Having lived in Fairbanks Alaska for just over 3 years lets just say you have to work at something to do! Well I have decided to make this a contest of my own to go along with it and something that I enjoyed playing with every year that I was there.
History:
For those of you that don't know There is a small town about 65 miles from Fairbanks Called Nenana, AK.
Each year they hold a competition to see when breakup season is going to officially start! By taking bets on the day, minute and second the tripod on the Tanana River is going to move
Large grooves are cut into the frozen Tanana River ice about 300 feet from shore. Volunteers lends their muscles to pull on ropes to stand a wooden tripod upright. Holes are drilled in the ice, allowing water to seep upwards, filling in the grooves to freeze the tripod in place. A watchtower erected next to the tripod holds the official clock of the most recent breakup.
Once the ice has thawed to the point where walking on it is no longer safe, a wire is attached from the watchtower on shore to the top of the tripod, and rigged up to a clock mechanism so that the clock will be stopped when the tripod moves 100 feet. Watchmen monitor from the time the clock is activated until the ice has gone out. A siren will alert the townspeople to the tripod's first movement.
When the tripod trips the clock, spring has officially arrived, and Interior Alaska's rivers are once more navigable. And someone is a lot richer ($338,000 to last years winners)
Homepage of the competion
http://www.nenanaakiceclassic.com/ Homepage of the town of Nenana
http://fairbanks-alaska.com/nenana.htmI'm going to fashion a Cigar Based Raffle following the same rules!
