More than 2600 kilometers skied at 2013 Ski Your Age Event!

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Sonot Kkaazoot

by Eric Troyer

More than 120 people skied just over 2,600 kilometers on Saturday at the Ski Your Age in Kilometers. The event, presented by Banner Health / Fairbanks Memorial Hospital (FMH), drew more than 120 people to Birch Hill Recreation Area ranging in ages from 78 to 7.

Josie Adasiak and Lucie Meyer, both 7, were the youngest participants who signed up. Carol DeVoe, 78, was the oldest. DeVoe and her grandson, Eric DiFolco, were the only grandparent / grandchild pair in the family category. They skied a combined total of 30 kilometers.

An impressive number of people under 20 skied their age or more. Nearly 40 young skiers, some skiing twice their age or more, reached either the Platinum (top) or Gold (second) achievement levels. Just fewer than 40 skiers of all ages reached the Platinum level, while 26 reached the Gold level, 27 reached the Silver level, and 19 reached the Bronze level.

This was the tenth year of Ski Your Age, which is organized by Fairbanks Cross Country (FXC), the junior race-training program of the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks (NSCF). The event serves as a fundraising for FXC and this year raised just over $2,000.

“We really appreciate the support of Banner Health and Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for this great community event,” said Eric Troyer, FXC parent and event organizer. “After being cold all week, the temperatures warmed enough on Saturday to make it a lot of fun to be out on skis. It was awesome to look outside and see the trails full of skiers all day.”

The Birch Hill Cross Country Ski Center, owned and operated by the Fairbanks North Star Borough, was open for the event. People brought in food to share and the center was the focal point of the day.

“The skiers, especially those skiing their age or more, really appreciated the hot food and desserts,” Troyer said. “Many thanks to those who contributed and to all the volunteers.”

Bill Husby, a longtime NSCF member and trail groomer, skied the most kilometers for an individual. He skied his age of 61 and added 1 more for good measure, for a total of 62 kilometers. Corrine Leistikow skied the most for a woman, skiing her age of 54 plus 1 more for a total of 55 kilometers.

Five people met the 50-50 Challenge by being 50 or more years old and skiing 50 or more kilometers. Nine skiers met the Century Challenge, in which their age and kilometers skied equaled at least 100.

Max Kaufman was the only person to meet the Sunup-Sundown Challenge, which requires a skier to ski at least 50 kilometers between the official sunrise at 10:57 am and sundown at 2:49 pm. Kaufman skied 51 kilometers.

In the couples category, Corrine Leistikow and Eric Troyer skied the most kilometers at 109. They were also the only couple to reach a Double Century, in which the total age in years plus the kilometers skied equals at least 200. Leistikow and Troyer had a combined total of 216. (To be available as organizer of the event, Troyer skied on Friday.)

The family category the achievements were gained by several families. The Rueters (Jose, Helena, Gabe and Adela) had the most kilometers for a family of 4 or more with 124. The Leistikow-Troyers had the most by a family of 3 with 115 kilometers. The Rueters also took the father/son subcategory with 82 kilometers. The father / daughter subcategory went to Dan and Tjarn Bross with 73 kilometers. Leistikow and Montana Troyer took the mother / daughter subcategory with 61 kilometers. Donna and Eric DiFolco took the mother / son category with 76 kilometers. Eric DiFolco also joined with his grandmother, Carol DeVoe, to ski 30 kilometers, the most by a grandparent and grandchild.

Longtime ski club members and volunteers Chris and Byron Broda created their own category by each skiing 20.5 kilometers, which combined equals the 41 years they have been married.

Full results as PDF can be found here: 2013 Ski Your Age Results & Story

First Distance Race is Saturday, 14 December 2013

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Sonot Kkaazoot

The first of the Buetow Dental Distance Series races presented by Raven Cross Country (thank you, Fred Raymond) will be held at Birch Hill Recreation Area this Saturday, at 11 a.m. The 7.5/15 km race is freestyle. Sign up for all the Distance Races and the Sonot Kkaazoot and save on registration costs. The Distance Races provide an excellent opportunity to ramp up toward the 40 and 50 km Sonot Kkaazoot.

In spite the second major wind storm of the season, the trail groomers will make sure that the course is awesome by race time.

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.

Hope to see you on the trails soon.

Farewell to 2012–2013 ski season at Birch Hill

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Sonot Kkaazoot

With 208 days of groomed trails at Birch Hill this season, we had a Mother’s Day farewell to this year’s extended Nordic skiing season. Some of us selected the snowy sections, while others sought a real transition to summer adventures. However, we all concluded that the Sunday ski was a fun way to end a record-setting winter in Fairbanks, AK.

