Mat-Su Ski Club to host Besh Cup races at Gov Peak Rec Area

PALMER — Poor conditions in Anchorage will allow a local ski organization to make history in the Valley.

The Mat-Su Ski Club will host the first races of the annual Besh Cup Nordic skiing races at the Government Peak Recreation Area Saturday and Sunday.

“It’s a step toward a goal we wanted to get to,” Mat-Su Ski Club board member Mark Strabel said Wednesday afternoon. “It’s sort of our vision for this area of the Valley.”

Strabel said the recreation area will be home to about 250 competitors in elite-level racing each day.

“This is one of the premiere ski races in the state, and this part of the nation,” Strabel said. “A lot of talented, world-class skiers do this race. It’s a really big deal for Alaska skiers.”

Strabel said these races help skiers qualify for junior nationals and better their seeds as the U.S. National Championships and other international races. Both youth and adult skiers will compete.

The Besh Cup is named for Tom Besh, a former UAA ski coach who was killed in a plane crash in 1993. The series features six races, spread across three weekends. There are also races scheduled in Soldotna and Fairbanks in early 2019.

Strabel said racing is expected to start at 10:30 a.m. each day. The races were initially at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. Conversation about potentially moving the races to the Valley began last week, Strabel said. But late last week, with the freeze and thaw conditions in the Valley, Strabel said it was unsure where the Mat-Su Ski Club could host the event at Government Peak. But that changed with the recent snowfall.

“It’s the best conditions I’ve seen,” Strabel said.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.