to see him on the course out-and-back. However, with his 75% coronary blockage removed, Bad Bob will likely snooze his way around the course, leaving mere mortals behind him.

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photo by Ned Rozell