Not pretty, but Birch Hill is open for skiing

Posted on November 16, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

Unlike last year when the November chinook came with wind and rain, this unusually warm early winter in Fairbanks has been arid with no significant snow in over a month. Skiers are left wishing for even hoarfrost that might cover a month’s worth of birch seed and leaves that litter the Birch Hill trails or provide some structure on the ice-covered Smith Lake.

Trails in some areas of Birch Hill are approaching 100% organic, but, other trails are much better.

In fact, trails look better at night or slightly out-of-focus, like this photo taken today on the South Tower loop.

But, we are skiing on snow. At Hatcher Pass, the ground is brown not dirty white:

http://www.adn.com/article/20141114/lack-snow-steals-early-season-recreation-glory-hatcher-pass

So enjoy the ski trails that we have, and do some cross training. As Pete Leonard pointed out to his FXC Masters Group, most Masters skiers would make significant improvements in their skiing by adding regular strength training. Here are some links to Swedish and Russian Cross Country skiers doing strength training that might motivate you to do the same while snow conditions are less than ideal.

Summer trail work makes skiing possible on thin snowpack

Posted on November 9, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

Although there is still no snow in the near future (as shown by the 6- to 10-day outlook for precipitation from the NOAA National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center)

as long as temperatures stay below freezing, skiing at Birch Hill will remain remarkably good thanks to the summer trail work. Today the warm temperatures brought recreational skiers out to Birch Hill

where a first year skate skier was leading a veteran classical skier up heartbreak hill on the White Bear trail.

Enjoy the unseasonably warm temperatures

as the sub-zero conditions will eventually arrive as will our long-awaited snowfall.

Don’t forget to make your trail grooming donation that makes the long ski season at Birch Hill possible:

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

Fall back Sunday ski

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

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.

Easter Sunday at Birch Hill

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

Feed your inner teenager

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

Enjoy the snow off the well-groomed tracks:

especially if a trail groomer is doing to pushing.

Warning: there is more than one way to train for the Sonot Kkaazoot, and these guys are usually ahead of me. However, they still have fully intact bodies. Do not attempt this with bionic parts or if you still have work responsibilities.

Tour of Birch Hill

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

March is marathon month for Alaskan nordic skiers with the Tour of Anchorage taking place today, the Kachemak Marathon in Homer on March 8, followed by the Oosik in Talkeetna on March 15, and normally, the Sonot Kkaazoot the weekend after the Oosik. Because of the Arctic Winter Games being held in Fairbanks during the traditional Sonot Kkaazoot week, we’ve got an extra week to prepare for the Sonot Kkaazoot, which this year will be held on March 29.

So the SCUM who were not on the travel team to the Tour of Anchorage this Sunday, embarked on their own Grand Tour–of Birch Hill. The trails had all been groomed within the past few days, and temperatures were 17 deg F when we started at 11 a.m and rose to about 26 deg F. This made for no excuses when it came to the completing the Grand Tour of Birch Hill. With no official clock running, there were rests for self-service feeds, fatigue, or general SCUM principles as we see here:

and here:

Groups of two or more skiers formed led by M9 skiers, here Bob Moloney:

and here, Owen Hanley, who skied at World Masters in Austria last month:

When I finished, some of the SCUM were already home enjoying a beer for their efforts. However, a significant number of SCUM were still resting in the warm-up hut with coffee and sticky buns as their rewards for skiing the Grand Tour. Conditions were great as even the red lantern (yours truly) finished in just over 3 hours. Thanks to our awesome groomers, no excuses were needed. Having skied the Grand Tour, we felt a little more prepared for the 2014 Sonot Kkaazoot.

Don’t forget, you can register online until 26 March at:

at:https://sonotkkaazoot.wordpress.com/register/

or at Beaver Sports, Goldstream Sports, or Raven Cross Country until 21 March 2014.

No crowds, but World Cup quality ski trails

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

Although Sundays are usually busy days at Birch Hill, with the high school cross country ski season complete, and the Nanooks just returning from an extended road trip, Birch Hill trails beyond the stadium area were strangely quiet today. Rather than watching Olympic skiers race on Sochi trails in 40 to 50 deg F heat, we skied at temperatures rising to the double digits (above zero) on trails still bearing the signature corduroy even though they had been groomed several days ago. The classical tracks were wicked fast and were set best line on much of the White Bear.

Life doesn’t get much better than this. Notice the snow depth on either side of the trail. There is ample padding if you plant your ski or pole in the wrong place and crash. This is fantastic weather for training for the Sonot Kkaazoot and increasing daylight hours make skiing trails other than the lighted ones possible after work, too.

