Independence Mine, photo courtesy MatSu Ski Club. 
Hatcher Pass, photo by Paul Twardock. 
Pearl Creek at Sunset. Photo courtesy Nordic Ski Club Fairbanks 
Anchorage Coastal Trail, photo by Paul Twardock. 
Talkeetna Oosik Trail, photo byPaul Twardock. 
Talkeetna Oosik Trail, photo by Paul Twardock. 
Government Peak Recreation Area, photo courtesy MatSu Ski Club. 
Biathlon Prone Shooter, photo courtesy Nordic Ski Club Fairbanks.
Alaska has a plethora of cross country ski trails and in this year of COVID novices to experts in record numbers are enjoying them. Those trails take organized groups of people to create, maintain and groom. We are fortunate to have numerous clubs that fill that role. Besides building and maintaining trails the clubs offer lessons for kids and adults, organize races, lead tours, rent cabins, put on ski swaps, and even (in non-Covid years) have a ski train. This show talks with the people that make it all happen. Club representatives from Girdwood, Anchorage, Chugiak-Eagle River, Mat-Su, Talkeetna, and Fairbanks answer questions about the trails and programs they offer.
HOST: Paul Twardock
GUESTS:
- Joey Caterinichio– Nordic Ski Association of Anchorage
- Deb Essex- Girdwood Nordic Ski Club
- Jackie Welge- Chugiak Eagle River Nordic Ski Club
- Lucas Parker and Ailis Vann- Mat Su Ski Club
- Laura Wright and Jon Korta- Denali Nordic Ski Club
- Eric Troyer- Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks
LINKS:
- Nordic Ski Association of Anchorage
- Girdwood Nordic Ski Club
- Chugiak Eagle River Nordic Ski Club
- Mat-Su Ski Club
- Denali Nordic Ski Club
- Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks
Other clubs not on the show:
- Seward Nordic Ski Club
- Tsalteshi Ski Trails (Soldotna)
- Kachemak Nordic Ski Club (Homer)
- Valdez Nordic Ski Club
- Juneau Nordic Ski Club
BROADCAST: Thursday, February 11th, 2020. 10:00 am – 11:00 a.m. AKT
REPEAT BROADCAST: Thursday, February 11th, 2020. 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. AKT
SUBSCRIBE: Receive Outdoor Explorer automatically every week via:
Eric Bork, or you can just call him “Bork” because everybody else does, is the FM Operations Manager for KSKA-FM. He oversees the day-to-day operations of the FM broadcast. He produces and edits episodes of Outdoor Explorer, the Alaska-focused outdoors program. He also maintains the web posts for that show. You may have heard him filling in for Morning Edition or hosting All Things Considered and can still find him operating the soundboard for any of the live broadcast programs.
After escaping the Detroit area when he was 18, Bork made it up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where he earned a degree in Communications/Radio Broadcasting from Northern Michigan University. He spent time managing the college radio station, working for the local NPR affiliate, and then in top 40 radio in Michigan before coming to Alaska to work his first few summers. After then moving to Chicago, it only took five years to convince him to move back to Alaska in 2010. When not involved in great radio programming he’s probably riding a bicycle, thinking about riding bicycles, dreaming about bikes, reading a book, or planning the next place he’ll travel to. Only two continents left to conquer!
