April showers in Fairbanks
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Category Archives: Weather and snow conditions
Minus 2 deg F at Birch Hill, no April Fools
I don’t think I’ve ever classic skied on Start Tar green (and had too much kick) in April. The remedial SCUM skied the black loops today (once the regular Sonot route, then the Tommy Knocker so we could do the final hill twice), because we knew the dowhills wouldn’t be frightening. All of us were using chemical handwarmers (commenting on how many cases we’ve used this season) in APRIL and wishing we were more dermotized.
Here are the elder SCUM, all of whom are skiing on classical skis without skins:
As we were chatting after finishing up, Dermot was starting out. We were able to convince him to reconsider skate skiing:
Temperatures had warmed to above zero by the time Dermot switched skis, but I’m sure he wasn’t overheating. No snowpack melting today, and the National Weather Serice is predicting 8 to 12 inches of snow this weekend. My supplemental Trails Fund contribution will be well spent this month.
Spring Skiing outlook is EXCELLENT
Hopefully, donations for the Birch Hill Trails Fund during the virtual Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot helped build a grooming cushion because temperature and snow forecasts make the outlook for spring skiing look excellent. Here’s the URL for trail fund donations if you would like to help us out:
https://nordicskicluboffairbanks.wildapricot.org/Donate/
First of all, temperatures haven’t broken the 40 deg F temperature barrier since October 11 and we’re likely to break the record for consecutive days below 40 deg F on Monday, 5 April 2021 if current National Weather Service forecasts hold.
The second factor necessary for Spring skiing is adequate snowpack. Monday’s snowfall was a record 3.8″ and brings our seasonal snowfall total to 73.3″, which is over a foot above normal.
Thus, both unseasonably cool temperatures and adequate snowpack are good indicators of a great spring skiing season.
Waiting for warmer temperatures may mean skiing through new snow
If you’ve been waiting for warmer temperatures to do your virtual Sonot Kkaazoot, you might find yourself plodding through more new snow. The extended weather outlooks for the remaining weeks before the 2021 Denali State Bank Virtual Sonot Kkaazoot ends are not springlike.
Here are the predictions for this weekend’s temperature and precipitation:
And here are the predictions for the following week:
So, those skiers who wait until the Sonot Kkaazoot weekend may have kilometer markers, but there’s no guarantee of springlike weather. So enjoy the great grooming now and start skiing your virtual Sonot Kkaazoot.
Historic SCUM ski of South Classical Loops
With temperatures a chilly -16 deg F in the Birch Hill stadium and -23 deg F at Fort Wainwright at 10 a.m., the remedial SCUM opted out of doing a Birch Bakken climb. Instead, seeing as the South Classical Loops had been groomed yesterday (Thursday), we decided today would be a great day for the South Classical Loops.
Being guided on our workout by one of the illustrious Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks groomers meant that we were allowed to break some of the trail guidelines. To stay in the sun, we skied the Relay loop backwards, and then skied the Outhouse backwards until we intersected the Sunnyside and Cliffside Trails. After a quick descent in the set tracks, we all arrived at Fort Wainwright with chilly hands but still upright.
Climbing the Sonot Connector in the deep Yellowstone tracks, we first tackled the Chinook Loop as several of us hadn’t skied it yet this season. Conditions were perfect and even the downhills were easily traversed as shown below by Don Pendergrast:
The remedial SCUM were a little stunned when we emerged from the Chinook Loop with no snow adhering to our ski gear. No one had fallen. A historic day in the making.
Figuring that we were on a roll, we decided that our work could be postponed another hour so we could also ski the Blackhawk Loop. The sunshine felt so good after a gray week of snow scooping. Here is the SCUM salute to the groomers as we alll finish the Blackhawk loop in the tracks and without any sitzmarks.
With real work and school work to return to, we skied up the rest of the Sonot Connector and back on the White Bear to the stadium, where we met up with Tom Helmers, head groomer, out for a ski on the trails he set yesterday. That called for one more selfie by Joanna of the remedial SCUM and two of our NSCF groomers:
What a great way to celebrate the return of the sun. Remember, to spring forward your clocks on Sunday.
