Skarland Ski Trails
Fairbanks Campus
Description: In the 1930s, skiing became an integral part of life on campus. Skarland had brought
his Norwegian skiing skills with him and inspired interest in the sport. In 1932,
Inge Trigstad, another Scandinavian who shared Skarland's love of the sport, designed
a two-mile trail called the Circle Tour "west of campus, over the hill and through
the birches to the Experiment Farm." Skarland cleared a difficult four-mile trail
from the dormitories (where Constitution Hall is now) to the farm, north to Smith
Lake and back to the dorms.
In 1936 regular Sunday races were conducted on the new trails, an official Ski Club
was organized in 1936 with over 40 members (out of a campus population of 200), and
it quickly became "the most popular organization on campus." Also in that year, Charles
Bunnell donated a cabin he owned to the club. Located to the east of what is now Ballaine
Road, this became a social center for the campus with students skiing from the dormitories
to the cabin and back at all hours of the day and night. The cabin was later moved
to Birch Hill and is still there along the abandoned luge run.
Notable People:Ivar Skarland