Total time: 3 hours 45 minutes
Skiers:
Emmett Schneider 12
Cara Schneider 9
Lily Hsieh 14
Carol Hsieh 62
Route: White bear, tower loop, warmup loop (2) terrain park (4)
12.54 miles
Congratulations to Carol and the young skiers!
Joanna Fox completed her virtual 20 km Sonot Kkaaoot in two segments: 10 km skating on Saturday and 10 km classical skiing on Sunday with Norma Haubenstock (who skied twice on Sunday).
Here’s Joanna’s skate 10 km from Saturday in the snowstorm:
See: https://sonotkkaazoot.org/2020/03/22/fairbanks-master-swimmers-ski-virtual-50-km-in-snowstorm/ for photos and comment on Saturday’s ski.
Here’s Joanna’s Sunday stat’s and route when trails were breezy but nicely groomed:
And here is the happy duo on Sunday afternoon:
Joanna wrote: I had a lot of fun in the tracks today (they were fast, but I wasn’t feeling too timid due to the practice we got when it was so much colder). I also continued to work on my step-turning around corners. In all, it was a wonderful ski, and a nice way to finish my 20 km Virtual Sonot effort. Depending on what the rest of this week brings, maybe I can even get up to 40 or 50 before Bad Bob shuts it down.
From Diane O’Brien:
We headed out around 10:30 am on Sunday for our Virtual Sonot in two parties, Mom (Diane O’Brien) with Owen Wooller (age 12) and Dad (Mat Wooller) with Phoebe Wooller (age 10). Owen was determined to ski 20 km, sister Phoebe was less so, so we split up to enable different end times and routes.
Owen, Mat, and Phoebe Wooller
Stats for Diane and Owen
Diane’s and Owen’s route
Tom Helmers, head NSCF groomer after working 4 hrs at -20 deg F
Although so far, skiers have devoted from one hour to the better part of a day to their virtual Sonot Kkaazoot skis, the groomers have also been working. In the five days since the virtual Sonot Kkaazoot started, the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks (NSCF) groomers have spent 12.5 hours working on the trails. (Updated 3/24/20: 15 hours were spent grooming last night and today)
Bad Bob Baker, who uses his personal grooming equipment, has spent 32 hours grooming the Chena River, and an additional 10 hours checking out the river conditions and hauling equipment back and forth to accomplish his grooming.
Bad Bob grooming the 20 km turnaround
This season, Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks groomers have put 840 km on the piston bully and 1,300 km on the five snowmachines used for grooming. This is effort that allows skiers to train so that they are physically able to ski the Virtual Sonot Kkaazoot. As of 12 March, groomers had logged 832 hours of effort. They often do grooming chores during their own skiing time.
Bill Husby grooming the White Bear trail
The condition of the groomed trails that we are skiing on now depends upon grooming all winter in addition to brushing and maintenance work done over the non-snow months.
Bill Husby & Ken Coe doing pre-winter trail work—photo by Tom Helmers
Ski trails aren’t maintained by the borough, they are maintained with funds from Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks donations and sponsorships. If you haven’t already done so, please donate to the NSCF trail fund so we can continue to ski this spring:
https://nordicskicluboffairbanks.wildapricot.org/Donate/
Trails groomed so that everyone can ski like a champion.
Thank you.
Most photos of NSCF groomers were taken by Eric Troyer, SCUM in charge of Sonot Kkaazoot media and NSCF board member, who is touring and Facebook coordinator. He is also the best-dressed SCUM at races.
In the Sunday wind storm, Julie Esdale and Jen Humphrey completed the virtual Sonot 20 km in 2:30:00. The skied all the White Bear, Blue, Outhouse, Relay Start, Tower, Old Tower, Roller Coaster, White Bear Access and Warm up.
Julie is wearing the crown from her Oosik Costume— They were a group of Lady Liberties (she means Liberski!).
Congratulations!
Although the trails were somewhat windy when we started out today, the tracks were solid and the corduroy unmarred by other skiers. Susan was skating and Norma was classical skiing today. We followed the grooming by skiing the blue, outhouse, and Sunnyside.
Norma skiing the Outhouse tracks with Rode blue and Swix extra blue kick
The grooming ended at Cliffside, but we continued on opting for an adventure.
Norma warmed up from our adventure
Mistake! I discovered on one of the downhill corners that the deep transformed snow concealed an icy berm that totally engulfed my skate skis so I unceremoniously face planted–jarring my heart rate monitor to momentarily read 214. Fortunately, Norma didn’t have a camera so I was spared further embarrassment.
Conditions got tougher when we got to the Sonot Connector so I took off my skis and walked. The snow was deep and occasionally we could see the brilliantly blue colored ice underneath the blanket of snow from the Color Running Race that Fort Wainwright had held last Sunday. Norma classical skied our uphill adventure while I walked.