Groomer Bill Husby on the N40 trail on Mother’s Day, 2013 Dermot Cole at Sonot cutoff on Mother’s Day, 2013

The Grand Tour

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Sonot Kkaazoot

“Start slow and go, go, go; start fast, and you won’t last”—advice from a wilderness adventure friend of Mike Ruckhaus

With the Sonot Kkaazoot just 40 days away, today’s unseasonably warm temperatures combined with having all the Birch Hill trails groomed within the past 48 hours made for absolutely awesome conditions for doing the “grand tour” of all the Birch Hill Recreation Area trails. This workout is a great pacing exercise as well as a dry run for nutrition and clothing needs for an extended ski effort. Completing the “grand tour” of 26 km or the “mini-tour” of 16 km for skiers training for the 40 km Sonot is a fantastic confidence builder as well as an important element of one’s pre-Sonot training plan.

The black loops are the most demanding trails at Birch Hill and for good reason. They are technically the most difficult loops with short steep climbs, long continuous climbs, and technically challenging downhills. They are north facing and drop to the lowest regions of the park so are generally the coldest trails and are less frequently groomed than the more utilized lighted loops and White Bear trails. Also, unlike the Tour of Anchorage, where the challenging Spencer Loops are encountered at the very beginning of that 50 km race, in the Sonot Kkaazoot, a skier is in the midst of the Black Hole when the 25 km mark is passed.

To most effectively train for the Sonot, the “grand tour” should be skied in the order that trails are encountered in the Sonot. So today we skied the White Bear Access, White Bear, Moilanen Meadows, and Warm-up Loops that all 40 and 50 km Sonot participants ski, before skiing the Competition, North 40, Black Hole, Blue, and Outhouse loops that the 40 km skiers will by-pass (these loops according to my GPS total 9.91 km). Finishing off the tour involved skiing the Tower and Roller Coaster loops and around the main building to where we had started 3 hours and 23 minutes previously. The others had finished over an hour before the slowest of us, but two pieces of Eric Buetow’s birthday cake were awaiting our finish.

Thanks to my gizmo (as one SCUM called it), I had more than just a good feeling after this workout but also data to download. With an overall average heart rate of only 129 (79% of my max), I know that I can ski faster without “blowing up.” The 9.91 km that the 40 km skiers will not ski took us 1:25:47, which works out to a pace of 8:40 min/km. By comparison, we skied the 11.05 km from the Sonot cutoff on the White Bear to Moilanen Meadows, the rest of White Bear and White Bear Access, and the Warm-up at a 7:42 pace, and we finished the Tower and Roller Coasters at a 6:39 pace when we could see the finish line. Heading for the warm-up hut for dry clothes and birthday cake, we started replacing the 1882 kcal that we’d burned while skiing the “grand tour.”

Just 8 weeks until the Sonot Kkaazoot

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Sonot Kkaazoot

With just two months until the start of the Sonot Kkaazoot, it is definitely time to start increasing both the intensity and duration of your ski workouts. This can be a challenging time of the year because the Birch Hill venue will be busy with Besh Cups, high school regional races, Town Races, and Junior Nationals between now and the start gun of the Sonot Kkaazoot. It may take a little more creativity and flexibility to squeeze in those longer and more intense workouts when the weather doesn’t cooperate. However, just because it is -37 deg F at Birch Hill on Sunday when you normally do your long overdistance workout doesn’t mean you have to resort to the couch like one of our AWOL SCUM:

Layers of clothing may render a skier less fashionable than lycra speedsuits, but who is going to recognize you on the trail under these conditions?

We have ample snow so get out and enjoy it. No excuses. On Sunday, these skiers had the Birch Hill trails virtually to themselves (only Bad Bob Baker lapped them twice). One of the skiers above has had 11 orthopedic surgeries and was still out there. Another of the frosty guys above had major back surgery last winter. Another skier owns a bar where late weekend nights are the norm–hardly, the occupation that would be conducive to getting up on Sunday mornings to ski several hours–yet he does. Why? Because all these skiers feel so much better skiing than not. Besides, the Sonot is only 8 weeks away. These aren’t young pups as all but one of the skiers in the bottom photograph is over 60 years old.

See you on the trails.

Photo from lower 48 courtesy of Carl (aka Thumper) Hemming, Birch Hill photos by Bill (Poles) Husby.

