March in Fairbanks means long sunny days! The recent snow and cold weather has allowed our great Birch Hill groomers to create awesome corduroy with deep classical tracks. 
Enjoy the lovely trails but don’t wait too long to sign up for the Sonot Kkaazoot. Entry fees go up after 5 p.m. this Friday, 20 March 2015.
To prepare for the 40 and 50 km Sonot Kkaazoot, the Wednesday night race on March 18, 2015 has you competing on the Sonot Connector trail. See: WNRace_3-18-15
For more information: http://www.wnrace.com/
Although the current 7-day forecast isn’t optimal for training for the Sonot Kkaazoot, it is optimal for setting up the traditional Sonot Kkaazoot course that has skiers skiing 20 km on the Chena River.
Yesterday, Bad Bob Baker spent 5 hours dragging and grooming the entire Chena River section of the Sonot Kkaazoot to “race width.” The thick new blanket of snow has now been compressed and mixed with unfrozen areas so hopefully things will freeze back up thicker and firmer than before. So, keep your fingers crossed that a week of consistent cold will allow the 2015 Sonot Kkaazoot to be held on our traditional course with the Chena River start and finish. Stay tuned!
Also on Monday, groomers Tom Helmers, Bill Husby, and Ken Coe assisted by Bad Bob cleared brush near the 20 km turnaround and along the ditch from the river to the Fort Wainwright alpine hill. It’s up to Mother Nature now.
Just a reminder that early registration for the Sonot Kkaazoot ends at 5 p.m. on Friday, 27 February 2015. Register now and save some money.
Volunteers are needed for inside and outdoor jobs on race day and before. Just leave a comment on the “Volunteers” page and we’ll get back to you.
Thanks from the Sonot Kkaazoot organizers.
Also, don’t forget the last Buetow Dental Distance Race (7.5 km to 30 km freestyle) is this Sunday, 1 March 2015 starting at 11:00 a.m. at Birch Hill Recreation Area.
Even with the early and late month cold spells, January 2015 was 1.4 deg F warmer than normal as seen on this figure from the Alaska Climate Research Center:
So make the commitment (and save money) by signing up for the 2015 Sonot Kkaazoot now. Just click on the “register” tab on the top of this blogsite.
The Competition Committee of Cross Country Alaska decided last night to move Besh Cup Races 3 & 4 (scheduled for Soldotna on 17 and 18 January 2015) to Birch Hill. This change of venue was unavoidable because of lack of snow in the Kenai. Besh Cup Races 3 & 4 are both classical technique races (one sprint, one mass start) because the Besh Cup Race 1, held in Anchorage in December, needed to be changed from a classical to freestyle technique sprint format because of lack of snow.
Thus, the Distance Race #2, scheduled for 11 a.m. on 17 January 2015 at Birch Hill will be rescheduled to allow the Birch Hill Recreation Area trails to be used for the two Besh Cup Races.
We’ll post the new time and date when available. You’ll have a little more training time before the 20 km CL test that the Distance Race #2 will provide.
Although Birch Hill has not received any significant snowfall in over three weeks when about 7 inches of fairly wet snow fell, skiing remains remarkably good. Thus, as clocks fall back into standard time mode, recreational Nordic skiers need to fall back to skiing on snow.
With the minimal snowpack after a very wet summer, the trails are not as smooth as they usually are. In some areas, ice lens have melted out leaving large divots, excess water runoff has created valleys next to water bars across trails, and leaves litter the compact snow surface. Thus, the first challenge is relearning balance on skis with fast snow conditions and obstacles. Although uphills may be an aerobic effort, the downhills are a stability challenge for the non-elite skier, adding a mental component to the early ski workouts. Thus, there are lots of opportunities to regroup and socialize as we did today.
The 2015 Sonot Kkaazoot is just 5 months away. Make the commitment and sign up today. See https://sonotkkaazoot.wordpress.com/register/ for the registration form.
Sonot Kkaazoot 