Four Homer skiers made the trip up to Anchorage to compete in the Besh Cup last weekend, the first two of six races that set the standings for individual skiers in Alaska.

Homer High School Cross-Country Ski Head Coach Jan Spurkland, Assistant Coach Megan Spurkland and varsity skiers Frances and Maggie Bursch skied together in withering cold at Kincaid Park.

Both Jan and Megan advanced to the quarterfinals, placing 19th and 18th respectively, while Maggie Bursch made it into the B heats.

In the skate ski, the top 30 men and women advanced to quarterfinal heats while the next 12 got a chance to race again in B heats.

"It was three below and howling wind. I warmed up in a balaclava and took my ear muffs off for the race and in four minutes my ears froze so hard that I can't sleep on this side of my head," said Megan Spurkland.

Both Jan and Megan were eliminated in the first quarterfinal heat, but Maggie was able to continue on to race twice and gain some valuable experience, said Megan Spurkland.

"I think she learned a lot about cutting the corners in the pack and how to work out really competitive races. It was intense ski racing, I'll give it that," said Megan Spurkland.

The Besh Cups are a series of six races used as the qualifying races for Junior Nationals and Arctic Winter Games.

"It's always really fun for Jan and me to race with our athletes because it reminds us of what we're asking them to do and go through. It was really fun and it does make me question why we ski race in the weather we do," said Megan Spurkland.

On Dec. 20, the Homer skiers had another chance to test themselves in the classical style ski, but the results were not as strong as those the day before.

While the four skiers who took part in the skate ski on Dec. 19 were eager to hit the trails once again, it quickly showed what a toll the previous day's skate ski had taken on their bodies.

With a fast course, including several difficult to control downhill sections, and the fatigue from the race the day before, each racer tried to make the best of the competition.

"For the classical race the air warmed up a lot, but I think both the Bursch girls and myself were pretty tired from the race the day before. We saw that from a lot of the racers," said Megan Spurkland.

Homer's cross-country skiers will have a few weeks to rest before traveling to Seward for the Seward Invite on Jan. 9.

The Homer High School Cross-Country ski team is putting on its "Ski-Your-Age" fundraiser at the DOT trailhead on the Sterling Highway Dec. 26, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

A $10 donation is suggested to go toward the ski team and participants will have a chance to join the Century Club by skiing 100 minus their age in kilometers, seeing who can ski the most kilometers as a family and trying to ski 50 kilometers between sunrise and sunset.