SCUM brave a half foot of powder to find LOL ornament #2–photo by Pam Laker
After having to brave a half foot of ungroomed powder on the black loops to locate LOL ornament #2, our LAST of the 12, the SCUM decided to shred all the black downhills. In the process we also did some trail maintenance–moving downed trees from the trails. Most of us fell (Greg and Mom, 4 times), but the video below records the best one. Click on the full screen icon on the lower far right of the image to appreciate the moment more fully.
How many SCUM does it take to pick up a downed tree? video by Pam Laker
Here are Greg Kahoe’s photos of Bill leading us on our first shedding adventure:
Mike wisely watches as the carnage plays out on the downhill
Here is a photo gallery provided by Pam of our fun on the black loops:
Sometimes you have to discard your training plans to have a little fun.
It was -14 deg F when we started and -16 deg F when we finished 2.5 hours later. However, the SCUM persevered and found 3 LOL ornaments. I thought that finished our tally of all 12 LOL ornaments, but it looks like we are still missing one.
The first ornament, LOL ornament #9 was spotted by Bill Husby on a trail that we had all skied multiple times during the holidays without seeing it.
LOL ornament #9 spotted by Bill Husby
After skiing Sunnyside through deep powder, we returned to our quest for LOL ornaments and Mike Schmoker found LOL #11:
Mom points to LOL ornament #11 spotted by Mike Schmoker–photo by Pam Laker
With cold toes and thumbs among his fellow SCUM, Mike spotted LOL ornament #1.
LOL ornament #1 was the last ornament found by the SCUM today–photo by Pam Laker
After finding LOL ornament #1, Jerome did some trail breaking through the entire winter’s snowpack to allow us to take a short cut back to the Birch Hill stadium. Even taking this short cut (and the groomer’s ramp instead of the rest of the WB access), we skied over 10 km. Jerome had already skied before we arrived so he probably skied 12 to 15 km.
Unfortunately, it appears that the SCUM missed LOL ornament #2, so maybe we’ll find it on Sunday. Sorry, guys! Mom found out when she added our haul today to our prior tally.
A huge thanks to Pam Laker, who took a break for organizing volunteers and volunteer care for tomorrow’s Town Race, to join us. She took photos when Mom’s thumb wouldn’t stay warm.
Jerome after skiing 8 km at -23 deg F–his eyelashes were stunning!
Today it was -23 deg F in the Birch Hill stadium at 10:30 a.m. but the temperatures dropped as we lost elevation. However, the newly groomed trails were fast allowing us some “free speed” on the graduals and downhills. Jeff Conn kept his speed in check and spotted LOL ornament #10 shown below:
Jeff Conn in front of LOL ornament #10
This brings the SCUM total load of ornaments to 8. We need to find 4 more before the New Year.
Enjoy the holidays and we’ll see you on the trails.
It was a snowy Friday morning, but the pistenbully tracks were amazingly fast and secure. Thank you, Tom Helmers! Even at -25 deg F, the firm tracks made it possible to ski fast enough to keep all the appendages thawed and warm.
LOL ornament #4
Today’s discoveries bring the SCUM total of LOL ornaments past the halfway mark. We have located 7 of the 12 ornaments for this season.
Hopefully, the recent accumulation of almost a foot of fluffy snow doesn’t conceal the five ornaments that we need to find.
A deep inversion had temperatures a balmy -8 deg F in the stadium and -24 deg F in Shannon Park at the bottom of Birch Hill Road and City Lights Blvd. However, Bill Husby set beautiful classical tracks on the Black Loops yesterday, so we were lured down into the chilly depths where we found three more LOL ornaments.
SCUM find ornament #7 as a group–photo by Greg Kahoe
In the black loops, there are a number of cutoffs so the SCUM group scattered, so only Bill, Greg, and Mom found ornament #3:
LOL ornament #3 spotted by Bill Husby–photo by Greg Kahoe
The other SCUM found LOL ornament #8 when they were lost in the Black Loops but Jerome was able and willing to go back down so we could document his find:
Bill and Mom document Jerome’s find of LOL ornament #8–photo by Jerome Jackson
Even on a cold day, Bill’s tracks were a delight as on the N40, you could glide entirely up the uphills after tucking the downhills in the tracks. It was also possible to stride up the Competition Loop in Bill’s clean and deep tracks. As we were finishing up, the grooming crew was heading out the blue loops so likely by now they have new clean tracks, too. The Outhouse Loop really needed new tracks after the recent winds had filled the tracks with balsam poplar leaves.Today was a good day to not be skiing on skins as you enjoyed more free glide.
SCUM find LOL ornament #6 before getting warmed up on Friday –-all photos by Joanna Fox
The SCUM quickly found LOL ornament #6 as it was on one of the Strava segments named for a primordial SCUM. This ornament is gold, not a very easy to spot color, and is located above Joanna’s right shoulder.
Here’s a close up with Thumper, who was visiting from Reno:
Carl was cooperative with our photographer early in the workout, but then became wayward.
Mom was skiing with just one pole to avoid further aggravation of cartilage connecting her ribs to her sternum. Thus, she was looking around while she waited for the SCUM to chase Robert and Jeff downhill and spotted LOL ornament #5:
LOL ornament # 5
The photo makes this LOL ornament a giveaway for anyone skiing the trails regularly.
