Anyone looking for a sure sign spring is on its way?
According to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner the Nenana Ice Classic tripod was erected last weekend on the frozen Tanana River.
For those not in the know, the Ice Classic is one of Alaska's oldest traditions, a guessing game in which people buy tickets to record their guess about the precise moment the ice will break up on the Tanana and flow downstream. The tripod, made anew each year, sits on the ice connected by line to a clock on the bank.
At stake most years is a jackpot worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. People who make winning guesses, and several winners in a year are not unheard of, split the pot.
Jeff Mayrand has been making the 26-foot-tall tripods for about a decade, and each year, he cuts, peels, paints and outfits the contraptions. He says the river destroys them once they finally fall, so each year, he has to start all over.
"It's a $300,000 piece of driftwood," he said, referring to the amount of prize money often available for a single winning ticket.
In March, Mayrand cuts trenches in the river ice for the tripod to rest in. This year, he says he went through 10 chainsaw blades to prepare the spot.
Mayrand can't hoist the lumber himself, though, and each time the tripod goes up, it's a small party. This year, a dozen visitors from Chicago showed up for the occasion.
Read much more, here.