Snow haulers and shovelers needed tonight to move snow onto icy sections of the Sonot Kkaazoot trail on the Chena River under the Wendell Street and Steese Hwy Bridges. There is highway gravel embedded in the ice that needs to be well-covered with snow. Park at Graehl Park (#26 on the map below) and bring snow shovels starting at 5:30 p.m. tonight. Groomers will have large sleds for moving snow to where it is needed.
From Bad Bob Baker:
I just skied the entire 20 km, and the river is in great shape. Even with these warm afternoons, the condition is pretty much the same at it was last Friday. I’m guessing a 95-100% chance of the Sonot starting and finishing on the River this year. But, we’ll know for sure on Saturday Morning!
If the Sonot Kkaazoot were to be held today, river ski conditions would be awesome. The Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks groomers were out today with drags and Ginzu. After their work, skiing on the river is fantastic:
Unfortunately, there is a narrow spot on the river near Fort Wainwright in the center of the river channel, which the groomers will monitor on a day-to-day basis. Thus, the Sonot Kkaazoot organizers still hope to safely conduct the race on Saturday using the Chena River. However, we cannot control the weather. So, as indicated on the entry form, if the race is unsafe on Saturday morning, we will move to Birch Hill and delay the start until 10:30 a.m.
Groomers will go out again Wednesday morning and if the river still appears solid, we will have a snow shoveling work party Wednesday evening to put snow under the highway bridges where there is currently ice and gravel.
The groomers have dragged the ditch on Fort Wainwright, and it’s ready if the river is:
Sorry that we can’t control the weather and river break-up. However, skiers are a resilient bunch. The 2014 Sonot Kkaazoot will take place this Saturday, however, the course will need to remain in the “to be determined” status until Saturday morning around 6:30 a.m. when groomers set the classical tracks on the river.
The Arctic Winter Games are over and the secret is out: the best skiing of the season at Birch Hill Recreation Area is now. Today at 11:00 a.m. ADT, it was 24 deg F and sunny at Birch Hill but air temperatures had risen above freezing by 1:00 p.m. However, with low temperatures near zero predicted for the river this week, the Sonot Kkaazoot should be able to safely start and finish on the Chena River near the Cushman Street bridge. The plan is for the groomers to head out on Tuesday to look over the length of the river and ditch course sections, and then if they deem the course safe, will groom on Wednesday. Thus, a final decision on the course will be made before bib pick-up, to be held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, 27 March 2014 at the Doyon, Ltd., Headquarters Building in downtown Fairbanks.
Look at these happy skiers who had already skied about 10 km before they were planning to ski down the Black Hole:
All 50 km of trails will look this wonderful on Saturday, too.
Registration via the U.S. mail or via drop-off at Beaver Sports, Goldstream Sports, and Raven Cross Country will end on Friday, 21 March 2014 at 5 p.m. Electronic registration prices will go up to “late registration” levels at 12:00 a.m. on 22 March 2014 and will close at 11:59.59 p.m. on Wednesday, 26 March 2014.
Bib pick-up will be 27 March 2014 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Doyon Limited Building, and late registrations will be taken then.
Save by registering for the Sonot Kkaazoot now. We have a great snow pack and it will cost you more to decide at bib pick-up or a lot more on the day-of-the-race.
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.
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.
Dave Edic and Bob Baker helped melt the trails at Kincaid with their performances in the 10 km classical technique race at the 2014 National Masters last night. Dave, who was 12th in a field of 69 men, was first among M6 men with a time of 33:58. Bob Baker, originator and long-time organizer of the Sonot Kkaazoot, was 20th overall and second among M6 men with a time of 35:12.
National Masters continues with relays tonight and finishes with the Tour of Anchorage on Sunday. At least 2 dozen Fairbanks skiers plan to be at one of the various starting lines on Sunday. Good luck to all of them.
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.
Nordic skiers tend to be very frugal while also having a tendency to procrastinate. However, early registration for the 2014 Sonot Kkaazoot will end on 28 February (less than a week away) and only 19 skiers have registered, 15 of whom are older than 55 years old. As was the case last year, the White Mountain 100 is scheduled for the day after the Sonot Kkaazoot so the uber endurance athletes may have their focus there. This year the US Ski Association Super Tour Spring Races are being held in Anchorage the same week as the Sonot so the elite skiers wanting to test themselves against recent Olympians will be in Anchorage. So where are the rest of the skiers that we see on the trails at Birch Hill and UAF? This bib entitles you to ski on up to 50 km of perfectly groomed trails and feed stations that will provide you with fluids, food, and plenty of encouragement.
Online registration is quick and easy. Just go to the “register” page near the top of this website. Or if you prefer, entry forms are available at Beaver Sports, Goldstream Sports, and Raven Cross Country (as well as in the Birch Hill Recreation buildings). Remember after Friday, registration for all distances and ages will increase by $10.
Sonot Kkaazoot 