Team Alaska Suffers Devastating Loss at Birkie Giant Ski Championships

Post by A Famous Sports Reporter

We are sorry to report that Team Alaska did not win the Birkie Giant Ski World Championships. The team didn’t even win its first heat.

Team Alaska – consisting of three Fairbanksans, two former Fairbanksans, and one honorary Fairbanksan -- entered the competition with high hopes.

“I really thought we could win it all,” said disappointed team captain Corrine Leistikow. “We trained and everything. Well, we didn’t train on giant skis, since they won’t let you do that, but we got all lined up and practiced our cadence and counting. It was heartbreaking to lose like that!”

Practicing our cadence in a line

The Birkie Giant Ski championships are held every year in Hayward, Wisconsin, in conjunction with the American Birkebeiner, a week of ski events culminating in a 50-kilometer ski race. It is the most attended yearly ski race in North America. Even though the Birkie is big, the Giant Ski championships are even bigger. Well, the skis are. Teams of six people are strapped to a pair of 25-foot skis. Then they must race 50 yards down Main Street in Hayward to cheering throngs of fans. The race is so competitive only 30 teams are allowed to compete.

The top two teams line up for the final. The team on the right, The Tree Schoolers won the competition

In addition to Leistikow, the other two Fairbankans on Team Alaska were Eric Troyer (Leistikow’s husband) and Chel Ethun. Also on the team were Riley Troyer (former Fairbanksan and son of Troyer and Leistikow), Susie Rivard (former Fairbanksan) and Siri Smithback (honorary Fairbanksan). Gordo Freeman (Siri’s husband) served as team photographer. 

Team Alaska practiced hard and even discussed strategies before the race such as whether they could double pole and whether they should practice their lunge in case of a close race. 

The volunteers get racers strapped into their bindings

Unfortunately, the finish wasn’t close in their first heat. Team Alaska was paired with the Twin Lakes Tap Titans. Team Alaska thought they had a good chance against that team since the average age of the members was 71 years old. 

The downfall of Team Alaska was foreshadowed when mere seconds before the race start, Susie turned to Eric and said, “Are we pointed in the right direction?” Eric looked up and saw that the team was pointing slightly cockeyed. “I think it will be all right,” Eric replied. But then the countdown started and there was no time for adjustments anyway. 

The photographer captures the moment when Susie voices her concerns to Eric

From the back, Team Alaskan coxswain Riley Troyer yelled out “Left! Right! Left! Right!” And the team was off! 

Quickly, Alaska gained a lead on the Titans, and it looked like they could take they heat. But soon Alaska started veering toward the Titans. The announcer watched in horror as Alaska started cutting off the Titans and worse. 

“They’re checking them into the boards!” he yelled.

Leistikow said she tried to steer the team straight but was overpowered by the juggernaut of the team’s overwhelming momentum. Then she started yelling for the team to stop, but her voice, normally a commanding presence, was drowned out by the cheers of the crowd (estimated at more than 100,000) and the cadence chants of the teams. 

The inevitable finally happened. Alaska crashed into the Titans, shoving them up against the fence at the side of the street. Several members of both teams went down. The announcer, shocked by the bloodthirsty violence, cried out that such tactics had never been seen before in the 1,000-year history of the Birkie Giant Ski championships. 

See the live action on this video

Amazingly, Alaska wasn’t immediately disqualified from the heat. Apparently what they did isn’t specifically outlawed by the race rules. So, race volunteers helped up the fallen members and while Alaska got themselves pointed in the right direction, the wily coyotes of the Titans (the wisdom of all that age paid off!) took off and headed for the finish line. 

The crash seemed to reinvigorate Team Alaska, which sprinted down the course at an even faster cadence than when they started. 

“I really thought we could still take them,” Leistikow said. “If we had had another 20 yards, we could have done it!” 

Alaska crossed the finish line just behind the Titans, having made up quite a bit of distance, though not enough. Fortunately, the Titans were good sports at the end of the heat and didn’t immediately attack the Alaskans. There were even smiles and laughing all around. Must be Birkie fever.

