‘Winter Trails Day’ highlights increased opportunities for recreation, competition

GOVERNMENT PEAK — What borough Outdoor Recreation Specialist Warren Templin said started out as a marketing tool to get people into winter sports has turned into an enormous collaboration that appeals to non-residents as well as local Alaskans.

“There’s so much cooperation between different groups, it’s just amazing,” Templin said.

Winter Trails Day is actually a national event, which encouraged people in 19 different states to participate in organized outdoor activities on Jan. 10 this year. Activities include skiing, fat-tire biking, running, snowshoeing, sledding and skijoring.

“Anything that’s new and coming along, we like to support,” Templin said.

In Alaska, Winter Trails Day was preceded by a similar event at the Crevasse Morraine trails, which was sponsored by the Cross Country Ski Areas Association several years ago.

“It started out as a total volunteer thing,” as far as on-site organization, Templin said.

The Mat-Su Borough has since hopped onboard with the REI- and nonprofit-sponsored Winter Trails Day, and it hasn’t let them down. Since Government Peak Recreation Area has been up and running, the number of winter sport enthusiasts in or coming to visit the Mat-Su Valley has increased dramatically.

Borough Recreation and Library Service Manager Hugh Leslie said the area is “building the population.”

“I don’t think that would be happening at the rate that it’s happening without this facility,” he said.

Take Mat-Su Ski Club’s Junior Nordics team, for example. Coach Dave Musgrave said they’ve seen about an 80-member increase from last year, and with continued annual additions to the facility, Government Peak will be a hotspot for skiers from all around Alaska, and beyond.

In fact, it already is. Due to this year’s poor snow conditions, and since the chalet has been open, Government Peak trails have seen more Anchorage skiers training and racing than ever before. This weekend, a significant chunk of the Kenai High School Ski Team came to train not only on skis, but also on fat-tire bikes, since they weren’t racing.

The bikes were a huge hit too, not just with the high school skiers.

“That was supremely fun,” said one cyclist when he returned from a test run.

Backcountry Bike and Ski representative Brandon Thielke hosted an introductory clinic for Winter Trails Day attendees and loaned fat-tire bikes on a first-come-first-served basis during the rest of the day.

Thielke described fat-tire biking as an “undercurrent” in Alaska’s outdoor sports community right now, but said interest is definitely growing locally and worldwide.

“Almost all major bike builders put a fat bike out,” he said.

On the consumer side, Thielke said 30 percent of all bikes sold in the United States are fat-tire or all-terrain bikes.

Like an ATV, the ATB can be used not only on snow but also on sand — where it started —and various other terrains such as dirt (hard- or soft-packed) and gravel.

“It gives human-powered (sports) people access to trails all year round,” Thielke said.

And for skiers who are looking for a workout in poor snow conditions, cycling is an alternative mode of exercise and recreation.

“When the skiing’s lousy, the biking’s good,” said trail contractor and former bike builder Mark Gronewald.

Trail contractor and former bike builder Gronewald said he has seen an increase in ATB use among the bow hunting community, too, since they don’t always need a lot of gear.

“People like it for deer hunting ‘cause it’s quiet, you can sneak up on ’em on a bike,” he said.

But whether a person chooses to use their fat bike for exercise or transportation, or their skis for personal workouts or adventures with a dog, that all these people (and pets) have a place to gather and be social — and warm — seems to be just as significant.

“We haven’t really had a place were people can go out of the weather,” Templin said.

Having that place seems especially important for parents and grandparents, perhaps, who aren’t able to exercise or don’t like the cold.

“A facility adds more value to a family,” Leslie said. “It’s really attractive for parents.”

Since parents and guardians can see their kids in the stadium or on the newly approved sledding hill from the chalet, Government Peak Recreation Area can a safe place to frequent for winter fun.

And maybe that watching will inspire a few people to move outside and experience the sport for themselves.

“Some people might be embarrassed to try something new at any other time,” Leslie said.

Since Winter Trails Day is free — free parking, free equipment use, free clinics —rookies need not fear a monetary barrier, either.

“Low cost, recreational opportunities that enhance physical education — I think that’s what parks and recreation should be everywhere,” Leslie said.

And if they have to keep replacing the carpet because the chalet gets so much traffic, he says that’s OK.

“I hope they wear the place out,” he said.

For more information about Winter Trails Day and how the borough works with Government Peak Recreation Area, contact Warren Templin at 861-7661 or wtemplin@matsugov.us.

Contact Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.

Did you know?

The Government Peak chalet is open daily and available for rent for parties, meetings, weddings and more. The trails are open year-round but the Matanuska and Susitna Loops are open only to skiers during the winter. The Pioneer Loop is for snowshoers, bikers and skijorers, and a separate Equestrian Trail also leads from Government Peak Recreation Area. No motorized vehicles are allowed on the trail by users at any time.

Contact Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation Executive Director Kim Ryals at kimryals@matsutrails.org or write to chalet@matsutrails.org to reserve event space.

How to get involved

• Check out a fat-tire bike from Backcountry Bike and Ski’s Palmer location at 132 West Arctic Ave. Visit them online at backcountrybikeandski.com

• Sign up for Nordic skiing lessons with Mat-Su Ski Club. Contact a board member at 745-7547 or matsuski@gmail.com, or visit www.matsuski.org

• Get in-depth first aid training for emergencies on trails and in winter recreation areas with Pioneer Ski Patrol. Contact George Hoden at skipatrolpioneer@gmail.com for details

• Buy an annual Mat-Su Borough Parks pass at the Parks and Outdoor Recreation office, 350 E. Dahlia Ave. in Palmer. Call 861-8578 for more information

• Buy an annual Alaska State Parks pass at Finger Lake State Recreation Area, Mile 0.7 Bogard Rd., Wasilla. For more information, call the Alaska Public Information Center at 907-269-8400

• Help build a trail with Valley Mountain Bikers and Hikers. See vmbah.org for volunteer opportunities and more