Get out and get active in Anchorage's beautiful outdoors during the winter months by cross country skiing with Challenge Alaska's Para Sport program for people with physical and visual disabilities. Our volunteers and staff are skilled at getting you moving and staying active and fit. Skiers must pre-register and confirm attendance on a weekly basis to ensure adequate volunteer support is available. The link to register for the 2023-24 season is now available.  Once you register we will contact you with  additional information and add you to the roster of registered skiers. If you have any issues registering or general questions email Brandon or call (907) 903-5646.

All skiing will take place at Kincaid Park - meet at north end of Stadium Parking Lot (look for Challenge Alaska van). Dates for 2024-25 are all Tuesday's (Dependent Upon Snow Conditions):

 NOTICE: Cross country skiing will not be held when weather or trail conditions pose a safety risk to participants. When weather or trail conditions are marginal we may shorten the time spent skiing. There is no specific minimum air temperature at which we will cancel. The determination of whether the conditions are safe will based on multiple factors including temperature, wind, precipitation and course conditions. Challenge Alaska staff will make a final determination regarding the acceptability of conditions as soon as possible on the day of the event. 

Challenge Alaska is excited to offer a Biathlon program for Warriors and for people with physical / visual disabilities.  We will work with you to meet your individual goals as well as partnering you with other racers who share similar goals. As you become more involved in skiing we will figure out what your individual needs are so we can customize and adapt to enhance your performance. No matter your goals - to win a division, improve your time, or to have fun in a competitive environment - we will help you meet them. Once you register we will contact you with  additional information and add you to the roster of registered skiers. If you have any issues registering or general questions email Jeff or call (907) 244-2269. Scroll down below the schedule to learn more about the sport. 

Biathlon is truely the ulitmate challenge! We have biathlon training rifles and will be able to integrate them into weekly trainings throughout the winter. The following is a description of Paralympic Biathlon from the Casper Mountain Biathlon Club website;

Adaptive or Paralympic Biathlon combines cross-country skiing and air rifle shooting similar to the Olympic biathlon competitions. Athletes are categorized as standing, sit-ski or visually impaired and compete against athletes with similar disabilities. Paralympic athletes always shoot in a prone position.

The Biathlon event takes place on a 2.5-km loop, which is repeated five times for a total of 12km (long distance) and the pursuit event. Athletes stop for two or four shooting sessions along the course. They are given five shots and are required to hit a target positioned at a distance of 10 meters. The penalty for a missed shot can be a time penalty that is added to the total time or a penalty loop (150m) to ski once per missed shot.

The pursuit event is a two-part competition with the first part consisting of a qualification round (sprint) where athletes ski a short loop (about 1.3 km) three times and stop twice for shooting. For each missed shot, the athlete is given a 20 second penalty.

The top ten athletes in the qualification round compete in the finals which are organized as a "pursuit start" competition. Athletes start according to a preset formula based on the results of the qualification round and the handicap percentages in the different categories. The athletes ski a short loop (about 1.3 km) three times, stopping twice for shooting. For each missed shot, the athlete must ski an extra 80 m penalty loop.  The skier that passes the finish line first is the winner.

Equipment

• Warrior and standing athletes shoot with a high-precision electronic rifle, and shoot from the prone position. They ski using skate skis in the traditional manner.  
• Athletes with visual impairment shoot with an electronic rifle that allows aiming by hearing. The closer the rifle points to the centre of the target, the higher the tone is. They ski using skate skis using a guide skier to safely navigate the course. 
• An athlete with a lower-body disability uses a sledge, which is a specially built chair that can be attached to a pair of skis. The skis are almost identical to standard skis, although shorter, and are attached to the chair with a standard cross-country binding.
• Athletes with amputation can use a rifle support when shooting.
• The target size has a diameter of 30mm for visually impaired athletes and 20mm for athletes with a physical disability.