Touring News

Put this on your calendar! Bad Bob and Sharon Baker are again offering their Moose Mountain Sunrise Ski Tour in December.

The Moose Mountain Sunrise tour offers cross-country skiers a hilly course on which to greet the winter sun. This tour follows an out-and-back course that goes to the top of Moose Mountain and beyond (but only if you want to go that far).

What: 6th Moose Mountain Sunrise Ski Tour

When: Saturday, December 17, 2022 @ 10:00am sharp….be waxed, dressed and ready to ski!!!

Where: Meet at the BAKERS home @ 3020 Moose Mountain Rd. There will be a large sign at our driveway. It’s 2.2 miles up Moose Mtn. Rd. from Spinach Creek Rd. on the left side. (Google Maps link: https://goo.gl/maps/1JyEJLwtpAE3yrEH8)

Parking: You’re welcome to arrive early. Parking could be tight depending on number of participants. Don’t be late or you’ll mess up the parking system. Try to carpool if you can.

Tour Course: Starts and finishes at our home @ 3020 Moose Mountain Rd. The tour is an out and back affair. First 2km are all UPHILL. Steepest part is the first 1/4 mile. After you hit the top of Moose Mtn, the trail follows the ridge with long ups and downs. If it’s clear out, the ridge offers wonderful views of the valleys and Fairbanks as well as the Alaska Range.

Our hope is to get everyone to the ridge top by sunrise 10:55am. Tour participants can follow the trail until they feel the need to turn around and head back down. The trail will be groomed with a nice, combed surface. The plan is to turn around and be back to the start by 1:00pm, where there will be hot drinks and treats inside our home. All are encouraged to bring a TREAT, which can be in any form: desserts, soups, breads etc.

R.S.V.P.: All participants need to sign-up ahead of time by calling (907) 455-6689 so we have an idea of how many to expect. Parking is limited, but we can provide more if necessary. You can call again the morning of the tour to check on the temperature if you’d like to know. If you decide not to participate after you’ve signed up, please call and cancel.

Classic skis would be the preferred skis to bring, however, skate skis are doable too. This tour is not for the beginning skier. Participants should be experienced and proficient in up and downhill technique. It’s well advised to bring along a small backpack with wind shells and extra clothing for the descent back down. Temperatures up in the hills can be just as cold as down in the valleys, but they can also sometimes be 30 degrees warmer!!

Temperature cut-off: This tour has no temperature cut off. Dogs are welcome, as long as they are controllable.

The SUNRISE is scheduled for 10:55am and can be quite spectacular even when the skies are not clear.

Leaders: Bad Bob and Sharon Baker

The Do-it-Yourself Rat Ponds Tour is still holding up. The cooler temps are really helping to keep the course in shape. Get more information on how to do the tour here.

Rosie Creek Tour Report
The Rosie Creek Ramble Tour, which happened February 26, was a big success. Here’s a quick report from tour leader Steven Hansen:

What: Two Rivers Elementary School Ski Trails tour

When: Sunday, March 20, 2022

Start time and place: 3PM at Two Rivers Elementary School (After parking, walk around the loop to the ski trails on the upper level. Parking at actual trailhead is limited.)

Google Maps link to Two Rivers Elementary School: https://goo.gl/maps/Q81bLVLZCmY2NCTd6

Estimated tour time: 45 minutes to an hour (but you can go farther on your own if you like).

Short description: The tour will be 5k long and will take 45 minutes to 1 hour on the intermediate-level trails. Collect another FNSB Trails Challenge sign along the way!!! The trails have been groomed for skating and are in excellent shape. There are a few small sticks along the trail, as happens in spring.

Dogs are allowed on these trails, but since we will be in a group please make sure they are friendly with other people and dogs.

Leader: Contact Charlotte Porter at 907-888-6121 with any questions.

Here’s a ski tour report of the recent Tour de Pearl Creek by tour leader Joel Young:

It was a great day out in the Pearl Creek Community Nordic Park on Sunday the 27th! Trails were freshly groomed Thursday evening by Sam Dashevsky (thanks Sam!) and a layer of fresh powder instead of freezing rain greeted us on Sunday morning. We started as a group of four but finished as a group of five after a late arrival followed our fresh tracks to catch up! Signs of moose were about but no sightings fortunately.

We started on the north side of Herreid Road and completed an Outer East Loop out to the power line on the north end and then back around past the Pearl Creek Farm Cabin on the West Outer Loop.

Next, we took our time exploring the various outer and inner loops on the south side of Herreid. We went down Fox Trot up the Old Ski Field. Then it was Commuter Trail down to Thrill Hill up Rabbit Run back to Puffin Loop to Shaun’s Trail. We finished out on Castor Trail and up to the School Field. In total it was about 4 miles and two hours of ski time. I attempted to provide some history of the area as best I knew and will study up more for the next tour!

Here are some pics of the tour. Look on the Skarland and Pearl Creek Trails Facebook page under the files tab for a map pdf of the trails and a pdf file to ‘Parrish respecting our routes’ for history of Skarland Trail and trail development in the Dog Patch area of which Pearl Creek Park is a part.

Happy skiing!

Come out and enjoy a tour (or a race) of the University of Alaska Fairbanks trails.

What: Skiathon tour or race of the University of Alaska Fairbanks trails. Choose your own pace and time. Classic ski only (to do the whole course).

When: March 5 and 6, 2022

Start time and place: Virtual event: Your choice on start, March 5 or 6; start place on the wide power line just downhill from the UAF Ski Hut.

Estimated tour time: 2-3 hours

Short description: Course will be marked and tracks set by Friday evening. Ski the course when ever you wish and send in your time to Stan. Cost is $15 (fundraiser for UAF trails). Map and registration will be on the UAF Trails Club website. See course map here.

If you are having trouble accessing the online registration form, you can also access it on this page. (Look in the March listings). You need a University of Alaska online account. (They are free. You don’t need to be a student or UA employee to have one.) Or, if the online registration is too daunting, the good old paper registration is available at Beaver Sports.

No temperature cutoff

No dogs allowed on the UAF ski trails

And while cross-country skiing is fairly safe, please remember to be Covid-aware. Try to keep your distance and mask if you can’t.

Leader: Stan Justice (stanjustice@acsalaska.net)

Report from tour leader Joel Young:

Great day out on the Skarland Ski Trail tour. Nine of us started from the UAF Ski Hut on recently groomed trails with a nice layer of fresh powder on top. The temps hovered just above zero, making for ideal classic skiing conditions. Some of us were well familiar with the trails, while one of our party had never skied on Skarland or UAF trails!

Breaking trail we all stayed upright on the various downhills as we made our way around the loop and back to UAF. Once back on campus we were diverted off of the original route by a moose but pleasantly rewarded with a nice long downhill to the T-Field.

New acquaintances were made with a shared love for amazing classic trails. It was all smiles back at the ski hut with endorphins high and satisfaction from both the conditions and scenery.

Looking forward to another tour next year!