SportAlaska provides cross country ski trail design services. John Estle has laid out recreational and competition ski trails at UAF and at Birch Hill Recreation area, and has provided consulting services outside of the Interior. At UAF John laid out the Midnight Express loop, the 2013 addition to the “Big Whizzy” loop, and several sections of trail behind the West Ridge campus. At Birch Hill he is responsible for designing all the competition courses used at major national competitions (2003 and 2013 US Junior National Championships, 2008, 2009 and 2017 US Distance National Championships/Spring Series), as well as many other segments of recreational trails at Birch Hill. He did the original design of the Sunnyside trail in 1995 (constructed in 2016), as well as collaborating on the redesign of the Sonot Connector prior to its reconstruction in the summer of 2012.
John is an International Ski Federation (FIS) certified Technical Delegate and is also a FIS-certified Homologation Inspector – meaning he can approve trails for use in international competitions after determining their safety, skiability and suitability for fair competition.