Summer trail work makes skiing possible on thin snowpack

Posted on November 9, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

Although there is still no snow in the near future (as shown by the 6- to 10-day outlook for precipitation from the NOAA National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center)

as long as temperatures stay below freezing, skiing at Birch Hill will remain remarkably good thanks to the summer trail work. Today the warm temperatures brought recreational skiers out to Birch Hill

where a first year skate skier was leading a veteran classical skier up heartbreak hill on the White Bear trail.

Enjoy the unseasonably warm temperatures

as the sub-zero conditions will eventually arrive as will our long-awaited snowfall.

Don’t forget to make your trail grooming donation that makes the long ski season at Birch Hill possible:

https://nordicskicluboffairbanks.wildapricot.org/Donate/

Eighteen person-hours of work last night (3/26/14)

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

Six hardy volunteers (aged 56 to 71) moved large quantities of snow last night to prevent Sonot Kkaazoot skiers from damaging their ski bottoms on highway gravel embedded into the icy surface of the Chena River underneath highway bridges. Huge thanks go out to Bill Husby, Chris Puchner, Donovan Granger, Mike Schmoker, Owen Hanley, and Carol Kleckner, who worked for three hours to make the river even better skiing.

As of 6 p.m. on 3/27/14, Bad Bob (chief of course) is now 99% sure the race will be on the river!

Feed your inner teenager

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

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.

Tour of Birch Hill

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

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.

No crowds, but World Cup quality ski trails

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

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.

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.

Hope to see you on the trails soon.

Sonot Kkaazoot

Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks' annual spring ski marathon

Tag Archives: trail grooming