Borough cancels annual Winter Trails Day

WASILLA — While Saturday’s annual Mat-Su Borough Winter Trails Day was probably in for a chance of freezing rain, the 2016 event was canceled by borough officials this month due to a shortage of equipment rather than the weather.

Billed as an opportunity for residents to try out various kinds of outdoor recreation equipment that ranged from Nordic skis and snowshoes to fat-tire bicycles, last year’s event at the Government Peak Recreation Area and at other sites in Hatcher Pass saw more than 100 participants. Group seminars included avalanche safety and trail first aid.

While the warming temperatures and diminished snowpack over the last week at the Government Peak trails was less than ideal, borough recreation specialist Warren Templin said Tuesday that the cancellation by parks management mainly came down to a lack of available equipment — specifically Nordic skis.

The ski gear — along with snowshoes — has typically been provided by Recreational Equipment Inc., an annual event sponsor.

“We always partner with REI through their outreach program, but they sold or donated most of their equipment last year and weren’t going to be able to provide the skis,” Templin said, adding that local shops didn’t have the volume needed to provide skis for a potential crowd of 100-plus.

The bulk of the instructional sessions in past events has centered around Nordic skiing, skijoring and snowshoeing.

Templin said REI had plenty of snowshoes available through its outreach program, “but we really needed to have skis.” Many of the groomed trails at Government Peak are ski-only, while other routes like the Blueberry Knoll and Government Peak race trails cater more to snowshoers.

“We talked about keeping it to snowshoes, bikes and sledding, but it was decided to go ahead cancel it,” Templin said. “Plus, the snow conditions have been tough up there (at Government Peak.)”

Kent, Washington-based REI spokesman Michael Ferris said in an email Thursday that the Anchorage ski gear had been donated to various nonprofit groups in 2015.

“Due to storage, maintenance and inventory issues, we donated all of the skis to local nonprofits and schools so they could get outside and play,” Ferris wrote.

The outdoor outfitter still has rental skis available at the Anchorage store.

Templin said he was looking for a new supplier for future events.

Meantime, for those itching to try Nordic skiing or fat-tire biking, both Alaska Bicycle Center in Wasilla and Backcountry Bike and Ski in Palmer offer bike rentals. Backcountry also offers Nordic ski rentals.

“We have about 11 pairs right now,” Backcountry owner Tony Berberich said Tuesday regarding his ski rental inventory. “But we don’t have as much in the way of multiple boot sizes.” He said the shop had a limited number of snowshoes for rent.

Berberich added that the shop might set up its own fat-bike demonstration day later this month.

“We’re thinking about it. Last year was a big success,” Berberich said of the 2015 trails day participation. “It’s fun to get people out (in a group setting) like that.”

Contact reporter Steven Merritt at 352-2269 or steven.merritt@frontiersman.com

CORRECTION: This story has been corrected from its original print version, which stated REI did not respond to a request for comment.