The two teams share a laugh and camaraderie at the end of their heat

However, a protest was later filed. And while it was shrouded in secrecy, rumor had it that the Titans claimed that they should be given another chance given the dirty deeds of the Alaskans, who clearly were still uncivilized despite being part a full-fledged state since 1959. Unfortunately for the Titans, the protest was thrown out.

“Maybe we should give it back to the Russians,” one unhappy bystander was heard complaining.

The announcer soon started comparing Team Alaska to the Exxon Valdez. 

Eric Troyer was philosophical about the loss. Back in Fairbanks he is a member of the SCUM and Leistikow is an honorary member. 

“I think if the SCUM had been watching, they would have been proud at the unbridled incompetence we showed,” Troyer said. “I would love to see what havoc a SCUM Giant Ski team could let loose down here.”

You can find out more about the Birkie Giant Ski Race HERE.

Sometimes You Get Lucky

post by Corrine

Last year, our planned trip to Hawai’i ran into some bad luck.

I had registered for a medical conference on Maui, but we got hit by a double whammy. First, we came down with Covid two days before we were supposed to leave, and we were pretty sick. Then our flight was cancelled. It was supposed to be on one of those Boeing 737 MAX planes, one of which had a panel fly off mid-flight. All the planes, including ours, were grounded until they could be inspected. Sigh. By the time we would have been able to reschedule our flight, my conference would have been half over. We decided to just cancel and stay home. I attended the conference virtually. All the lectures, none of the sun and warmth. It was a bummer, but sometimes you just aren’t lucky.

Remember this news story from last year?

So, this winter I was more than ready for some sun and warmth. We planned to go to the same conference at the end of January on the Big Island (it is held yearly in Hawai’i on different islands). How would our luck be this year?

The week prior to our flight, the weather in Fairbanks for January was amazing. Good snow, temps in the 20s above zero. We almost didn’t want to leave. It looked like we might miss some of the best skiing of the year. But then the forecast changed. Fairbanks was going to have several days of above freezing temperatures with freezing rain. Fortunately, our flight was scheduled to leave right before the bad weather hit. Later, some flights did get cancelled. If we had left a day later, we might not have gotten out of town. We got lucky!

Almost too nice to want to leave Fairbanks!

Luck in the Hawai’i High Country

We have been to Hawai’i many times, but we always try to find new places to explore. This time the conference was held on the Big Island, where we had been a few times. And we got there a few days before the conference so we could have some free days to play.

While researching what to do, I read about the Mana Road. It’s a 42-mile gravel road that runs from Waimea around the north flank of Mauna Kea. It looked like it could be a great bike ride. Could I start in Waikoloa at our condo, bike up past Waimea, then all the way up the road and back down the Saddle Road to our condo in one day? It would be close to 100 miles with about 7,000 feet of climbing. I wanted to try. The road surface could be very rough, it seemed like most bikers took mountain bikes. But could I do it on my gravel bike? I decided to go for it. Worst case, I could turn around. 

 Mana Road

I started around 7 a.m. and it was a slow hot grind with headwinds up to Waimea. I was heading up into the clouds and as I got closer to town, it started misting and then raining. Looking ahead, I could see the lower mountain was covered in clouds. Did I want to keep climbing higher into rain and headwinds and no views? No way. Mana Road would have to wait for another time. So, after a quick stop for snacks, I made the decision to turn north instead and take the upper road to Hawi, a road I had biked the last time we were on the Big Island. I climbed up to 4,000 feet and then I had a wonderful 20-mile descent to Hawi. Well, except for the nasty crosswinds that kept wanting to push me into traffic. But luckily there were only a few cars and trucks. The rain clouds remained off to my side, and I had glorious sunshine. 