Have you made your donation to the Birch Hill Trails fund yet? Here’s the link to do so online: http://www.nscfairbanks.org/index.php/trails/519-great-grooming-costs-money-donate-to-nscf-trails-now). Without donations to pay for equipment, fuel, and trained operators, grooming that leads to our fantastic trail conditions will need to be cut back.

Training for the Sonot Kkaazoot in the cold

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

Unlike Sochi, where the Olympic cross country skiers are dealing with tropical conditions and deep slush, we will have firm trails with deep natural snow for Sunday’s third Buetow Dental Distance Race, the Raven Run. Anticipating rather cold temperatures, John Estle, Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks Competition Director, has selected the warmest, flattest course possible at Birch Hill Recreation Area. The 4-lap course gives skiers a 14 or 30 km option.

Here’s a map of the course:

In spite of the flatter course, classical skiing may be a faster option than skating for most skiers given the possibility of some delightful hoarfrost snow before or during this event. However, this final race in this season’s Distance Series will be a good endurance workout with the Sonot Kkaazoot a little over 6 weeks away. Also, you need to race to be eligible for the post-race drawing of valuable ski equipment and supplies from Raven Cross Country.

Reminder to the procrastinators out there, the Sonot Kkaazoot early registration ends in two weeks. Make the commitment now and save some money to use on the post-race celebration.

The secret to enjoying your job (or ski conditions)

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

This Calvin and Hobbes comic strip was on my office door for years as a partial explanation for why I hadn’t retired yet.

However, the key to enjoying your hobby (for me, definitely cross country skiing from November through April), is adapting to whatever Mother Nature dishes out to us. During the past 19 years, the SCUM have met Sundays (regardless of temperature) once there is sufficient snow on the ground to ski, and last January it was -37 deg F at Birch Hill for one of our Sunday training sessions.That workout was documented on this blog then.

January 2014 was quite the contrast as summarized by the National Weather Service today:

In addition, because of the strong temperature inversions, temperatures remained well above freezing at higher elevations (like Birch Hill) even after airport temperatures had dropped below freezing. This has made for very hard, icy trails that can result in painful bruises, rashes, concussions, and broken bones if one makes a careless mistake

that can sideline skiing for an extended period of time (depending upon severity of injury).

As skiers, we need to be increasing our training volume with the Sonot Kkaazoot just 8 weeks away. So what is a skier to do, when hours of skate skiing on uneven icy trails overload our cerebral neurons and all those secondary stabilizers within our legs?

Relax, and enjoy a classical ski with klister for kick instead of hard wax. I admit, I usually skate when it’s too warm for blue hard wax, but today having rock solid tracks to direct my skis meant that I could concentrate on my knee and ankle bend or that my elbows were positioned out to the side when I doublepoled. Suddenly, the pointers that Pete Leonard had given us during this week’s FXC Masters skate ski sessions were easier to address without the fear of falling. Not only that, I enjoyed looking at the wonderful environment I was out in. Sure, klister is messy to deal with, but a little citrus cleaner (from your bike gear) will remove it from places it isn’t supposed to be. And a garbage bag around the kick zone area of your skis that have been secured at tips and tails will prevent the klister from getting inside your ski bag or the back of your car.

Try it! I’m sure you’ll enjoy your next skate session (or work for that matter) more. A little (or a lot) of change is good for all of us.

Glistening hoarfrost and perfect classical tracks

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

Although temperatures in town this morning were well below -30 deg F, the sun was out, skies were bluebird blue, and the temperature in the Birch Hill stadium was -16 to -18 deg F, depending on which thermometer you cared to believe. With days getting longer and the Sonot Kkaazoot just 11 weeks away, it definitely was a day to enjoy the enhanced sunlight of the South Side Classic Loops. However, to warm up, we skied the Relay and Tower Loops before heading down the White Cub and White Bear to SCUM corner where we assembled for a group photo before crossing Beacon Road over to Fort Wainwright.

Descending down the Sonot Connector, we skied past the Blackhawk Loop to the Chinook Loop that has bright southern exposure that warms a clear, chilly day.

Here Robert and Sam stop briefly to help the Sonot blogger demonstrate ski conditions.

We definitely saw more moose prints than skier face plants and had both trails entirely to ourselves. With blood and enthusiasm flowing even in distant appendages, we skied the Blackhawk and then headed back up the Sonot Connector:

The overachieving SCUM went ahead and did the other White Bear Classical Trails, but the group gradually found their way back to the warming hut for coffee and conversation while cars and bodies warmed up again.

Sonot Kkaazoot

Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks' annual spring ski marathon

Category Archives: Training Ideas