BARROW NORDIC SKI CLUB

By mid-April, the harshness of winter had relented somewhat and the community, or those who enjoy outdoor sports, were pleasantly surprised to learn that efforts were being made to begin a Nordic ski club in Barrow.  Mike Hajdukovich, who travels here and to other Alaskan communities promoting sports and putting on camps for young people via the organization he heads, Challenge Life, would be in Barrow during the third week of April.  Posters advertised him bringing Olympic cross country skiers, Kikkan Randall and Holly Brooks to give lessons and to kick off the Barrow Nordic Ski Club. 

Mike brought with him new, high quality, boots, skis, and poles that the City of Barrow funded.  A space was created at the City’s recreation center, Piuraagvik, and it was organized prior to the event kick off.  Mike, Holly and Kikkan brought lots of enthusiasm and despite a return to blizzard-like weather, the turnout on the first night was very high, with at least 30 people of all ages eager to ski, learn or relearn. 

It was both Kikkan and Holly’s first trip to Barrow and most, if not all of our, first time to meet Olympians.  They couldn’t have been warmer or more committed to helping us all have a meaningful evening.  It was an honor meeting them and magical watching them ski with perfect form, making it look easy, of course, when it really does require much skill, practice and dedication. 

I had skied on the cross country teams for Lathrop HS in Fairbank and Service HS in Anchorage and have missed the sport being a part of my life, so was elated to join in and ski, or more accurately, slip, slide, fall and laugh along with the many other people out that night.  Goggles were needed in order to see as cold, high winds blew snow from the east.  My friend, Mari, had come as well and was a great sport about staying out, regardless of the conditions.  We, along with most people, skied for almost two hours and smiles seemed to be the order of the evening after stomping the snow off our boots before returning our gear to Piuraagvik.  It seems as though we are all hungry to be able to ski here and had received a proverbial very tall glass of water by Mike, Kikkan and Holly’s coming.

Mike’s son, Stefan who competes for the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, traveled to Barrow soon after to give lessons on tracks that had been set and groomed by Geoff Carroll and his team of dogs.  The day was a perfect one with sunny skies, warm temperatures and good company.  Stefan scheduled different age groups during the day which made for more organization and quite a bit less falling.  Stefan shared that there had been a very large turnout of middle schoolers before our session and that they had asked for an evening session as well.  Five other adults and myself followed Stefan around the lagoon, working at emulating his technique and not working at all to enjoy the time out on the ice and snow.  Skiing seems so freeing and the coordinated use of balance, legs, shoulders and arms brought back a flood of good memories from high school. 

Stefan made a subsequent trip back in early May and Geoff had groomed new and existing trails.  They hoped to repeat this later in the month, however, the lagoon began thawing to the point where it was unsafe to traverse and the snow in other places where Geoff and his dogs had groomed previously, were more like the beginnings of mosquito bogs than good places to ski.

As the back of the T-shirts that Mike, Kikkan, Holly and Stefan wore and that we will all receive at the beginning of the next ski season here, “Ski you later!”