Just another 1000 feet of climbing to the high point

When I got to Hawi, I had a full bladder, so I stopped at the local art co-op to see if they had a public bathroom. Those clouds that had been off to my side? They were suddenly right above me. Just as I stepped inside, the skies opened, and it poured for about 10 minutes. It was lucky my full bladder forced me inside right then. After the rain let up, I rode back on the Queen’s Highway, riding down to each beach (and back up again - quite the grunt each time). It ended up being a spectacular day on the bike – 85 miles with 6,500 feet of climbing – even if I didn’t get to explore somewhere I had never been.

Timed it perfectly to miss this downpour!

Biked down and back up to every beach along the way and even went swimming

Meanwhile, Eric hiked the Humu’ula Trail to the top of Mauna Kea. It starts at the Mauna Kea visitor center at 9,200 feet elevation and climbs almost 5,000 feet to just below the summit at 13,800 feet. Coming from sea level he felt the elevation, but he was able to slowly make his way up. On the way a thunderstorm developed, but it was a little below him, so Eric decided to keep going. He figured it might dissipate before he headed down. 

But on top, he was greeted by a ranger who said the road was closed because of the thunderstorm, so Eric had to take a ride back down. Three other hikers were already in the vehicle. Eric was disappointed that he couldn’t hike down, but he was lucky the storm hadn’t stopped him earlier. Down lower, Eric did another hike and heard thunder and saw lightning, but luck remained on his side, and he got only a little rain. All in all, we both got lucky that day and missed most of the bad weather.

Luck on the Rainy Hilo Side

We had one more day before the conference started, so we went sightseeing and did some short hikes. The Hilo side of the island can be rainy, but the forecast looked OK. We thought that with some luck, we might get to do some of the hikes. 

We started by checking out the Puako Petroglyph Site in Waikoloa then headed over toward Hilo.  First on the list was Wai’ale Falls. This was my favorite tourist destination of our trip. It was a short hike to the pool at the bottom of the falls and a slightly longer hike to reach the top of the falls. We did both and then swam in the chilly pool, getting as close to the falls as we safely could. 

Puako Petroglyphs - you can get up really close to them

At the top of Wai'ale Falls

So much fun to swim in the pool by the falls

Next was Rainbow Falls and then lunch in Hilo, where we had a great meal and then stumbled across Kula Shave Ice. We shared a delicious shave ice, then read that it was one of the best shave ice places in Hawai’i. We agree!

Best shave ice ever!

Then we headed directly south of Hilo, a place we’d never been before. We thought it would be a sleepy area, but that place was bustling! Fortunately, we left the busy main road to head to Lava Tree State Monument. The short hike took us through lava formations shaped by trees. We had also hoped to hike out to a lighthouse, but some new lava flows had blocked the path. Instead, we kept driving and discovered Government Beach Road, a wonderful, narrow, winding road through the coastal forest. I wished I had brought my bike. What a fun road to ride! It was a lucky find, and it will be on my list of rides to do next time. 

Walking past several lava trees 

On the way back to Waikoloa, we made a stop at Kapola State Park, way up in the rainforest. We wanted to do a longer hike, but it was getting dark, so we settled for the shorter nature walk through a forest alive with birdsong. 

Rainforest walk in Kapola State Park

We felt lucky to be able to spend a whole day on the Hilo side seeing new-to-us places with great weather!

Luck with Friends

While we were on the Big Island, several couples from Fairbanks were also there. We met up with Matt and Nita for dinner on our first night. The next night we decided to go to a casual local fish taco place and when we arrived, there were Matt and Nita! They had just ordered, so we had dinner again! What are the chances? They had also brought bikes along and planned to bike the Mana Road starting in Waimea sometime during their trip. I was disappointed I hadn’t had the chance to do that ride. 

Fairbanks friends, Matt and Nita

Several days later, I decided to bike after the morning conference up to the Belt Road and then south towards Hilo to make a 40-mile loop. As I was heading up toward Waikoloa Village, Matt texted me a couple of photos. They were on the Mana Road, and it looked awesome. I was jealous and wanted to bike part of the road, too, but I didn’t have enough time. Unless…. 

