Winterfest holds ski and bike races
Winterfest got some great weather for its ongoing program of fun and healthy outdoor activities last week. On Thursday a fatbike race started from the municipal snow dump and wound across the tundra for four miles. On Friday there was a well-attended cross country ski race. The temperatures were cold but the sun was out.
“We ended up getting 13 people,” said bike race organizer Jeff Collins. He said probably two were serious fat bikers and the rest were enthusiasts who wanted to get out of the house and do something. “A decade ago, Phil Hofstetter was getting cockeyed looks when he was riding his bike around,” said Collins. “Even with cross country running, when we travel to the villages there’s kids on fatbikes all over the place. For Western Alaska the potential is awesome. Especially in the spring when we have the crusty ice snow. You can go anywhere.” Collins said this race was just done on a whim. One of the riders was Dave Ojanen, who rides every morning, 20 to 30 miles a day. “I do my two mile commute every morning to work,” said Collins.
The ski race was held over approximately the same course. “This is awesome,” said Rosa Wright, the race director. “I wasn’t expecting this many people. But I’m so happy that this many showed up. It’s really cool to see. Since they can’t travel this year it’s nice to have something to do.” She hopes she’ll have one more race before the season is over.
Tobin Hobbs was the fastest skier by a wide margin. Earlier in March he’d travelled to Anchorage for the annual Tour of Anchorage 25K freestyle race and finished fourth. He has previously won the same race, a major accomplishment. “This is very unique, very good for short touring sessions, but that’s about it. Not very good for racing,” he said of the choppy course. In the big city cross country ski trails are meticulously groomed by special machines. “But this is awesome. I was pretty excited with how many people showed up. It’s pretty cool that Nome has decided to send a bunch of their really young kids and adults that learned to ski a long time ago. They’re just going out and having fun.”
On Front Street the Sons of Norway cooked chicken and ribs for two days. There was snow sculpture happening at Old St. Joe’s and other outdoor activities as well, the crown jewel being the Nome-Golovin snow machine race on Saturday. It is Alaska’s oldest snow machine race and after two postponements due to bad weather was blessed with clear skies and a relatively smooth trail.
Results from the ski race: One-Year-Old 1 Loop Sprint: Cassie Fuller 14:24
Mini Loop Youth/Parent Sprint: Jocelyn Nichols-Takak - 4:07;
Miles Collins - 4:14; Emma Takak 5:16; Peyton Lewis - 5:23; Katie Hannon - 5:31; Zachary Slingsby 6:36; Hazel Rhodes - 8:29; Tyler Rhodes - 8:36; Kierin Rhodes 13:40
Out and Back: Erika Rhodes 27:00; Caleb Rhodes - 27:00
Two- Mile Bumpy Lumpy Loop:
Tobin Hobbs - 10:58; Wilson Hoogendorn - 16:14; Jeff Collins - 16:19; TJ Wright - 17:44
Clara Hansen - 17:58; Parker Kenick - 22:04; Luke Henslee - 22:30; Charlie Painter - 22:36; Tracy
Gregg - 24:57; Valerie Fuller 26:33; Myra Scholze - 29:41; Danielle Slingsby - 29:43; Carol Gales 29:48; Tierra Austin - 33:03; Samantha Pollee - 33:11; Jackie Hrabok - 39:09; Watch out for Trees 39:19