Prep skiers in winter wonderland

With the recent downfall of that powdery white stuff we call snow, the happiest group of Valleyites, aside from the snowmachiners who zip across the Palmer-Wasilla Highway like rabbits, are the local cross-country skiers.

After the ground of much of the Valley remained a crusty brown color most of last winter, the snow Gods dumped the powder on the area just in time for the prep cross-country skiing season.

With the lack of snow last season, the local prep teams were forced to train high in the hills of Hatcher Pass and the local schools could not host events.

"Last year was a disaster," Colony head coach Ed Strabel said.

Strabel said that he and his assistant coach logged over 2,000 miles traveling to events and shuttling his athletes to and from Hatcher Pass.

The lack of snow also meant shortened practices and only three days of skiing per week. With the added time of getting to and from Hatcher Pass, Strabel thought it would be a detriment to academics, so Colony practiced just three times per week on skis.

This year the Knights have been able to practice in their own backyard, on the trails at Colony High School.

Strabel said that the irony of it all is his most experience skiers have little experience on the high school trails. Since the squad has spent the last two years at Hatcher Pass, many of his veterans had not even skied Colony High's interior loop.

Strabel's one concern now is the wind. He would like to start and end the Colony-hosted events on the Knight football field, to make the event more spectator friendly. High winds in the Valley tend to blow right across the field, making skiing conditions less than ideal.

"We are keeping our fingers crossed," Strabel said.

And with the new snow, the Knights will now be able to host the Post Thanksgiving Loppet, an informal tour of the Crevasse Marine Trail system. The event, which begins today at 11 a.m., will feature 25 kilometers of trail that stretches down to the Mat-Su College Experimental Farm.

The event is open to the public and participants can ski a distance of their choice at their own pace.