K'enaanee Kkaazoot

For quite some time I have wanted to travel to ski with the youth in rural villages of Alaska. This spring, the dream came into fruition!
With the support from the UAF Cooperative Extension Service, the Tanana Chiefs Conference, inspiration from the former "Ski Go" program (organized by Jennifer/Merrick Johnston & Marcy Baker), and gear donations from AMH, Rossignol, and private donors; Krista Radar, Tamra Kornfield, and I were able to travel to schools along the Koyokuk River to do some fun-focused skiing clinics. We brought a monstrous load of luggage full of skis, boots, and poles for all ages and sizes so that every student would get the chance to ski.

The kids lining up to get fitted for gear during one of our optional after-school skiing sessions.

Most of the kids had never been on skis before. They learned "K'enaanee KKaazoot" (it's fun to glide on snow) or in other words, "skiing is FUN!" in the Koyukon Athabascan language. It was really neat to see the kids fall in love with a sport that is so healthy and practical for their environment.


With the extended daylight hours of the spring and warm (+25F) mid-day temperatures, many of the kids would beg to continue skiing past their dinner time, even if we had been skiing for 3+ hours after the in-school sessions. They couldn't get enough of going up and down the steep river banks and hitting a few jumps.
We visited Allakaket/Alatna, Hughes, and Huslia. Each village was unique in its own way depending on the size, village situation, and school schedule.

We experimented with a variety of games and activities depending on the group size, age, and experience level. Activities ranged from playing the "Caribou and Wolves", relays, races, and Easter egg hunts-- all on skis of course! It was a blast and very busy. By the end of each day we were all happily exhausted.
Racers lining up to start in the first "K'enaanee Kkaazoot Race" in the village of Huslia. They loved the post-race ribbons.
The snowmachine (or "Snow-Go") trails and frozen rivers were perfect for the kids to learn to stride or skate ski. Skiing is such a practical, sustainable, and healthy way to get a round to visit a friend or go to the 1 town store in this area-- especially with the outrageous price of fuel out there.
Here's Tamra assisting one of the younger skiers down a hill.

Tamra (R), Heidi (Center), and I worked very well together as we each had the same goals in mind and we each brought something to contribute. For example, Tamra has a background coaching "Little Nordic" in Anchorage and had all sorts of tips I would've never thought of that were useful especially for the kids new to skiing. Tamra and I have family roots in rural AK which fueled our desire to go back. My coaching experience has been mainly with the aspiring racers and I was able to use some structure and game ideas that I learned through being a "Fast and Female" mentor. Heidi was also a invaluable asset, since she has been on a village ski-coaching trip in the past and she works with with Tanana Chiefs Conference (putting together rural AK master gardening clinics, etc) and knew what to expect in this region. Without her work with networking, organizing and planning of logistics, the trip wouldn't have gone smooth as it did.
The three of us also wanted do some skiing of our own too and take advantage of being in the Arctic circle, so we put together an extended weekend backcountry skiing/winter camping extravaganza in Brooks range (just north of Bettles, AK) before the coaching portion of the trip. I learned a lot of climber's tricks from Heidi to keep warm through the -20F nights and mornings. When the sun came out though (from early am-10:30pm) it was intense, especially with reflection off the snow. After the first night I was sure to sleep with my sunscreen to make sure it didn't turn into a frozen tube of ice...my face got a fried early in the trip.
This was our rig to get back to the Bettles airstrip: a snowmachine, over-loaded retired Ididorod sled, and a home-made rope tow. There thousands of telemark turns to be had behind the swerving sled.
Overall, this village trip was rewarding, exhausting, and eye-opening all in one. I enjoyed seeing the kids LOVE skiing. I met a lot of vibrant, smart, talented kids. I was constantly amazed at the incredible 24-7 work that the village teachers do out there, and am not sure how my parents did it for a decade! I learned a lot about how I can be a better "teacher". At times, I was frustrated by an entitlement mentality. I have been re-evaluating my ideas of the most effective and sustainable ways to contribute to the unique communities of rural AK. I'm not sure exactly what my role will be, but I'm still searching, learning, and enjoying the process.

The Land of Oz

Jumping between hay bales, catching fireflies with cousins, and going on hay-rack-rides fill my childhood memories in the great state of Kansas. My mom, dad, brother and I used to road trip in a VW van from Alaska to Kansas in the summer to spend time with my extended family. Visits back have become less frequent in recent years but FINALLY this spring I got the chance to spend time to make it out-- it was super nice to be back and see most everyone.