It may be chilly on the trails, but the newly set tracks allow one’s skis to glide so you travel more effortlessly than before the recent snow.
Although the Super Tour Races moved to Anchorage, fantastic skiing still awaits skiers in Fairbanks.
Eight of the SCUM on the fifth day of Christmas in front of LOL ornament #8–all photos by Joanna Fox
On the fifth day of Christmas, some the SCUM were a little weary having skied 100 minus their age in kilometers on Saturday, or the age of her oldest child in kilometers. So, we skied slowly in search of the three LOL ornaments we hadn’t located.
With a hint provided by Byron, who is married to a LOL, we started out in search of #8 and quickly found it. Although a huge ornament, which Joanna dubbed the “disco ball”, we’ve skied by multiple times without seeing it because of its golden color:
Close up of LOL ornament #8, the disco ball
Ornament #3 was more challenging because the trail on which it is located has only been skier groomed since December snowstorms. Because most of the SCUM remember skiing regularly on skier-groomed trails, we headed out.
SCUM in front of LOL ornament #3
Once we found ornament #3, Dermot decided to blaze a new trail out of the woods and made it back to groomed trails before any of the rest of us who kept on the “skier groomed trail.”
On Christmas, Eric Troyer, who joins the SCUM very irregularly, had spotted the last remaining ornament that the regular SCUM needed to find, so we headed out to where he had seen it. Finding the red LOL ornament #4, we had found our dozen ornaments.
Bright red LOL ornament #4 finally located after being skied by numerous times
Since Eric had helped us out, we took him out to LOL ornament #11 that he hadn’t found:
Eric captures LOL ornament #11 that was on a trail that he didn’t check on Christmas ski
The SCUM found all 12 LOL ornaments and noticed that some of their candy canes still remain on trees, free for the taking.
Happy New Year! May you find good health and great friends on the trails next year.
Sunrise on the Sunnyside, Jerome Jackson’s diversion from skiing the newly set tracks--all photos by Joanna Fox
After the Christmas and Hannukah feasts, the SCUM were delighted to find newly groomed and tracked trails on the blue and black loops. We set out, hoping to find additional LOL ornaments. However, we were easily sidetracked onto the Sunnyside Trail by Jerome. We saw the change of color in the skies instead of the actual sunrise.
Once we got onto the black loops, we ran into fellow SCUM, Byron Broda and Dermot Cole, who aided us in finding two of the LOL ornaments. Joanna spotted #12 even though Byron and I had skied past the ornament earlier without seeing the bright red sphere:
Joanna spots LOL ornament #12 that I had skied by on Christmas and Byron had skied by earlier today
Although Dermot didn’t spot the second ornament, we saw the ornament about the same time we saw him:
LOL ornament #5 was also red but not quite as visible as #12 had been
Off the newly set tracks, Byron aided us in locating an ornament that we had skied by multiple times since the ornaments were hung. The ornament’s gold color effectively camouflaged it.
LOL ornament #6 blending into the surroundings
With today’s haul of ornaments, the SCUM need to find just three more: #3, #4, and #8.
With temperatures in the Birch Hill stadium at 20 deg and the White Bear trail groomed to absolute perfection, a small group of SCUM oozed out in search of more LOL ornaments. Byron, Jerome, Joanna, and I skied leisurely so that we could scan the woods for ornaments. We were rewarded with LOL ornament number 10:
Byron and Mom find LOL ornament #10–all photos by Joanna Fox
We also spotted a new SCUMometer at the bottom of the White Bear with the unmistakable Dermot Cole penmanship. Thanks, Dermot. This gives us important data for our workout logs.
SCUMometer at the low point of the White Bear trail showed 12 deg versus 20 in the stadium
Mom spies the thermometer, which gives her reason to rest
The trails were absolutely beautiful at the bottom of the White Bear where the winds seldom blow:
Jerome Jackson leads Byron Broda on corduroy at the bottom of White Bear trail
Jerome remained in the lead throughout our tour of the White Bear and Moilanen Meadows. He was going so fast that he missed LOL ornament #1 that we found in the Meadows, so Jerome skied the Meadows twice to see the ornament.
SCUM find LOL ornament # 1
With today’s haul of two ornaments, the SCUM have found half of the 12 LOL ornaments of Christmas. We’ll keep skiing and looking for ornaments 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 12.
SCUM search for sunrise on Sunnyside Trail at Powerline cutoff–photo by Joanna Fox
With winter solstice rapidly approaching, the SCUM ventured out on the Sunnyside trail in hopes of capturing sunrise. The clouds prevented seeing the sun, but Robert Hannon, one of our wayward journalists, joined us today, so we needed to document that.
Robert makes a dramatic entrance–video by Joanna Fox
Later, we found LOL ornament #9 (our 4th one), and once again Robert posed in front of today’s SCUM ooze:
LOL ornament #9 (to the right of Mike Schmoker’s shoulder) —photo by Joanna Fox
Close up of LOL ornament #9
You’ve probably seen a herd of cattle, a flock of sheep, a pod of dolphins, a school of fish, or a pack of wolves. But, when was the last time you encountered an ooze of SCUM?
An ooze of SCUM–photo by Joanna Fox
Thanks to Byron Broda for coming up with an appropriate collective noun for us.
Sonot Kkaazoot 