The Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage is again aiming to salvage delight from disappointment.
The association has canceled its signature event, the Tour of Anchorage, due to warm weather and poor snow and trail conditions, but has replaced the March 6 race with the Anchorage Tour Festival, a three-race event at Kincaid Park on the same date.
The Festival will include 15-kilometer and 30-K freestyle ski races on a 4-K loop, a ski cross sprint race in which skiers negotiate obstacles, jumps and gates, and fat-tire bike races of 15-K and 30-K. Drinks — including adult beverages — and refreshments will be available, and the association hopes to turn the day into a party.
Ski races are set to begin at 9 a.m., with the ski cross following at 12:45 p.m. and the fat-tire bike races at 1:30 p.m.
The way Nordic Skiing Association business manager Erin Beam sees it, the group wants to transform sorrow — this is the third straight year conditions have forced the Tour to be shortened or significantly altered — into celebration.
"I think it really could be a great event, bringing in different user groups,'' Beam said. "It's not ideal conditions, but we can still come together and celebrate.
"This community has so much to be proud of, how people are so into winter recreation.''
This marks the third straight year the Tour has not been, well, the Tour, and the association has come up with a Plan B. Poor conditions prompted the traditional Tour to be canceled in both 2015 and 2014, and shorter courses were used both years.
The Tour traditionally has featured a 50-kilometer freestyle race from the Hillside to Kincaid, a 40-K freestyle, and 25-K races in both freestyle and classical techniques. The Tour has been the state's largest ski race — in 2013, the last time the full schedule was run, more than 1,500 racers finished the Tour.
Anchorage's lack of snow this season, combined with high temperatures and rain, has plagued winter sports. Several sled dog sprint races have been moved out of town and this weekend's Open World Championship sled dog race during Fur Rendezvous has been shortened considerably, into a nonworld championship event. Ski races have likewise been scratched and lack of snow coverage on many local trails has hampered athletes' training.
That any skiing at Kincaid is available is testament to snow-making equipment and considerable grooming to craft the 4-K loop.
Racers can register for the Tour Festival at the association's website — anchoragenordicski.com — at the association's offices (203 W. 15th, Suite 204) or by phone at 907-276-7609.
Entry fee for adults is $25 per race or $60 for all three races. Youth fees are $10 per race or $25 for all three.
So, no Tour this year, but there is an event.
"It's a tough pill to swallow, but we're persevering,'' Beam said. " 'Perseverance' is the word of the day."
Reach reporter Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com