Tour of Anchorage
Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 4:05PM Anchorage has the best Nordic skiing of any town in the US. Groomed by the NSAA, Anchorage has over 150 km of groomed trails, for $75 per year. Unreal.
The Tour of Anchorage is the pinnacle of Anchorage Nordic skiing. On March 6 the main event is a 50 km skate ski from Service High to the Spencer Loop--the most grueling trail in Anchorage--and onto Kincaid Park at the far side of town. This year instead of doing the tour, I ran around taking photos and cheering. Friends thought this was a wise decision, considering my wife Cathy was in top form, and if by chance I finished before her, well, snuggling might become limited.
The 8:30am elite start at Service High below the pyramid of Mount Williwaw (5,445'), the highest peak in the Chugach Front. James Southam, in the yellow vest, was the most recent winner in the race. My buddy Max Kaufman, in the yellow jacket, came down from Fairbanks for the event. He's roasting in the 8-degree heat.
James breaking the corduroy at the top of Spencer Loop.
Former Olympic duathalete Rachel Steer leading the women. She's tuning up to skate the White Mountains 100 race in late March. For several years I knew Rachel through email when she worked as a photo editor for Alaska magazine. We finally met at Sheep Mountain Lodge.
James Southam a smidge behind Dylan Watts and Mark Iverson. Dylan won in 2:15:01 hours.
Rachel crossing the finish line second in 2:45:11 hours followed by Rebecca Konieczny from West Yellowstone, Montana.
At the finish line I realized my dream dog is a basset hound, not a wiener dog like I always thought.