One of the photos that Matt sent from the Mana Road

I texted Eric to see if he had left for his afternoon hike up the Saddle Road. He was just getting ready to leave the condo and was willing to give me a ride on the way to his hike. Luck was still on my side! Eric dropped me off in Waimea and I started biking toward the Mana Road. At the start of that road, I met Matt and Nita, who were coming back down! After a short chat, I had time to ride out 13 miles before turning around and bombing all the way back down to our condo. What a great afternoon! And it was lucky it had rained the other day when I had planned to do the whole Mana Road. It gets a lot rougher and chunkier farther up. I’m not sure I would have made it all the way around Mauna Kea before it got dark. It all worked out for the best.

Views on the Mana Road

Mana Road gets a bit chunky, especially for gravel tires

Meanwhile Eric had his own bit of luck. He had wanted to hike up on Mauna Loa, but the weather service described the winds as “damaging.” Instead, he picked a trail to run lower down just off the Saddle Road. He wasn’t super excited about the Pu’u O’o Trail, but he had never done it before. It winds through a mix of old, partly vegetated lava fields and copses of forest that the lava missed. He ran back on the Powerline Trail, which also went through similar terrain. Birds serenaded him the whole time. He found both trails challenging but fun. It ended up being one of his favorite trail loops on the island. Guess he was lucky he couldn’t go up high!

Friends Nate and Christi were also on the Big Island as Nate was attending the same conference as me. One afternoon, we all hiked down to the Captain Cook Monument and went snorkeling. It was a nice hike, although it’s two miles straight down, which means two miles back up. The snorkeling was good, and we timed it right, so it wasn’t crowded with tour boats. After our hike, we had some of the best fish tacos at Shaka Tacoz in the small town of Captain Cook. We even made it back to Waikoloa in time to watch the sunset (complete with frolicking whales). It was pretty much a perfect day with great friends!

Getting ready to snorkel at the Captain Cook Monument

A humpback whale waves goodbye to the sun.  Photo credit: Nate Buffington

We had a bit more good luck, but unfortunately it was due to bad luck for others. We had planned on the last day of our trip to meet up in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park with friends Dave and Karen who had arrived just a couple of days before. (Fairbanksans sure like to go to Hawai’i in winter!) But we decided to cancel our plans with them when the weather along the coast looked to be a lot better than at the park. We wanted to make the most of our last day of sun and warmth before heading back to cold and dark Fairbanks. We felt a little guilty canceling on them, but it was good thing we did. Dave came down with norovirus that morning and Karen the next day. We might have gotten sick, too, if we had met up with them. Whew! Dodged a bullet. But we were sorry they were having bad luck on their trip. In fact, Dave had a lot of other bad luck on their trip but that's another story! But they did have some good times, too.

Luck Back Home

After a week of a great conference, good weather, and a lot of fun hiking and biking and swimming, it was time to head home. Remember that ice storm when we left? Well, by the time we got home, the streets were plowed, and the weather was back to being perfect with snow in the forecast. That weather caused a lot of bad luck in Fairbanks, but our trip – scheduled many months before – kept us out of it for just the right amount of time. It’s sure nice when luck is on your side!

Reasonable and Sensible – NOT: A Quick Trip to Arizona

Post by Eric

I consider myself to be a reasonable person who makes sensible decisions. A recent trip to Arizona suggests otherwise, at least when it comes to trails.

In early January, I flew down to visit my mom in Sierra Vista, just south of Tucson. Mom (now 92 years old!) is doing great. She lives independently in her own house and part of my visit was helping her stay independent. While there I did several things, including running some errands, repairing a leaky gutter, picking up a new vacuum, and helping devise a way for her to empty a bucket of mop water without straining her back. (The best solution came from Corrine after I got home. More on that later.)

I love visiting with my mom and helping her out. But I also love connecting with the wild spaces and trails of the area. Typically, I head to the Huachuca Mountains right next to Sierra Vista for some hiking and running. But I didn’t do my typical Huachuca peak-bagging on this trip.

