Category Archives: Training Ideas

Happy New Year

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Midway through our ski of the pistenbully tracks–photo by Pam Laker

Although December had 12 days with temperatures below -40 deg F at the airport and January has continued that trend, the SCUM workouts have been no colder than -25 deg F in the stadium, although temperatures dropped much colder on lower lying trails. Descending the Warmup Loop (not an accurate descriptor today) at the end of our workout, I developed a severe ice cream headache that didn’t resolve even on the uphill sections. It was definitely below -25 deg on Wake Up Loop.

Today the thermometer on the building said -19 deg F when we started and -12 when we finished. We managed to ski 10 km (all but about 1 km on pistenbully tracks) in a little more than 90 minutes. This is not bad considering that 3 of us are well over 70 years old and the kid among us had gotten her second shingles vaccine earlier in the week.

Here’s Bernardo and Mom gliding down the stadium hill with the full moon over our heads:

Controlling our windchill factor on the stadium hill under the full moon–video by Jerome Jacksonc

Although just two years ago, the SCUM skied on a -37 deg F Sunday, we’re getting soft in our old age. If it’s colder than -25 deg F at Birch Hill at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, we’ll cancel our workout and make up the kilometers on Tuesday:

SCUM w/ thermometer before workout on 28 January 2024–Joanna Fox photo

However, if the inversion holds, skiing above the ice fog is good for the mind and body.

SCUM find 2 more LOL ornaments on a -25 deg F day

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SCUM find LOL ornament #12

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.

SCUM do the military transect in the -15 deg F breezy warmth

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Preparing to do the military transect (down Sunnyside and Cliffside and up the Sonot Connector) meant protecting SCUM noses and faces from the cold. Here are some of the novel approaches to this challenge (top 4 photos by Joanna Fox)

These SCUM actually made it up to the White Bear loop where en route they were treated to the moon rise over the Sonot Connector:

SCUM who actually skied the military transect–photo by Pam Laker
SCUM rising on Sonot Connector (where the moon isn’t visible in this lower resolution image) —photo by Pam Laker

It was chilly but a beautiful day on the trails.

SCUM show up on Sunday after Turkey Day Relays

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15 SCUM are rounded up around 11 a.m. Sunday–photo by Joanna Fox

SCUM raced on three different Turkey Day Relay teams on Friday and despite one broken pole during the race, and a fall or two, the TDR skiers showed up on Sunday.

SCUM resting on the TDR course today–photo by Joanna Fox

We found the Tower Loop to be much more enjoyable with the SCUM rest stops that weren’t available on Friday.

Come join us on Tuesdays and Fridays at 1030 a.m. and Sundays at 1000 or 1100 a.m. We won’t be meeting next Sunday because of the Super Tour Race being held at Birch Hill. Volunteer to help out and you’ll get to watch skiers who don’t need to stop for rest breaks.

More female SCUM today

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Four female SCUM with just three guys skied N40 and Comp Loops today to find “old skier” snow–photo by Joanna Fox

With cold temperatures and very little snowpack on the trails throughout the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the SCUM need to be resourceful to find snow that geezers with broken body parts can safely ski. Although counterintuitive, the black loops have been less skied so the trails had a little forgiveness in them in the form of untracked snow. Today the “no Y SCUM” outnumbered the male ones. Nobody fell but Mom, but she’s learning to get up more quickly.

Owen Hanley leads the guys on the Flat Black–photo by Joanna Fox

Negotiating the Outhouse Loop to access the Flat Black loop proved no challenge to the guys among today’s SCUM. The trees were magical with their hoarfrost icings, but the trails were not the beautiful corduroy that we become accustomed to by mid winter.

First midweek SCUM workouts

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With enough snow to groom the Birch Hill trails, the SCUM met for the first time this season on Tuesday and Friday.

Tuesday SCUM —photo by Kent Karns
Most of Friday SCUM

We were just getting our snow legs, so trying to get the entire group together was challenging. Please join us on Tuesdays and Fridays at 10:30 a.m. Note this is a change of time on Friday, which will allow SCUM to take FXC Masters yoga and ski on Fridays.