February cold and snowy
After our warm and dry January in Fairbanks, February brought back the cold and snow. According to the National Weather Service Fairbanks, here’s how the month stacked up.
For average temperatures:
and for snowfall:
Our Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks groomers have been putting a lot of hours of work to keep up with the nearly constant snowfall. Please help them continue their grooming as the days become longer and warmer in March by making an additional donation here:
https://nordicskicluboffairbanks.wildapricot.org/Donate/
Remember the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks supports all grooming at Birch Hill Recreation Area. To allow safe skiing during the COVID-19 pandemic as in more normal times, please support trail grooming efforts.
Record Snow Drought in January
It’s official, from the National Weather Service:
The Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks groomers have been doing their magic without new snow to dilute the birch seed and other vegetative debris.
Merry Christmas from Santa & his SCUMmy reindeer
Today Santa and his SCUMmy reindeer did the grand tour of all the skate trails at UAF, which were being combed as we arrived before dawn today. (Thank you, Jason!)
With temperatures in the mid-20s, snow was packing under our ski boots making it impossible to get into our ski bindings. Here are two SCUM with advanced degrees are assisting Mom get into her bindings in the predawn darkness:
And here are the eager skiers ready to chase the sun:
With no other skiers in sight, we bellowed out Christmas songs that were successful in drawing one cow moose near the socially distanced line of skiers.
Because of travel quarantines caused by COVID-19, Santa had to recruit very SCUMmy reindeer this year. On Smith Lake, Santa was tried to convince the reindeer to skate without poles, this was their response:
By then, Santa’s sore back had loosened up so he skated off ahead of the reindeer:
Happy Holidays from all the SCUM. Enjoy getting outside on the ski trails. This week we’ve enjoyed groomed tracks at the golf course (thank you, Stan) as well as the perfectly groomed skate trails at UAF (the classical tracks were are great, too). We’ll be back at Birch Hill soon, but enjoying the winter solstice on a variety of trails is a real treat.
If you are able to help contribute to the maintenance of the UAF ski trails, please consider a tax-deductible donation through UA Foundation. You can make the donation online at this URL:
After you enter the dollar amount that you wish to donate, specify “other” in the designation box. A new box will appear under “other” for you to enter: UAF XC Ski Trail Maintenance. These funds will go to grooming and maintenance of UAF crosscountry ski trails. With declining state support for UAF and the rising costs of dealing with COVID-19, please consider helping to maintain the wonderful UAF XC ski trails. These trails are even more important during the pandemic as they provide us a place to safely exercise and socialize.
Winter solstice on the north side classical trails
With temperatures at -5 deg F and about an inch of new snow, the remedial SCUM headed out toward the north side classical trails to do trail grooming the way it was done 40 years ago (i.e. skiing in the tracks). Here Mom, who remembers skiing in tracks, skis a more direct route than Ken had set before the snow.
It was almost sunrise as we skied through the birch and aspen:
Some trail sections were total spruce forests:
These spruce made us think of Christmas trees, which we’d later find totally trimmed for Santa’s visit.
Before seeing the decorated Christmas trees, we saw the bear skull on the trail:
and we got to the Really Steep Down HIll Bypass. But given the conditions, we could head straight down the RSDH:
Here is a clip of Dan Johnson on the RSDH:
And here is one of the two Christmas trees we found with cookies and candy canes decorating the branches:
We all agreed that skiing the Classical Bear, North Star, and Aurora Run was a great choice for a chilly, snowy morning near winter solstice.
Here’s a few parting shots:
Until the groomers get back out to the North Classical trails, we’ve skied them in for your enjoyment.
What La Nina means for winter in Alaska
NOAA has indicated that the winter of 2020 to 2021 will be influenced by a mild La Nina, which usually means colder temperatures for Alaska. So although we’re still not skiing, you should start acclimating to colder temperatures by ski walking with poles if you want to enjoy the snow when it has covered the ski trails.
Ask a Climatologist: What to expect when you’re expecting La Niña
Sonot Kkaazoot 