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Now that winter is officially here, it’s time to unveil my annual winter list of things to do.

While the chances of me accomplishing everything on this list are slim, having a list with goals to accomplish during the long winter months provides me with motivation that otherwise might be lacking when the temperature is 42 degrees below zero and there are 14 minutes of daylight.

That said, I would encourage everyone out there to make a winter list of things to do and put in on the refrigerator where you can see it every time you reach for another beer or bowl of ice cream, depending on your preference.

Don’t be afraid to think big. All you can do is fail.

Try to stay ahead of my 10-year-old son, Logan, on the ski trails.

Don’t tell him I told you so but the punk is a pretty good skier and he’s getting faster every day, especially now that he’s involved in the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks’ Junior Nordic comp program. It scares me to think that he may be able to out ski me by the end of the year, but it’s a very real possibility, even though that’s not necessarily saying much.

Take the family to the indoor shooting range.

I hate to admit it, but the only time I’ve ever shot at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Hunter Education Indoor Shooting Range was in a celebrity shoot a few years back and judging from the results, I could use some practice. Now that he’s 10, I think it would be a good time to introduce Logan to shooting in a safe, controlled environment. My dad sent him his first .22 a couple years ago, but it’s still in the box because I didn’t think he was ready. Somehow, I think my wife, Kristan, will enjoy learning how to shoot, too.

Cross-country ski at least 1,500 kilometers.

I almost made it last year, but cold snaps in December, January and February slowed me down. My total mileage for the season was about 1,000K skate skiing and 250K classic skiing. My goal this year is to skate ski at least 1,000 kilometers and classic ski 500 kilometers.

Break 3:30 in the 50-kilometer Sonot Kkaazoot.

My time of 3:36:35 last year was almost two hours faster than my rookie debut in 2007, albeit was on a shortened version of the course (43K) because of poor conditions on the Chena River. Still, the course was hillier than it would have been had the race been on the river and I’d like to think I’m going to improve my technique a little this year to go faster.

Put some miles on my ‘new’ snowmachine.

Teddy the Tundra, the old Tundra Ski-Doo I inherited and had refurbished last year, is dead. Unfortunately, nobody told me the oil injector had been disconnected and I was supposed to pre-mix my gas when I got the machine. As a result, the engine seized up and I couldn’t justify the cost of the repair. Fortunately, I found a great deal on a Polaris Indy Trail just a couple weeks ago, and we are back in business with a bigger, faster, more reliable machine. I knew that energy rebate check would come in handy.

Take at least one trip into a backcountry cabin in the White Mountains National Recreation Area and/or in the Chena River State Recreation Area.

This is one of those things that we try to do at least once every year. We managed to make it into cabins in both places last year before the snowmachine died. This year, I’d like to make it to Windy Gap in the White Mountains.

Make a trip to Tolovana or Hutlinana hot springs.

It’s been more than 10 years since I’ve been to Tolovana, and I’ve never made it out to Hutlinana. Getting there isn’t easy — both are located several trail miles off the Elliott Highway, and you have to make reservations for the cabins at Tolovana months in advance — but the reward for doing so beats what you will find at Chena Hot Springs.

Take a hunter education course with my son.

Now that he’s 10-years-old and has shown an interest in hunting — he bagged his first grouse with a BB gun this fall, albeit with a little help from dad — I think it might be time to sign Logan and me up for one of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s hunter ed classes. It would be a good thing for both of us and I bet we would both learn something.

Survive the winter in a 1983 Toyota Tercel with no heat.

This may not have anything to do with the outdoors, but I like to think of it as a character builder. If nothing else, driving around in the equivalent of a walk-in freezer should help me hone my Arctic survival skills.

Join the Fairbanks Cycle Club on a Sunday ride.

A group of hard-cores gets together for a ride every Sunday on the mushing trails in the Goldstream Valley, and I’ve been meaning to join them for a ride to write a story for years now. Now all I have to do is figure out how to winterize my bike.

Finish building my ski waxing bench.

I started last year but never finished. I have the bench built but still have to build a stand. Once I get it built, I’ll be able to wax skis at home instead of hauling them all up to Birch Hill.

Learn how to use my GPS.

I got a Garmin eTrex for my birthday in March and still haven’t taken it out of the box (can you tell I’m a techno dinosaur?). Maybe I can incorporate it into my ski training?

Go downhill skiing or snowboarding at Moose Mountain, Skiland or Birch Hill.

This has been on my list for several years, but I have yet to do it, in part because it’s been several years since we’ve had a decent snow year in Fairbanks. But that’s not an excuse. I’ve got two snowboards — one adult and one child — and I just need to figure out what I need to get geared up. I’ve also heard Logan mention something about how he wants to go downhill skiing and snowboarding.

Catch a burbot in the Tanana River.

Another one that has been on the list for a long time and needs to be crossed off. Now that I think about it, I should probably do it now, when the ice is thinner, than wait until January or February when the ice will be 5 feet thick, especially since I have a hand auger.

Get into skijoring.

I tried it for the first time last year with our 5-year-old yellow Lab, Hobbes, who looks and runs like a horse, and I’ve got to admit it’s fun. This year, I plan to chase Hobbes and my wife, Kristan, with our 1 1/2-year-old chocolate Lab/Chesapeake, Ray. We went 2.5K on the Two Rivers Ski Trails last weekend and I managed to stay on my feet and Ray is a pulling machine. This could be dangerous.

Don’t get depressed when I don’t get half the things on my winter list of things to do done.

Let’s just say I’m still working on my summer list of things to do.