SCUM rises to the top although more slowly now

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Carl, the only remaining primordial SCUM (from 1995-1996 season to present), finishes his 4 ascents

When the SCUM started back in the 1995 to 1996 winter, most of us were in our 40s. SCUM offspring were skiing for high school teams. Thirty years later, most SCUM are in their 70s and many are grandparents. In our first two decades, the 50 km Sonot Kkaazoot was our end-of-season goal and our “final exam.” However, by 2022, winters precluded the Chena River staying frozen to late March, so the Sonot Kkaazoot was moved entirely to Birch Hill. The new course traded 20 km of flat terrain on the river for 20 km of challenging hilly trails. Fewer of the SCUM were able to ski the 50 km course.

Now the SCUM can no longer ski and volunteer for organizing the Sonot Kkaazoot. With no race director for 2026 stepping forward to date, we will continue to ski and volunteer, but at an intensity and duration that is feasible given our advanced age.

Many years ago, Bill Husby, a SCUM and longtime NSCF groomer, issued the challenge for the SCUM to complete 4 ski walking ascents of the Fort Wainwright alpine hill by the Fourth of July. This season, between travel and air quality issues, only three SCUM (Bill Husby, Eric Buetow and Dave Prusak) successfully achieved that challenge. Five more SCUM (Joanna Fox, Mom, Robert Hannon, Bernardo Hernandez, and Tim Wooster) did their 4 ascents in the week following the 4th of July.

Carl Hemming, who spent much of the early summer rebuilding an outhouse at his Quartz Lake cabin and then spent several weeks in Michigan visiting family, finished his 4 ascents today. They weren’t fast, especially compared to those we’ve done in the past, but they were done under brilliant blue skies and golden leaves. Instead of mosquitoes, only a few no-see- ums flew around our faces.

Here’s proof from Mom’s Polar heartrate monitor trace

Although negative splits would be desirable for well-trained athletes, for SCUM who are closer to 80 than 70 years old, and injured, we were happy to do 4 ascents.

Our workout included 735 m (2414 feet) of climb and a total distance of 9.24 km. The average climb on the chairlift ascents was 22% (170 m climb over 0.84 km).

Carl nears the top of ascent #3
Carl at the end of ascent #4

So, please let us know if you know anyone who is willing to take on the organization of the Sonot Kkaazoot. Bad Bob Baker and the rest of the SCUM will be happy to help you out. Woodels for this year have been cut and sanded already.

SCUM move from snow to dirt

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Donovan at Sonot Junction on Friday–all photos by Joanna Fox

After last Sunday’s delightful Easter ski on over 10 km of pistenbully-groomed trails, weather conditions weren’t favorable for additional grooming. We skied Wednesday and Friday as more ground and less snow as visible on the trails. So today we made the switch to dryland training and headed up Ester Dome.

Ester Dome Road was ice free and dry to Ullerhaven and had patchy wet spots beyond the first set of towers. However, at the second set of towers, the trail was still wet and icy. The roadway lacks sufficient dry ground to turnaround so park at or before the first set towers. While we were on the top of Ester Dome, one offroad vehicle ended up backing up on the road from the second towers to the first towers.

Denali was out as Audrey started down the out-and-back trail
Mom walking around wet ruts left by off road vehicle
Dermot abandons idea of swinging on the top of Ester Dome
SCUM and family members on Ester Dome after meeting up with Army overnight campers

It was a great day for an Ester Dome ascent as it was 45 deg at 10 a.m. when we started and in the mid-50s when we finished 2 hours later. We saw a number of runners on Ester Dome Road–all of them in shorts.

Thus, Wednesday SCUM workouts will officially move from Birch Hill to Ester Dome starting 30 April 2025. We’ll start from the bike trails parking lot on Ester Dome Road (roughly one mile above St. Pat’s Road) at 10 a.m. The general plan is to ski walk down to St. Pat’s Road from the bike trails and then ski walk up to Ullerhaven for a 5 km uphill ski walk and then walk back down (2 miles) to our cars. Starting out, you could just start ski walking uphill (like we did today) and you can turnaround whenever you feel like you’ve done enough or have to get back to work.

Ski walkers, hikers, or runners are welcome to join us for all or part of our workout.

4/28/25 NOTE: The SCUM made their training transition Sunday before the Nenana Ice Classic tripod on the Tanana River had gone out. We make our weather observations based on our 29 years skiing together and act accordingly. We’re not climate deniers.