OK, I have to brag about my Grandma Doris. If you get a chance you should really read this article below from the front page of the paper (click on image to enlarge).
She's a truly an inspiration. She has found something she loves to do (namely canning and cooking), works hard it to the point of mastery, joyfully shares her passion, and is constantly giving. I only hope I can be as generous, healthy, and young at heart when I'm 89 going on 90 years old!
Anything that could possibly go into a can and is edible, she's canned. Above is part of her supply of fruits, vegetables, salsas, jams which she has picked locally from gardens/trees, prepared, canned. The supply is considered to be "low" because it is spring and harvest season is ahead and she freely gives these canned treasures to everyone who visits. And the taste of her canned goods, picked and shelled walnuts, jams/jellies, etc are out of this world... especially knowing how much care and work went into the production.
We got to help in the yard a bit. Luckily, Grandma has my Aunt Monica and family as one neighbor, and my Aunt Donna and her family as the other neighbor-- so even though she doesn't often ask for help, two of her daughters and family is a hop, skip, and a jump away.

Here we are visiting the farm where my Mom grew up. My Mom and Dad enjoyed the farm and originally planed to return to buy it after teaching school in the Yup'ik villages of AK... but they fell in love with Alaska and never moved back. Fortunately, the farm is still in the family with my cousin, Daniel, and his wife, Rachelle, taking fantastic care of the place.

Mom still loves farm animals and is working on convincing my Dad that they need chickens in their back yard in Alaska.

Jus and G'ma

Here's Jus and I at my parents' first house they bought together after they got married. My mom was happy to leave this fix-er up-er house as it was struck by lightening numerous times.

Anyway, that's all for now. Its back to the books-- I started PT school a week ago! I know its going to be way outdated, but soon enough I hope to post some pics from the village ski coaching trip in rural AK too.

~Katrina Foster Ronsse

Crust Skiing Pics

Since crust skiing in the mountains is my absolute favorite activity, I wanted to share a few shots from skinny ski outings in AK this past spring.

Portage glacier area was primo this year. Blue skies, blue glacier, and sparkling crusty snow.

The Patrick Stinsonator

He tries not to tell anyone, but he still does tele too...

Hbrooks and I on our ski over to Blackstone Bay. On skinny skis and perfect conditions the trek over can be done super quickly and the views are unbelievable.

Dylan Watts. This guy can put down some serious wattage on skis.

Das ist Ronsse in Deutchland spandex.

Early morning sunrise.

Rob rippin. We just held our poles on the downhills just in case we would punch through and brake one when descending.

HBrooks with her contagious smile and laugh.

Holly, a happy birthday girl at the top of Ship Pass.

Exploring on the way to Indian

It was great to see the spin-off of an already silent sport get some exposure in the media (ADN's 61 degrees north magazine) even though I almost always cringe and laugh when reading my own comments in newspapers or magazines. But I absolutely love spreading the word and seeing more people taking advantage of the Portage crust than I've ever seen before. It really can be a fun activity for skiers of all ages and levels. If you're trying to figure out where the conditions might be good, you can always check the trail conditions forum on the CCAK website.

Overlooking Whittier

It was great to get in some good adventures with friends during my final weeks and months in Alaska for the next while. I'll miss AK but am also looking forward to new ventures in Utah too as I start the 3-year dPT program this spring.

If you have any good tips on places to crust cruise down there, let me know!

You're Invited

Join us at our spring fundraiser! This will be a fun event and the proceeds will be used to help offset the travel, baggage fees, and room/board for high level racing.

Here is a preview of some of the items you can come to bid on:

* Ski trip to Ultima Thule Lodge, Wrangell-St. Elias

* Hawaiian Vacations
* 4-course meal for six cooked by 6 members of the APU girls teams & boys teams

* Roller Skis & Snow Skis
* Alaskan grown produce throughout the summer/fall from the Ronsse garden
* Private showing at the UAA Planetarium
* E'Klaar Head wear
* Olympic Schwag Rudy Sunglasses, Romney painted belts, etc!

And many, many more!

An RSVP is not mandatory, but will help us determine the amount of hors d'oeuvres and drinks to provide. The event was a lot of fun last year and we hope to see you there!

Mudflat Mountain Biking

One of the most beautiful, quickest, and underutilized get-aways in Anchorage is ocean mudflats and marshlands. And there's rarely a soul down there....maybe because it can be a perilous place if you aren't aware of which areas are safe, the status of the tides, mud, ice, open hours of the Rabbit Creek rifle range, or access points. But if you check the stats and keep astute, there's nothing that beats instantly stepping into wide open spaces.

The best mode of travel is dependent on what the weather and tides have been doing recently. In the winter, xc skis or mountain bikes with studded tires work great.

Dad overlooking the ice bergs of Cook Inlet when we rode from our home in Oceanview to downtown via the 'flats.

Marbleized ice over mud.

The riding can be slightly technical with different types of snow, areas of brush, dirt, ice, etc ... but the unknown and variability is also what makes it fun.

Dad and Mt. Susitna in the background.

An ice berg balance test.

Heading downtown with skyscrapers in sight.

RyanGB.

Its nice to have the feeling of having to head back into civilization after just exploring so close to the city. We made a big loop back home via the roads and ironically felt much safer traveling on the 'flats.

Not a bad back-yard, eh?