Norma setting her own tracks up the Sonot Connector
Sometimes taking off the skis is easier than slogging
Halfway up the Sonot Connector we saw two moose (a mother and yearling) who were moving slower than we were. We waited for them to cross the trail before heading up. Although the White Bear hadn’t been groomed since Saturday morning, our adventure made that trail seem SO much easier. We finished up by taking Meridian cutoff to the warm-up and then skiing the warm-up again to enjoy the fresh grooming.
Here is our adventure data (10.64 km, 2:09.46):
and our ski and adventure route:
Our ski and adventure route
So as I head into my two grad classes on Monday and Tuesday, I have only 20 km left to ski on my 50 km Virtual Sonot Kkaazoot, when I can return on Wednesday.
Carl skied the traditional 20 km course on 19 March 2020, mostly double poling in the tracks to avoid freeze-thaw ruts in the skating platform.. He started with and emulated Bill Husby, but his time was 1:47:33. See: https://sonotkkaazoot.org/2020/03/19/bill-husby-finishes-his-virtual-20-km/
On Saturday, 21 March, Carl once again started with Bill Husby intending to ski 40 km. However, after skiing the White Bear twice for a distance of 21 km, he opted to call it a day.
He wrote: The rapidly accumulating snow on the freshly groomed trails made skate skiing progressively more difficult. Thanks to everyone for making it possible to get out and ski for two and one half hours Saturday.
Carl slightly seized up afterwards and sent the wrong screen shot. However, here’s the second installment of Carl’s virtual 40 km.
I also witnessed Carl pacing the warming hut after his 21 km ski waiting for his carpool driver, Jerome Jackson, to finish his virtual 40 km. Carl might easily have done 22 or 23 km of combined ski/walk distance.
Kieran and Max Kaufman skied 20 km with Scott and John Tragis. They did an extra lap around the stadium to compensate for their watch’s error. Their times were 2:38.02.
Our FXC skiers keep their fathers active. Good job all.
Used to jumping into lukewarm water at 6 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Joanna Fox, Norma Haubenstock, and Susan Sugai teamed up on Saturday to collectively ski a virtual 50 km. Joanna, who routinely swims 30 km most months, hadn’t skate skied recently, so was hesitant but yielded to peer pressure.
After skiing the relay, ramp, and east ramp, and up to the top of the tower loop, the team’s attitude had improved significantly.
and we had no problem social distancing with Joanna always pushing the pace.
Joanna hung with us for 10 km but was unconvinced that she could ski the White Bear. So, Norma and I, the two distance swimmers, headed off and skied White Bear and Moilanen Meadows. Susan had to also ski the warm-up loop to dark alley to compensate for the stadium loop Joanna and Norma had done before the Sonot blogger had arrived.
Here’s my Polar heart rate monitor documentation of my 20 km contribution to our team effort that took 3:15:47. I intend to individually ski a virtual 50 km Sonot Kkaazoot on the installment plan before Bad Bob ends the event.
If three swimmers can ski the virtual Sonot Kkaazoot, you can, too. I challenge Coach Kristina to borrow some skis from her uncle and do her own virtual Sonot Kkaazoot on the trails named for her Grandpa (https://www.nscfairbanks.org/trails/jim-whisenhant-trails/ ).
While the Virtual Sonot Kkaazoot has seen amazing performances in the face of snow storms and gusty winds, the real goal of the Virtual Sonot Kkaazoot is to safely relieve some of the stress and anxiety that we’re all feeling during the COVID-19 pandemic. All levels of real athletes have had their dreamed goals snatched away from them; many of our friends are without paychecks; many students are facing virtual courses. Through social distancing, we can protect health care providers, first responders, and friends and family throughout the global community who are already facing medical challenges. We can increase our resistance to the virus by reducing personal anxieties while we exercise caution and our bodies. That’s what the virtual Sonot Kkaazoot is attempting to do.
Frank Soos has been in charge of Sonot Kkaazoot registration and bib distribution for nearly a decade. He’s a professor emeritus of English at UAF and primordial SCUM (meaning that he’s been part of the group for 25 years)! As he’s done for decades, Frank has been prepping for the 50 km Sonot Kkaazoot, successfully skiing the 30 km Distance Race and 20 km Skiathon. Yesterday, he was disappointed that he only classical skied the Grand Tour (all the trails at Birch Hill that we normally ski during the traditional Sonot Kkaazoot or about 26 hilly km) during the snow storm we faced.
Here’s Frank’s report:
I regret to report that I only did the grand tour—so whatever that was. My classic skis did well, but as the day wore on I got slower and so did the snow. I had a little icing on the very last of the White Bear, but when it counted, Heart Rate Hill, the Black Loops, my wax worked well. I was pretty wrung out by the time it was over, don’t think I could have managed another loop.
However, Frank and Nimbus found their peaceful rest:
So if you can ski only 4 or 5 km, but can reduce stress and anxiety in the process, YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY SKIED THE VIRTUAL SONOT KKAAZOOT.
So get out and ski. Then send your reports to contact@sonotkkaazoot.org. You encourage others by sharing your stories. I’m heading out again this morning and will submit my 2-day virtual Sonot report this afternoon.
Sonot Kkaazoot 