A Big Stupid Start

The morning after I arrived in Tucson, temps were cool – lows in the 40s, highs barely in the 60s – so I decided to check out a trail in Saguaro National Park. I picked one mostly at random – Tanque Verde Ridge Trail – from Trail Forks, my go-to trails app. I figured I would run/hike a 5- to 10-mile out-and-back before heading down to Sierra Vista.

The trail had a lot of climbing – just what I wanted after a day of plane travel. I felt strong at the start, running and fast hiking, passing quite a few people. Most were more bundled up than I was – besides being cool, there was a stiff breeze higher up – but it felt like a cool summer day to me. All that sunshine was great! 

Soon I was on my own. Eventually, I ran into one more person, a park volunteer, who smiled when I told him I was from Fairbanks. He said that explained why I was in shorts and a light, long-sleeved T-shirt, and he was wearing a sweater, pants, and wool cap. 

He was heading out after checking the Juniper Basin Campground 6.9 miles in and was disappointed. Campground users had left a lot of trash, and one person had left a fire smoldering in one of the firepits. We talked briefly about the difficulty of educating people about good backcountry practices when there are so many media outlets these days. As we said our goodbyes, he said I probably wouldn’t see anyone else, and he was right.  

I decided to shoot for the campground, a little farther than the max I had planned, but I was feeling good, and the campground was a good destination. Of course, when I got there, a sign said Tanque Verde Peak was only 2.1 miles away. I had seen that peak on my app, but at almost 10 miles – nearly 20 miles roundtrip – I knew that was too far. I hadn’t run more than 10 miles since April and most of my runs had been 3-5 miles. Now that I was at the campground, feeling a bit tired but not bad, I knew I had to go for the peak. I mean, only 2.1 miles. Probably not reasonable or sensible, but you understand, right?

I climbed to the peak and enjoyed the 360-degree view. The breeze was stronger up there, and I cooled quickly, so I didn’t linger long. But I was glad I had gone the extra miles. Of course, 2.1 miles on an out-and-back, means 4.2 extra miles. I knew my legs and joints would be complaining the next day. 

Atop Tanque Verde Peak

I wasn’t feeling quite as strong on the way back, but I felt pretty good. Then I noticed the sun sinking lower and it hit me. Sunset! It hadn’t occurred to me. All around me was dry ground, green trees, and no snow. That’s summer, right? Being an Alaska boy, I hadn’t bothered to bring a headlamp. Who needs a headlamp in summer? And besides, I was only going for a 5- to 10-mile run. Doh!

The last part of the route had me running toward the sunset, so I could gauge how I was doing. I knew it was going to be close. I had my iPhone’s flashlight if I really needed it, but I wanted to avoid that. The sinking sun gave me motivation to push harder. 

Bye bye sun!

With less than two miles to go, the sun set. At first the twilight was good, but it grew darker and hard to see. The light of a half-moon helped a bit. One stumble sent me sprawling off the trail – something you don’t want to do in the prickly desert – so I quit running and just hiked quickly. But I made it back to the car without using my iPhone. Success! 

But at 17.6 miles and 4,600 feet of elevation gain, it was way more than I had planned for. 

Still Not Learning the Lesson

I felt good for having made Tanque Verde Peak, but I paid for it. The next day, Wednesday, I was hobbling around, so I rested, visited a lot with my mom, and helped her with some errands and chores. On Thursday, I forced myself to go for a short, easy, flat run along the San Pedro River. My leg muscles kept reminding me of my stupidity on Tuesday, but I knew moving a bit would help me recover more quickly. 

San Pedro River

On Friday, I decided to go for a bit more challenging run, but nothing too challenging. I picked a newish section of the Perimeter Trail at the base of the Huachucas. Just two miles one-way, so four miles round trip. Reasonable and sensible.

My legs were still a bit sore, but I felt good. Too good, I guess. I got to the end of the trail and saw on my Trail Forks app that I could connect two other trails and do a loop. I wasn’t sure how long that would be – maybe six miles? – and I wasn’t sure about the elevation gain. But I felt good. I didn’t want to stop. So, I didn’t. 

