Photo courtesy of UAF Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension.
A new ski trail, pictured here under construction in July 2024, winds around the slope
below from the West Ridge area of UAF's Troth Yeddha' Campus.
By Brooke Larson
The hillside on the western end of the Fairbanks campus was an empty field for decades, but Ben Buck saw something more there — a potential home advantage for the Alaska Nanooks ski team.
Buck, the team’s assistant coach, shared that vision with Lisa Cassino, Usibelli Coal Mine’s vice president of public relations, during a short walk to the field in fall 2023.
It wasn’t hard for Cassino to see what Buck and others have long sought to revive — students and Fairbanksans gathering on campus to cheer skiers across the finish line.
An equipment operator landscapes a new cross-country ski trail on the slope below the UA Museum of the North.
So this summer, thanks to Usibelli Coal Mine’s support, trail dozers sculpted a winding path into the south-facing slope below the UA Museum of the North.
That new world-class ski trail will bring spectator-friendly races back to the Troth Yeddha’ Campus.
“In the last two decades, the sport has gone through a revolution, and the existing trails no longer support modern racing,” Buck said. “New trails will allow us to hold collegiate-level races right on the doorstep of the UAF campus — a gateway to getting people engaged and involved with a sport that has helped shape Fairbanks.”
The sport has also shaped campus. The first ski trail was cut in 1934, and by the
1950s the Nanooks ski program was born. The team began competing nationally in the
next decade.
However, while UAF boasts more than 20 miles of trails, none are suited for competition,
preventing races from being held on campus.
Back in fall 2023, Buck and Cassino were joined on their stroll by Marisa Sharrah, Alaska Nanooks associate director of external relations. Sharrah believed the Usibelli company, a longtime supporter of UAF and the Alaska Nanooks, would be interested in the trail project. So she asked Cassino to look at it.
As they walked, Buck described how the south-facing slope could hold a 2.5-kilometer
loop with a 1.3K sprint track within it.
The trail design, he explained, came from John Estle, the “godfather of skiing” in
Fairbanks. Estle was a Nanooks ski and cross-country coach from 1980-1992 and went
on to coach the U.S. Nordic team in the 1992 Olympics before returning to Fairbanks.
Lisa Cassino of Usibelli Coal Mine, in a green jacket, presents a $300,000 check to UAF Chancellor Dan White, in a blue ball cap, and the Alaska Nanooks to support the construction of world-class ski trails on the Troth Yeddha’ Campus. Cassino presented the check during the Alaska Nanooks Gold Rush Raffle and Auction at the Patty Center in March 2024.
The new trails would link into the existing Student Recreation Center trail, meaning
minimal alterations and environmental impact. Buck noted that the new trails wouldn’t
interfere with the famed Equinox Marathon course.
Most importantly, the trails would be constructed to meet the International Ski and
Snowboard Federation’s standards. That allows UAF to host multiday college invitationals
and a wide array of local and statewide races.
The trails have another benefit, explained Eliska Albrigsten, the Alaska Nanooks’
head ski coach.
“Most other colleges have to travel very far every day for quality workouts,” she
said. “Zero travel time to FIS-certified trails means more time in the classroom and
more time on snow for our student-athletes, which is a big win-win!”
The Nanooks ski team is already doing well. This past season, it secured another top-10
finish at the NCAA Ski Championships and won the Alaska Nordic Cup for the third straight
season against the University of Alaska Anchorage.
A few months after Buck’s tour with Cassino and Sharrah, the second annual Alaska Nanooks Gold Rush Raffle and Auction took place in the Patty Center, with UCM as the title sponsor.
Lisa Cassino, Usibelli Coal Mine’s vice president of public relations, speaks at the second annual Gold Rush fundraiser.
UAF Chancellor Dan White welcomed Cassino to the stage, where she showed a video featuring Logan Hanneman, a 2018 U.S. Olympic Nordic ski team member who skied for UAF.
“Growing the Fairbanks trail system is paramount to supporting the growing ski community here in Fairbanks and will assist in attracting more talent and events to the Golden Heart City,” Hanneman said in the video.
Surrounded by the community’s smiling faces, Cassino knew it was time to make the big announcement. She presented the ski team with a $300,000 check.
“Usibelli is thrilled to partner with the Alaska Nanooks on the new trail system,” Cassino said. “We believe it has the potential to establish UAF as a premier destination for national and international ski competitions.”
White added that the “world-class ski trail is an important project that welcomes our community to UAF and would not have been possible without UCM.”
The new trail winds through the forest just uphill from the Student Recreation Center and the outdoor ice-climbing tower, visible at left.
Included in the gift was a Usibelli Coal Mine challenge for Giving Day, a chance to invite the whole community for support. The challenge asked at least 49 donors to support the project during the March 26-28 event, UAF’s largest online fundraiser. When it was over, UAF had nearly doubled the number of donors required to unlock the $50,000 challenge.
Cassino said she was thrilled with the community’s backing. “UCM hopes to see continued support to help bring this project across the finish line!” she said.
Additional support for the trails could bring extensions and improvements in the future.
Cassino noted that the trails will be open to everyone in the community, outside race days.
“The world-class ski trails will become a treasured recreational resource for Fairbanks,” she said.
To learn more about how to support the ski trail project, visit AlaskaNanooks.com.