With temperature a balmy +8 deg F in the Birch Hill stadium and a somewhat chilly -11 deg F at Fort Wainwright, the remedial SCUM decided to start off the New Year right with a predawn Birch Bakken (BB) Time Trial (TT).

Dreamed up by deputy groomer, Bill Husby, the Birch Bakken goes from the Fort Wainwright Ski Chalet to the top of the Tower Loop. This 4 km ascent incorporates all or part of the Cliffside, Sunnyside, Outhouse, Blue Slot, and South Tower ski trails. My Polar heart rate monitor indicated a 215 m climb during the BB.

Accessing the BB start was fast as without any recent snow, the grooming has made the downhill tracks death-defyingly fast for remedial SCUM. So we took every opportunity to enjoy the view that the Sunnyside Trail provides.

One nameless SCUM and parttime KUAC producer, decided to howl at Denali (and the moon) to scare off any rabid marmots or lynx with tularemia. His fellow SCUM provided encouragement.

Needless to say, the SCUM were all business on the climb, and some finished the Birch Bakken before the sun was up. However, not all of us were that speedy, but everyone finished the climb.

Unlike Selfie Queen, Joanna, who didn’t sweat getting up the Birch Bakken with her new skin skis, Dan worked a lot harder with his newly glide waxed and grip taped skis.

All of us agreed today’s BB TT was a perfect way to start off 2021.