Heading toward the Huachucas. Bonus miles!

I did the full loop – 7.3 miles and 1200 feet of elevation gain. Nothing too radical, but a bit much after the punishment I had given my legs on Tuesday. Still, a loop is always more satisfying than an out-and-back (unless you bag a peak!), so I was happy I had done it. I was thirsty when I got back to the car. I hadn’t brought any water to make sure I didn’t go too far. Doh! 

Just One More Stupid Thing

I was flying out on early Sunday morning, so I headed up to spend the Saturday night in Tucson. But first I wanted to get in one more run. The Tucson area has a lot of good challenging trails, and I was game to take one on. I still hadn’t decided which one, when I took a break from the drive and found myself hobbling across a parking lot. My right Achilles tendon had swollen. Yikes! I thought about just resting, but I was going to be on the plane and at airports the whole next day. 

Instead, I picked some flat desert trails in Saguaro National Park, just north of Tanque Verde Ridge. I planned a reasonable, sensible run of about 3 to 4 miles. But at 2.8 miles I hit an intersection and could head back for a short lollipop loop or do a bit more. I was feeling good – even my Achilles didn’t bother me too much – so I decided to do a bit more. I thought it was a bit stupid, but not too stupid. Besides, the desert plant life was so cool. I loved looking at all the different saguaro cacti and other plants and birds.

At 3.8 miles, I passed a trail that veered off down a wash and was glad I didn’t have to follow that. Desert wash trails are kinda cool but kind of a pain. They are full of soft sand that makes for difficult footing. A little past the trail intersection I looked at the app. I had gone too far. That wash trail was my trail. Doh! 

I headed back and looked at the wash. I could have retraced my steps to the previous trail intersection, but I really wanted to make a full loop. I sighed and headed down the wash, trying to run as best I could without really irritating my Achilles. That wash turned into another, but finally I got onto flat trail again. I slowly ran the last couple of miles back to the car, hoping that I hadn’t done too much damage to my Achilles. My watch said I had done 6 miles - more than I had planned, but I was smiling. Despite my stupidity, that really was a fun run! 

At least I didn't have to push a stroller down the wash!

I don’t know why (and I don’t deserve it), but my Achilles recovered quickly. I wasn’t even limping as I navigated airports and planes the next day. 

Yikes! This isn't what I came to Arizona for!

A Nice Visit

I’m glad my mom decided to retire in such a nice place. I wouldn’t want to live there, but it’s a great place for a winter getaway from Fairbanks (even though I got some snow this time!). I always enjoy visiting with her, but I also enjoy exploring the wild places of southeastern Arizona. Of course, I like it so much that sometimes I just don’t make sensible decisions. Fortunately, my body forgives me. At least it has so far. 

Oh, and Corrine’s solution to Mom’s mop water problem? First, here’s the problem: Mom mops her kitchen and bathroom, then dumps the water into her kitchen sink. Lifting the bucket full of water strains her back. Dipping out the water one cup at a time isn’t a great solution (lots of bending over). She can put the bucket on a small cart, so it’s easy to move around, but how to easily get the water up to the sink?

Mom had purchased an aquarium pump but couldn’t get it to work. I got it to work, but it didn’t have enough power to pump the water that high. I went to a hardware store and found a small submersible pump that would pump the water up to the kitchen sink. We got it to work, and Mom was very happy for my help. 

Getting the water pump working

But when I got home and was talking to Corrine, she said, “She’s got a walk-in shower. Why doesn’t she just dump it in there?” Doh! 

Mom had a good laugh at that. She said she has spent years dumping the water into the kitchen sink after mopping the kitchen floor and her bathroom, including the shower! It hadn’t occurred to either of us for her to use the shower drain. My solution was reasonable, but Corrine’s was much more sensible. 

My Runs

Tanque Verde Ridge Trail - Saguaro National Park

San Pedro Riparian Area

Perimeter Trail plus

Mesquite Trail plus - Saguaro National Park