The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) is expanding recreation options for students this winter with the addition of a certified freestyle snow-riding terrain park.
According to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, officials have begun work on the "Nanook Terrain Park" which is scheduled to open to both skiers and snowboarders this coming January on the UAF campus. The park is located near last year's project, the outdoor ice climbing tower, and next to the Student Recreation Center. It will consist of three "table-top" jumps and an estimated dozen other "elements," including rails and boxes.
UAF's director of recreation, adventure and wellness, Mark Oldmixon told the News-Miner that the park is "huge" and "to have it on campus" is a unique. Oldmixon adds, that a terrain park like this "doesn't exist anywhere else in the U.S."
When it is finished, the $200,000 playground may be the first one of its kind in the country, but to campus officials, the choice just makes sense and fits UAF's "philosophy." Oldmixon and others are excited to be able to offer the area to students who may (or may not) enjoy the long winter months in central Alaska.
To read more go to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner here.