39th Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot

Featured

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Sonot Kkaazoot

Athabaskan: Sonot (pronounced “SAW NOT”, “springtime”) Kkaazoot (“kah-ZOOT”, “to slide your feet across the snow”)

Saturday, March 21, 2026

Early registration for the 39th Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot is live now. Click on the “Register” tab at the top of this webpage.

NO race day registration. NO refunds.

Changing Races: Racers who wish to switch races must do so at the bib pickup on Thursday, March 19 at Birch Hill Ski Center. Participants who switch to a shorter race than originally registered for will not be refunded the difference in registration cost. Participants who switch to a longer race than originally registered for will be responsible for paying the difference in registration cost.

Early bib pick-up and late registration: Thursday, March 19, 2026 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at Birch Hill Ski Center (upstairs). Save yourself time waiting in line on race day.

Race Day Bib Pick-up: At Rikka’s Roadhouse from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m.

10 km race start at 10:00 a.m.

30 and 50 km race start at 10:15 a.m.

Awards and Dinner: Join us after the race for dinner and awards at 6:00 p.m. Saturday, March 21, 2026 at the Birch Hill Ski Center. Winners of each age group for each distance will receive a beautiful, locally made Woodal (wood medal). Soups, breads, and beverages provided.

Sonot Kkaazoot Race Courses: All races are freestyle events. Classical tracks will be set for all courses. All three races will have the same route for the first 2 km, which starts in the stadium, up the main ramp, out Relay Start Loop, onto the South Tower to the top and back down to the end of Tower, then onto Roller Coaster Bypass to stadium.

10 km course: After the above start route, the 10 km will head down the White Bear access and out onto the White Bear. Will follow the White Bear to the Beacon Cutoff, then return via the White Bear, skipping Moilanen Meadows, back to the White Bear Access, finishing the White Bear Access to the stadium, then a hard right following the east side of the stadium and then ski the whole Warm-Up Loop and into the FINISH.

10 km Sonot Kkaazoot course with profile

30 km course: After the start route as the racers come into the stadium from the Roller Coaster Bypass, they will ski directly across the stadium and down onto the Competition, then out onto the entire North Forty back to the Competition, then down onto the entire Back Hole back to the Competition then finishing the remaining Competition and back into the stadium. Skiers then proceed up the west side of the main ramp and down and around the Blue Loop, then down onto the Outhouse Loop to the Sunnyside. Ski the entire Sunnyside trail (not Cliffside), and back to the Outhouse Loop. Finish the Outhouse Loop then turn left onto the Relay Return to the top of the ramp. Turn right onto the Tower Loop, ski entire Tower Loop followed by Medevac and finishing the Roller Coaster. Ski right down onto the White Bear Access then right onto the White Bear, all of the White Bear including Moilanen Meadows, and the White Bear Access back to the stadium. Turn right and ski along the east side of the stadium, and the entire Warm-Up Loop, and into the FINISH.

Section 1 of 30 and 50 km Sonot Kkaazoot courses with profile

Section 2 for 30 and 50 km Sonot Kkaazoot courses with profile

50 km course: Ski the 30 km course but after skiing under the bridge, the 2nd lap for the 50 km course will lap around the finish and take a right down on the Competition, then onto the North Forty for a little over a kilometer, then skiers will take the cut-off back onto the Competition, by-passing the Black hole, continuing up the Competition keeping straight and left back to the stadium, then right up the west side of the main ramp, and down the Blue loop, then the Outhouse loop, then down the Sunnyside and Cliffside, across the base of the Ft. Wainwright Ski Hill just in front of the Ft. Wainwright Ski Lodge, and then turn left up the Sonot Connector all the way back to the White Bear. Turn right onto the outbound White Bear, then ski the rest of the White Bear and Moilanen Meadows and the White Bear Access to the stadium. Turn right and ski along the east side of the stadium. Ski the entire Warm-Up loop then under the bridge and into the FINISH!!!

Section 3 of 50 km Sonot Kkaazoot course with profile

PDF versions of the course maps can be downloaded at the Courses tab above.

Feed Stations will be staffed by the Lathrop, North Pole, and West Valley XC Ski team boosters and are located in the stadium and on the White Bear trail at Sonot Junction. A detailed list can also be downloaded at the Courses tab.

QUESTIONS: contact@sonotkkaazoot.org

Photo of the 2015 start by Chris Hemming

Banner photo courtesy of Retrospection Image.

Sonot Kkaazoot

Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks' annual spring ski marathon

Tag Archives: Birch Hill Recreation Area