Vote on April 3 

Make sure you vote in the Municipal election on April 3rd. Proposition 3, the Park Bond, should have lots of interest to trail users. It contains funds to repave the Tony Knowles Coast Trail, repair lights in Kincaid Park and repair bridges on other green belt trails. Rarely do you get a chance to directly affect our trails. Tell your friends to get out and vote. 

Proposition 3, the very modest $2.75 million park bond, addresses five significant park projects. The one that affects skiers the most is the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail resurfacing project. The Coastal Trail is a gem of outdoor recreation in Anchorage. Completed in 1987, it is now in serious need of repair. Prop 3 allocates $1.25 million to resurface the worst sections of the trail, improve the bridges, and begins to address the erosion problems along the bluff.  Another $450K goes to bridge repairs on Chester and Campbell Creek greenbelts and $250K to trail lighting repairs in Kincaid Park.

What will it cost you? For the park bond, a home owner's property tax will be increased by $1.22 per $100,000 valuation. For the median home valuation in Anchorage of $270,000, that will result in a tax increase of $3.30 per year, less than the cost of a latte!   

More Information: Bond Project Map 

For More Information: Anchorage Tomorow

General Election Information: Municipal Website

Spring Skiing is Wonderful!
 

This is the best time of year to get out and enjoy the groomed trails here in Anchorage.  With daylight savings time you can finish work and ski in the sun! Don't forget some sunscreen and sun glasses as the reflection from the snow will remind you quickly!

Regardless of what type of gear you are on, focus on finding a rhythm. To start, stand tall and begin a cadence, rhythm or mantra in your head. Next, get into that beat with a flex of the ankles in an up and down rhythm. Now you're ready to add your whole body, flexing at the waist and bringing your shoulders slightly forward in rhythm with the music. When you are ready to start, move yourself forward down the trail with the extension of the rhythm.

Land on your gliding leg with a "sinking" flexing movement, remembering to keep your foot under your hips. Don't forget that skiing is a whole body movement, so flex slightly at the waist and bring those shoulders forward as well. This will add glide to your movement. The snow is softer in the spring, so keep a light touch through that ankle flexion movement.

Think of this rhythm-type movement similar to a sprinter out of the starting blocks. The move takes you down the trail and your legs simply keep up with your body. Let each leg flex so that you can extend down the trail rather than towards the sky. When I watch the sprinter or the great skiers, it looks like their femur bone is almost straight up and down relative to the snow surface.  The movement originates with the ankle in tune with the upper body. It can start with a small movement but increases with speed.

Take note that the angle created with the lower leg should match the upper body, does yours? For more tips on finding rhythm or technique, come see us for a private lesson this spring.

Ski you on the trails!

Warren Souther

NSAA Ski School Director

CLICK HERE for information on ski lessons

Mark your calendars for the SKAN 24!

March 24 & 25, 2012

First off, what the heck is the SKAN 24? The SKAN (Ski Kincaid All Night) is Alaska's first and ONLY 24-hour Nordic ski race! You can choose to ski for the full 24 hours (either solo, duo, as a quad or as an octo team) or you can choose the 6-hour or 12-hour race option.  But this race isn't just about skiing for an insanely long time, it's about hanging with your comrades, winning prizes, eating waffles (Yes, waffles! Visit the blog for the low-down on the waffles...), and testing your willpower! We've got even more awesome sponsors this year! Do it on your own or bring a group of friends- you're welcome to stay in the bunker, camp out in the stadium, or bring an RV and stay in the parking lot.  We've already got superb coffee all night, wax support, headlamp demos, ski demos, an RV rental deal just for this race and much, much more!   It's a seriously fun time! 

For all the dirty details, go to the SKAN 24 race blog 

You may still be able to get tickets for March 24  

TOOT-TOOT! It's the 40th anniversary of the Ski Train! The 2012 train will be heading for Curry - a winter wonderland of skiing, filled with old-time Alaskan history! Enjoy a great train ride, along with live polka band music, dancing and food! Depending on what part of the train you're hanging out in, you can enjoy a get-up-and-dance atmosphere, a family-friendly atmosphere, or simply a quiet ride with just the winter landscape moving past. The rolling terrain of Curry is a perfect place for ski touring or snowshoeing and can provide breathtaking views of Denali (provided you make your way up the bluff trail and the skies are clear...).  

If you've never taken a trip down the tracks, consider joining in the fun this year. Tickets are sold out, but the waitlist is short and typically we have many folks that are unable to use their tickets and want to sell them to those that can.  

Email or call our office today (276-7609) to get your name on the waitlist.  

"We make races happen."  

