Attention Nordic skiers! Our annual Corduroy Crush ski race is just around the corner! This family-friendly ski race has is a ton of fun, low stress, and the perfect opportunity to get outside for some spring skiing.
This year’s race is happening on April 7th at the 5K Nordic Loop in Girdwood, AK. Co-hosted by KMTA and the Girdwood Nordic Ski Club, the event is a celebration of the joy of Nordic skiing and the region’s rich history. Come play in the snow and crush some corduroy with us!
This year through the Corduroy Crush, we hope to raise funds to help expand KMTA’s growing, year-round outdoor education programs. While registration fees help cover the cost of hosting this race, donations will go directly to helping provide high-quality outdoor learning opportunities to more local youth. Our goal is to connect kids to nature, instilling in them a pride of place and an enduring stewardship ethic for the spaces they live and recreate in—including treasures like the 5K Nordic Loop. 😊
If you’d like to learn more about our education programs, check them out here! Thank you for helping us expand kids’ access to transformative outdoor learning and becoming a part of our living heritage.
The three events listed below are available to all xc skiers to participate in with any type of preferred ski technique (classic, skate). Only pay once and participate in any and all race options! Registration and additional race info
located further down the page.
SNOWBALL BIATHLON 2K
Short and sweet! Perfect for the little people and their parents. The snowball biathlon is a fun, untimed event which includes throwing snowballs at a target in addition to skiing the 2K course. This is a tribute to the original and much-loved Stumpy’s Biathlon!
5K TIMED COURSE
An intermediate course, participants will start at the kiosk, follow the trail past the first cut off, and follow the 5K loop back to the kiosk for a victorious finish! Race may be shortened if there is inclement weather that makes parts of the course dangerous. This is a timed race.
2X2X2 RELAY
A team of skiers ski four 2K laps total. The most common format is for a duo of skiers to each ski two 2K laps, hence the name 2X2X2 (2 skiers, ski 2 laps, of 2K each lap). However, teams of 3 or 4 people are allowed as well. This is an untimed race. In the scenario of a duo, the format looks like this:
-Skier 1 skis the 2k, tags skier 2.
-Skier 2 skis the 2k, tags skier 1.
-Skier 1 skis the 2k, tags skier 2.
-Skier 2 skis the 2k & crosses the finish line!
If you have 3 people, you can simply have 1 teammate ski an additional leg. If you have 4 people, each will ski one leg.
One of KMTA’s greatest privileges is helping local partners bring the colorful histories of our heritage area communities to life. The Girdwood Nordic Ski Club (GNSC) is one such partner that has worked to create interpretive signs for the 5K Nordic Loop and surrounding area through support from a few KMTA grants. The goal of these interpretive signs – which you can see during the Corduroy Crush – is to honor the local history of this area and those who helped make it so special.
The first of these signs highlights the legacy of the 1969 Junior National Ski Race and the 10K trail that was constructed for it and maintained for a decade thereafter. This trail– the first recreational-purpose trail built in Girdwood– helped bring tourism and ski racing to Alaska. In fact, the 1969 Junior National Ski Race was the first national race held by the Nordic Ski Club of Alaska. The remarkable Shirley Firth from Inuvik championed that race and, unbeknownst to many, went on to become one of the first Indigenous women to compete in international ski racing, eventually as an Olympian. The Nordic 5K Loop we know and love today is actually built over a portion of that historic 10K trail, and boasts small handmade signs hidden throughout the forest that show the original route. The second of these signs (located in the Arlberg Trailhead parking lot) tells the history of Sewell “Stumpy” Faulkner and the ski trail he built through the meadows of the Girdwood Valley. A sketch of the trail, as drawn by Stumpy, provides a conceptual map of the route. The accompanying photos of various locations on the map give explanations about how they were named.
The Corduroy Crush celebrates the significance of this place, its users, and its storied heritage.
