FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Nanooks Nordic skiing team and the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association have released their upcoming schedule for the 2025-26 season.
"This year's RMISA schedule brings an emphasis on altitude racing, with no course dipping any lower than 5000 feet of elevation after our first few qualifiers in Lake Placid in January," said interim head coach Ben Buck. "This poses a challenge for a team like ours that trains predominantly at sea level, but all these venues have become very familiar to us over the years, so we know what to expect and how to approach it. RMISA Regionals and NCAA Championships will both take place at Crosscut Mountain Sports Center in Bozeman, Montana. Crosscut is a venue where we have had plenty of success in the past, placing athletes on the podium in two of our last three visits. We look forward to another great season of racing!"
This season includes 15 races, including the RMISA and NCAA Championships at Crosscut Mountain Sports Center in Bozeman, Mont. The year begins with the Nordic Cup on Nov. 22-23, where the Nanooks will take on the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. The two sides will race in a 10k freestyle on day one and a 7.5k classic on day two. Both races will be individual starts.
"With it being an Olympic year, we also have a far greater number of opportunities for high-level racing in Alaska before winter break," said Buck. "In addition to early season FIS races in Palmer and Anchorage, the U.S. Super Tour will be making its return to Fairbanks on Dec. 6-7, with the sprint race on the 6th slated to take place on the UAF Competition Ski Trails here at the University! This will be a great opportunity for many of our skiers to toe the line with our nation's top athletes, and see where they stack up in the hunt for National Team selection."
The RMISA season opens on Sunday, Jan. 4, with the U.S. Nationals in Lake Placid, N.Y. Two races will be part of the RMISA Invitational, and another will be an RMISA Nordic Qualifier. The 'Nooks begin with a 10k classic on Sunday as a part of the RMISA Invitational. Up next is the 20k freestyle, which will be held on Jan. 7 as an RMISA Nordic Qualifier. Their time in Lake Placid concludes with the RMISA Invitational classic sprints on Friday, Jan. 9.
The Nanooks return to action later that month at the Utah Invitational on Jan. 24-25. Day one will be a 7.5k freestyle individual start, followed by a 15k classic mass start on the 25th. The Blue & Gold will return to action after a week off with two invitationals over two weeks, beginning with the Denver Invitational in Minturn, Colo. The invite will begin with a 10k classic mass start at the Maloit Park Trails on Saturday, Feb. 7, and conclude with a 7.5k freestyle interval start on Sunday. The 'Nooks are back on the trails the following Friday, beginning the Colorado Invitational with a 20k freestyle mass start at Howelsen Hill in Steamboat Springs, Colo. They conclude the invite with a 7.5k classic individual start on the 14th, which will be their final race before the RMISA Championships.
The RMISA season concludes with the RMISA Championships on Friday, Feb. 27, to Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Crosscut Mountain Sports Center in Bozeman, Mont. Teams will compete in a 20k freestyle mass start on Friday and a 7.5k classic individual start on Saturday. The 'Nooks will look to put in another strong showing at the conference championships after placing third in the Nordic standings last season, with the men recording a three-way tie for first place with Colorado and Utah with 157 points, while the women took third with 150 points, one point behind Colorado in second.
Following the RMISA Championships, the NCAA Championships will also be in Bozeman. The 'Nooks took fifth place in the Nordic standings at last year's NCAA Championships, with Kendall Kramer, Philipp Moosmayer and Ben Dohlby all earning All-American honors, and Kramer winning the 20k freestyle. The championships will begin with a 7.5k classic individual start on Friday, March 13, and the season will conclude with a 20k freestyle mass start on the 14th.
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