Elizabeth, Iain, and Molly with Tim Brabets (longest running NSAA race volunteer)

Meet the Greenest of the Green Grunts. Three young people (Elizabeth Knapp, Molly Mylius, and Iain Miller) are paving the way for the next generation of skiers and volunteers!

Elizabeth Knapp started skiing while she was still in diapers. She's an East High graduate of '06, and graduated from St. Olaf in 2010 with a degree in Music Education. Elizabeth currently works as a Music teacher at Baxter Elementary. She became a volunteer because her mom is a green grunt and she wanted to keep busy and watch her cousin race. Even though her cousin races for Service, Elizabeth says, "It's really all about East." The best part about being a Grunt is "the food, oh yeah, and the company." This year, Elizabeth says she learned to dress in layers!  

Molly Mylius graduated from East High in '07 and then from Bates College in Maine in 2011. She works for Agnew::Beck. She became a Green Grunt because she says skiing is the best part of this community and she was looking for volunteer opportunities to support the next generation of skiers. The best part according to Molly is watching the sunrise. This year, she's learned to appreciate all the logistics that goes in to putting on a ski race.

Iain Miller graduated from Chugiak High in 2011. He is currently attending UAA. Last year the Green Grunts honored graduating Iain with the "Golden Sweeper Award" for being the sweeper of every high school race for 4 years. Every race! This year he has joined the ranks. What Iain's learned this year is to come early for a good parking space. He most enjoys being out with all of the skiers, and says the best part of being a Grunt is the cookies. During the races Iain is always out on the course doing moose patrol so he gets a radio. (In Grunt-land, this is like gold.)  

The jobs our dynamic trio have performed this year are: moose patrol, stadium set up, bib remover, gatekeeper (crowd control), course control, relay bib caller, technique control, course set up & take down, bib recorder, and the all important cheering section.

You can experience the Green Glory, too: Contact John Christopherson to volunteer.

Grooming for the multi-use trails is DIFFERENT!

Foot traffic causes snow to break down and in general, become much firmer.  We've all seen it: trails post-holed and pockmarked after a storm with footprints, bike tracks, and even goat and horse hooves. This wear impacts the trail in a different way than ski tracks. 

Because the base becomes deeply misshapen (several inches down), we must groom more deeply to affect the deeper impact to the base. We often have to "mess with" the top 3 - 4 inches instead of the top 1 inch on the ski only trails. And perhaps you've noticed, when snow is wet & impressionable after a storm, people tend to walk instead of ski, and this tends to exacerbate the post-hole problem. Trails also need to be groomed to be much firmer to support foot traffic. And, of course, multi-use trails are typically subject to far more traffic year-round.  

Often, Multi-use trails in Anchorage are subject to different conditions than ski-only trails. For instance, most of our multi-use trails are located near roads. Kudos to the MOA Park & Rec team for a great job on the multi use trails in the last few years: They are tasked with small tunnels, constant overflow and ice and debris from the roads, and runoff from the road system. They have limited time because of all their other obligations. In addition, they have only snow machine grooming equipment.  They're only staffed to be able to groom during the day, especially on a multi-use trail. A pisten bully would vastly increase the conditions that these hard-working groomers are subject to.  

Our groom for the Tour of Anchorage was made much easier by the Muni groomers' diligent maintenance of the trail through the Chester Creek system and Coastal Trail system.

Grooming the multi-use trails is a different game, due to the nature of these trails, their typical location, and stresses put on these trails that ski only trails aren't subject to. 

What: NSAA Photo Contest: open to all Alaska ski club members
When: Deadline May 15
Winners: Announced during NSAA November Annual Meeting

Awards: Prizes graciously donated by AMH
Calendar: All submitted photos will also be considered for the NSAA 2013 Calendar
Categories:

• Racing,
• Touring/Backcountry
• Jumping
• Kids on Skis
• Winter Wildlife
• Nature
• Fun Ski Events
• Open

Cost:  Free!

How:  Download entry form from NSAA web, e-mail completed form and photos 
For more info: Check out the website Or call Brian Looney 646-5605

Phone hotline is being phased out   

Have you checked out the slick new grooming report format? If not, you're in for a treat! Featuring an easy-to-read format with updates on all your favorite Anchorage and Eagle River areas groomed by the NSAA. We even have photos! It's mobile phone-friendly so our grooming crew can keep it updated as conditions change.  Find the new blog on our website here.

The phone version (hot line) of our grooming report is being phased out, so please check out the new blog.

Get Out. Way Out!  

April 15th, 2012 (Sunday) - Williwaw Lakes Tour 

If you have any questions contact the tour leader Bob Sutherland at 336-1717 or via email. 

Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage

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

907-276-7609