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Link: Nome Nugget The winds blowing off the Bering Sea in Unalakleet can create snowdrifts as high as roof level on buildings. But that just means more hills to climb -- and ski down -- for the town's unlikely Nordic Ski Program. Nancy Persons, a third-grade teacher, and her trailbreaker husband, a high school teacher, have revitalized the program in the past three years and now coach three dozen kids. The most important lesson isn't winning races, they tell the young skiers; it's learning to appreciate what can be accomplished in extreme conditions. "As soon as it warms up to around zero, they peel clothes off, leave them everywhere," Persons says. "They say, ‘There's sweat; it's cold, running down my back.' "