The first two weeks of February was a busy time for our event/race coordinators. Check out this schedule!

• Four college races - UAA Invitational at Kincaid. Matt Pauli, Chief of Comp, and dozens of volunteers did a great job. Congratulations to UAA skiers! CLICK HERE for results.
• Two ASD middle school races at Mirror Lake and Kincaid. Ellen Toll and Dave Blanchet coordinate these races. Thanks! CLICK HERE for the rest of the season schedule. 
• Two biathlon races at Kincaid. Tom Grenier serves as Biathlon Committee Chair. Thanks Tom & fellow committee members. CLICK HERE for results.
• ASD High School East High Relay. Talk about fast kids in silly dress! Big thanks to John Christopherson and his team of Green Grunts. CLICK HERE for results.
• AMH Anchorage Cup Sprint Relay. Big fun on a short course. Details handled by Tim & Anne Stone and lots of volunteers. CLICK HERE for results.
• Alaska Ski for Women - Thank you Robin Kornfield and her well organized organizing committee. Final numbers are being tabulated, but $60,000 is the target number to be raised by generous sponsors and participants for the great cause of ending domestic violence. CLICK HERE for race results. 
• Ski 4 Kids Day - New this year, the Story Book Trail, thanks to amazing new event organizer Alice Knapp. CLICK HERE for some seriously cute photos and results.

More events coming up in February. Volunteers are always welcome.

• Feb 17-18 - ASD Region IV Championships 
• Feb 19 - AMH Anchorage Cup, Sven Johansson Race
• Feb 22 & 28 - ASD Middle School races
• Feb 23-25 - State High School Championships
• Feb 25 - JUMPfest at Karl Eid Ski Jumps  

Take a Day to Ski with Youth!

Can you help? We need volunteers to help introduce kids to the love of skiing.  Several area grade schools are working with the MOA's outreach program and they need instructors. Groups are comprised of 20 - 25 skiers, 3rd to 6th grade. Sponsoring teachers will also ski with the group. This session will run from February 6 - March 8, 2012 on Mondays- Thursdays. Next session will run March 19 - April 12. 

First Session Schools:

- Williwaw Elementary  (M/ W) 

- Sand Lake   (M/ W)  

- Taku  (Tu/ Th)  

- Russian Jack   (Tu/ Th) 

Second Session Schools:

- Ptarmigan  (Tu/ Th) 

- Chester Valley  (M/ W) 

- Tyson (begin March 26-April 12) 

For more information, email Margaret Timmerman or 343-4217.  

2012 is the 25th birthday of the Tour! It's Alaska's largest (and oldest) Nordic ski race. Race date is March 4, 2012.  

• For many folks in Alaska the Tour is THE ski race that matters. Be a part of the 25th anniversary of this great race. Registration is happening NOW.
• Once again, the awards banquet will be held at the popular Bear Tooth Theatre featuring music, videos, slide show and fabulous Bear Tooth refreshments - Monday, March 5th at 7:45. Save the dates, tickets are limited and available starting February 28.  
•  Need that extra training boost? We've got three  "one shot" 90 minute ski lessons coming up! These lessons will give you a sneak preview of the race starts and finish and are scheduled for Feb 25, Feb 26 and Mar 2. CLICK HERE for more class information and to register online.  
• CLICK HERE to see who has already registered for the Tour. Sign up today!

 

Oh, how hindsight each day is so clear compared to even 24 hours earlier. We start each year with a combination of hope and skepticism.  In the fall, when the first heavy frost comes we start evaluating what, if anything, we should do with it. Remember, we work with natural occurrences, not against them; we work with what is given. We still hope for more gifts but cannot be clouded by wishing for things we do not have. Collectively, with our seven member grooming crew, we have 109 years of experience in the greater Anchorage area.

So when the first bit of frozen water comes down in whatever form, we ask ourselves several things: What we can we do to make this a great skiing experience right now? How will this affect our opportunities for great skiing a week from now? What effect will what we do now have on developing a solid base that we can work with all the next month if there's no more snow? How will our actions now contribute to a foundation that will stand up to what 109 years of hope and skepticism knows may come?

