Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks board member, Bruce Jamieson is the first skier to complete the virtual Sonot Kkaaoot 40 km.

He writes:

I skied the 40K course yesterday starting around 12:45pm and finishing around 4:15pm.  My GPS distance measured 40.76K.  My moving time was 3:33:02.  My plan is to ski the 50K before the end of next week.  Is that legal in the virtual rules?  If not, then do not count my 40K time.  Great job with the grooming, web site and the virtual promotion effort.

In answer to Bruce’s question, everything is legal in this year’s virtual Sonot Kkaazoot. Any course goes as long as it’s recorded and reported before Bad Bob ends the competition. The idea is to safely get out and work off some anxiety and stress that we’re all feeling during the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re aiming for the most km skied by this community during this year’s virtual Sonot Kkaazoot.

From Facebook:

Lilli Bond (10) and Steffi Ickert-Bond (53)

We started on the Cushman Street Bridge to the turnaround and then up to
Birch hill via the trails near Ski Road, then up the hill using
Sunnyside, South Tower and Tower loop back to the stadium.  We took
our jolly old time and 2 weeks post surgery,  I was happy I could
finish at all. It was a lot of fun. 2 hrs and 16 mins.

Eric’s virtual ski in his own words:

It took me 6 hours, 17 minutes. Classic skiing. (This was my classic year, so I wanted to classic ski the Sonot.)

The trails were generally in great shape. Thanks to Bad Bob Baker for grooming the Chena River and the Birch Hill grooming crew for grooming the Birch Hill trails. A bit of snow over night covered some parts of the route, but those weren’t bad. The newly groomed sections at Birch Hill were outstanding!

Things went pretty smooth. Of course, I had a couple problems at the start. Despite taking a leak at Birch Hill (when I dropped off some emergency water at the Warming Hut), I still needed to tinkle when I started! I had to ski several kilometers before I had enough privacy. 

Empty River at start

Stay on the groomed trail

Newly groomed White Bear

The other thing I noticed right away was that I brought my skate skiing poles! Oh well. I decided to channel my SCUM buddies Bill Husby and Frank Soos. (SCUM = Susan’s Class of Untrainable Men.) I channeled Bill, aka “Poles” because he double poles a lot, in the flats, and I channeled Frank, the tallest SCUM, the rest of the time.

I saw several people skiing the trails near the Birch Hill Stadium, including NSCF Head Groomer Tom Helmers. (Yes, he does ski!) It was good to see several people out skiing in these stressful times. I didn’t see too many farther out on the course, though I did run into fellow SCUM Don Pendergrast and partner on the river. They were doing the 20 k portion of the Sonot. Awesome! Oh, I also saw a coyote cross the river in the morning. That was fun to see!

All in all, a great way to spend the day! I encourage everyone to get out and ski if time and weather permit!

a 11:17 a.m. addition from Eric:

Thanks for the encouragement left on my car:

Former Sonot Kkaaoot organizers, Don and Tracie Pendergrast skied the Virtual Sonot Kkaazoot 20 km today in 2:32:30. They saw plenty of familiar faces and chatted from a safe distance. Don, who is also a SCUM, will likely ski additional courses in the coming days.

Congratulations to our current second place couple in the Sonot Kkaazoot virtual 20 km.

Jim Gower, a first time Sonot skier, missed the turnaround because he was traveling so fast. He finished the Virtual Sonot Kkaazoot 20 km in 1:17:11 and moves into the lead for the men’s 20 km. (However, I don’t believe his Garmin’s altimeter as you don’t gain 2,841 feet on the Chena River).

Byron Broda becomes the first skier to complete the virtual Sonot Kkaazoot 50 km in 4:33:47.

Way to go, Byron!

OK, where are the rest of the SCUM, who were cutting short their Sunday workouts when Byron was still skiing?

Bill Husby (aka Poles) finishes his second 20 km (see blog for his 20 + km ski on Tuesday before virtual Sonot began). His time was 1:26.13 with 33 seconds added to start and stop his phone timer.

This moves Bill ahead of Bad Bob Baker as first virtual 20 km
Sonot finisher.

Carl (Thumper) Hemming started with Bill but because he took the proper precautions finished in 1:47:33. Going the low tech route, Thumper didn’t need to adjust his recorded time.

Maybe Bill was under the influence when skiing.

Christi Eickholt is the first female finisher for the virtual 20 km on 19 March 2020, the spring equinox. Her time was 2:11:15 putting her in second place among women.

And Christie’s comments from Facebook:

Christi’s photos from her virtual 20 km ski. 

Dave Prusak and Eric Buetow finished the virtual Sonot Kkaazoot 20 km yesterday in a time of 2:14:06, placing them currently in second place among men in the virtual 20 km event.

Dave, a Minnesotan who underwent shoulder surgery in December, skis with one pole and commented that they made lots of stops to chat with people Eric knows and to watch a coyote.

Dave and Eric took advantage of the Virtual Sonot Kkaazoot route flexibility by starting and ending their ski at Eric’s home on the Chena River. How many ski race courses can you access from your front yard?

Here’s Eric in a tuck as he descends from the 20 km turnaround.

What’s keeping you from joining Dave, Eric, and the Bakers as finishers in this year’s virtual Sonot Kkaazoot?