Limited edition 2021 Sonot Kkaazoot print

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A special 13″ x 19″ Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot 2021 poster designed and signed by artist, Mark Ross, will be available for purchase this Sunday, 28 March 2021 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Birch Hill Recreation Area log warming hut. Posters will be available on a first come basis and may be purchased with cash, checks written to “Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks”, or donations to the Birch Hill Trail fund (with “Sonot Poster” entered in the comments box).

Only 50 signed and numbered posters will be available for $50.00 with proceeds benefiting the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks and the Sonot Kkaazoot. In a normal year, the registration fee for the 50 km Sonot Kkaazoot would have cost you the same amount.

You must wear a facemask (we hope you’ll be wearing your 2021 Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot mask) to enter the warming hut for this event. Social distancing will be enforced.

Dr. Don skis virtual 30 km Sonot and makes discovery

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Don Pendergrast and Cam Leonard classical skied the 30 km virtual Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot yesterday in a time of 3:21:23.

Don writes: “Temperatures were 26-28 degrees, the tracks had just been set (Yippie), but the light snow made them slow.  Wax was Start Tar 5 and worked well.

We kept up a steady pace throughout the course, but a careful examination of the pace data revealed something that I’d expected for some time; the data support that I ski faster down hill than I do up hill.  I wonder if others have noticed this phenomenon?  I believe further studies with more participants are needed to verify this observation.”

Congratulation, Don and Cam! I think Don has come up with a suitable topic for his second Ph.D. dissertation. Get to work on it.

Langhorst skates 50 km virtual Sonot on Sunday

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Luke Langhorst skate skied his virtual 50 km Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot on Sunday in a time of 2:44.44. Luke is a 34 year Fairbanks skier, so becomes our first reported 50 km finisher under 65 years old, and our first one to complete the 50 km on skate skis!

Let’s see more younger skiers taking the 50 km virtual challenge.

Luke writes: “My Garmin had the course right about 29.5 mi, so a little shy of 50 k for the full course, according to my watch at least. I started right around 4:20. The temperature showed 22* and it felt hot early on before the sun went down a little and I was shaded in the trees, but the snow was skiing a bit slower than that in parts, especially in the lower spots on White Bear. It was a fun time and a great way to push on a Sunday evening.” 

Although this screen says classic skiing, Luke wrote in two emails that he skate skied

2021 Sonot Kkaazoot face masks available for pick-up

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Thanks to support from Denali State Bank and the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks, 2021 virtual Sonot Kkaazoot facemasks designed by Daniel Baker will be available for pick-up in the log warming hut starting this afternoon around 2 p.m.

Individually bagged facemasks will be available to those skiers who have skied any of the 3 Sonot Kkaazoot courses (10, 30 or 50 km). One per skier please. Make sure you pick up yours if Bad Bob or I haven’t already given you one. If the facemasks box in the warming hut is empty, leave a comment below, and we’ll have Bad Bob restock it.

Extra credit: Are you in the Sonot Kkaazoot photo shown above from over 20 years ago?

Sven Grage “runs” 10 km classic Sonot Kkaazoot

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Sven Grage finished his 10 km classical virtual Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot on Tuesday in 46:04, shown as the second lap below.

Sven writes:

“I was trying hard to ‘slide my feet across the snow’, yet running worked better for the most part on the very enjoyable 10 k classic loop 😉. Hoping for a bit more slide in the 30 and 50 k. The unavoidable end of winter is so much easier to handle WITH the Sonot Kkaazoot!” 

Thanks, Sven. I agree as I seriously mourn the end of the ski season so skiing the Sonot Kkaazoot is really important to me, too.

Bad Bob & Sharon skate virtual 30 km Sonot Kkaazoot

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On Sunday, Bad Bob and Sharon Baker skate skied their virtual 30 km Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot. Sharon finished in 2:11:48 and Bad Bob’s time was 2:21:43.

Bad Bob writes: “Sunday was a beautiful day to ski at Birch Hill.  Sharon and I skated our way around the 30 kilometer course under blue skies and 15 to 20 degree temps.  Most of the trail system was fairly freshly set with wonderful corduroy and smooth tracks! 

Unfortunately, both Sharon and I have not skated a whole lot, and before we even climbed out of the BLACK HOLE, our legs were screaming, NO!!!  It was at about this point in our virtual 30, that Sharon began to pull away…nothing physically I could do about it, but just keep skiing and hoping for a bodily comeback, which never happened. 

FINAL RESULTS for us were….Sharon 2:11:48, and for BAD BOB  2:21:43.  I measured 28.97 km for a distance, but hey, that’s what the course is, so no need to ski any farther, besides, I was not sure I could…very humbling.  Can’t wait for the 50K!”  

Husby skates his virtual 10 km Sonot

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Having classical skied all three Sonot Kkaazoot official distances, Bill Husby has started skating the virtual Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot courses. Today, Bill skate skied the 10 km virtual Sonot Kkaazoot in 51:41.

Bill writes: “As Tom H and Corrine L would say, “ Skating is not real skiing”. Oh well! Here’s today’s skate time around the 10K course. See you tomorrow.”

Bragonier does binding repair on White Bear during virtual 30 km Sonot Kkaazoot

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Ben Bragonier skated the virtual 30 km Denai State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot on Monday in 2:13:30.

Ben writes:

I just wanted to see if I could complete the course and remain lucid enough to drive home.

(A word to the wise — give bindings and baskets a wiggle and shake before setting out. My right binding came off my ski a little bit after Heart Rate Hill. I thought I was going to have to walk out. I can tell you that this was a horrifying prospect ! I was saved after I located a missing part as well as by my thought to use a pole tip in lieu of a binding tool to get things repositioned).

Beautiful skate conditions made this stout course possible for me. I made attempts/probes/slogs for the 30 KM on three prior occasions only to “call it” before heading out onto White Bear. In contrast to last week’s conditions, Monday evening was perfect.”

Ben’s persistence paid off, and it sounds like he was still quite lucid on the White Bear to be able to repair his binding during his race. Congratulations!

Dan Johnson skis virtual 50 km Sonot Kkaazoot

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Dan Johnson skied the virtual 50 km Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot in three segments, where he used his classical skis with grip tape for the first two days and skated the third. His time was 4:48:24.

Dan writes:

“I skied the 50 km Sonot over three days, Sunday (19.3 k), Monday (16.2 k) and Tuesday (13.4 k), March 21,22,23.  Total time was 4:48:24.

It was beautiful skiing all three days although a little cold on Sunday and some fresh snow today (Tuesday).”

Although retired, Dan still has a current RN license, so he documents his work. Here’s how he tallied up his 50 km Sonot:

I got almost 49 km:
19.3 @ 1:57 (the 20 k loop we all did together… allowing for starting timer in car before walking up and putting on skis);

16.2 @ 1:35:04 (Stadium to Relay to South Tower, down Tower to Stadium, Warmup, Blacks, Blue, Outhouse, Relay, Tower, Medevac, Roller Coaster to Stadium);

13.4 @ 1:16:20 (WB Access to WB, WB, MM, WB Access to Stadium, Warmup back to start point) = 48.9 (call it 49) @  4:48:24

Thus, Dan Johnson becomes the fourth SCUM to complete the 50 km virtual Sonot Kkaazoot. In between doing the virtual 10 km Sonot Kkaazoot on Wednesday, and the 50 km over Sunday through Tuesday, Dan shot more arms with COVID-19 vaccine than kilometers skied in doing his virtual 10 and 50 km Sonot Kkaazoot.

So what is your excuse for not skiing the virtual Sonot Kkaazoot? Where are all the younger skiers?