We want to jump right out there and pack it smooth, put some track in it.  But we know that sometimes we must wait a few hours or a day for natural things to happen, like a good freeze to bond to the grass and rock, or letting vaporized water trapped between the frozen particles freeze and increase the total yield of base. Sometimes the hardest thing groomers do to make a trail skiable is to wait (especially if the groomer holding back is that schmuck in the mirror). However, early in the season, this is one of the most critical skills to develop. A wrong move in the first month of snow can come back to haunt you all season long, even in a good snow year.

And then there are the tracks. Oh, how we love to see those nice solid grooves winding their way through our picturesque forests and hills, leading a path to beautiful overlooks and quiet little winter hollows. Countless times I have succumbed to the urge to plant those grooves too early, then they get worn and I have to cut them out, regenerate the snow and try to coax them back in only to find those horrible representatives of my impatience: rocks, twigs, dirty spruce needles, and grass. Then we must regroup, pull snow in from the side, or haul snow to cover the sins of my impatience. Sometimes we even have to shovel out a whole layer and replace it with new clean snow: back breaking, labor-intensive work. Oh, how I wish I'd waited for just one more inch of base or for just one more day for that wet, easily packed snow to freeze and have body so that I could use it over and over again. Sigh.

Sometimes we get blessed with snow every other day. Then we look at the decisions we have made and see how we could have packed it harder and made it better right away. We see lost perfect ski days and wish we had taken the gamble and trusted the snow gods to reward us for our confidences. About the time we are kicking ourselves (and then consoling ourselves by realizing we did the best we could with what we suspected at the time), we get a letter from some self-proclaimed professional about how stupid we are. At that point, I just have to nod my head and agree. Criticism from hindsight can be a great pleasure. I have actually learned to enjoy it, as it keeps us on our toes, constantly evaluating and readjusting our decision-making criteria. What a blessing it is to work in a community that is so passionate about skiing!  I look around at many of the other sports groups and see sometimes 10 or more different independent organizations all jockeying for control of their sport experience. And then I look at our Nordic community-people that are characteristically independent and of strong opinion. Somehow we have collectively dropped our opposing differences enough to stay together as a unified group to maintain a wonderful system of trails with features for all types of skiers. I am proud and humbled at this commitment to working together for the collective good.

But back I go to the business at hand - keeping a trail base that is shaped to drain water, knowing that our luck may turn and the monsoons will strike with a vengeance. But I know that if we do all that we can and go with the weather, we can increase our chances of coming through the other end intact. We sharpen our tools, we maintain our equipment, and we rest up a bit so we are poised for the moment the world turns ever so slightly. We are ready, positioned to pounce at the first opportunity to improve our ski trail conditions. 

The last of the AMH Anchorage Cup races is happening this weekend at Kincaid. The famous (or infamous?) "Tour of Kincaid" includes 30K of the finest hills in town. This is your chance to skate the Horseshoe loop! Doin' the Tour of Anchorage? This is the last chance to get your race legs in order. If 30K is not your thing, we also have a 10K course for a more moderate experience and a 2.5K loop just for kids. After the race we'll have the usual food and awesome door prizes you come to expect at the AMH Anchorage Cup race series.   

For more information, CLICK HERE.

 Register Online 

Log Cabin Ski Society Hosting Buckwheat Ski Classic on March 24

Registrations are now being accepted for the 2012 Buckwheat Ski Classic, which will be held on the Log Cabin, British Columbia course north of Skagway, Alaska on Saturday, March 24.

Registration can now be done online at a new website: here .

The popular cross country ski race is turning a new chapter. During the 25th annual event in 2011, founder Buckwheat Donahue announced that it would be his last one as the main organizer. However, several Skagway and Yukon volunteers and businesspeople stepped up at the time and said they would find a way to keep the race going. In the fall, the nonprofit Log Cabin Ski Society was formed.

"It is the mission of the Log Cabin Ski Society to preserve and maintain the Log Cabin, B.C. cross country ski trails for the enjoyment of skiers in our region, and to organize the annual Buckwheat Ski Classic for competitors of all abilities and ages, so that everyone will have a howlin' good time," reads the new non-profit society's mission statement.   

 For more information: See the Press Release

Get the Latest Grooming News DELIVERED!

We've updated our grooming report to BLOG format! If you're tired of hitting the "reload" button on the webpage, sign up to have the reports delivered to you. If you have the old grooming page bookmarked on your computer be sure to update the address. CLICK HERE for new site.  Look for continued updates as we work to improve our grooming reports.

Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage

203 W. 15th Ave, #204 Anchorage, AK 99501

907-276-7609