Fur Rondy Celebration, Anchorage, AK
Outhouse racing, Japanese snowball throwing and Alaskan Native blanket tossing
Story and Photos by Hilary Meyerson
Photo at right: Outhouse races down Fourth Avenue are one of the highlights of Fur Rondy.
The outhouses came flying down the street and we hurried to cross before we were run down. The crowd cheered them to greater speeds, as the pushers ran holding crossbars attached to the (occupied) outhouses on skis.
Giant blocks of snow are turned into sculpture for delighted spectators.
Just another day at Fur Rondy.
Fur Rondy in Anchorage, Alaska is the granddaddy of all winter carnivals. It’s a 10-day celebration of winter in the Land of the Midnight Sun. For more than 77 years, Alaskans have been coming to town for fun at the end of February. It began when trappers would come to town to sell their furs at auction—hence the name “Fur Rendezvous.”
A fur auction is still part of the festival and it’s worth a look to watch silver fox or muskrat skins being sold the way they were decades ago. But now it’s so much more—all poised at a time when Alaska is returning to longer daylight hours and folks are ready to celebrate the end of a long winter.
There are dozens of official events, with something for everyone. Some highlights include the Running of the Reindeer, where a dozen reindeer run the streets with 400 or so racers. Think Pamplona and the running of the bulls, but with more snow and more docile creatures.
The blanket toss is a reminder of the days when spotters looked for whales to hunt.
A traditional Alaskan Native blanket toss is another highlight. At one time, whalers used the walrus skin blankets to toss spotters high in the air to get a better view of potential quarry. Today, it’s less serious. We took our place at the blanket circle and took our turn tossing kids high in the air, much to their delight. For a less aerial entertainment, we wandered over to the snow sculpture, to see the giant 8-foot square blocks of compressed snow being carved into amazing sculptures.
The cold (it was about 7 degrees) didn’t even bother us as we made our way to a viewing spot for the Fur Rondy parade. We cheered on the King and Queen Regent and bought and traded Fur Rondy pins with the volunteers—another tradition.
Fur Rondy has some serious competition as well. A highlight is the world championship dogsled race that brings mushers from all over to race a course that finishes along the main street in downtown Anchorage. This is serious business, and leads up to the ceremonial start of the annual Iditarod, which is held in the waning days of the festival.
There was much more to check out: we wished we could have seen the Yukigassen, the competitive Japanese snowball throwing event or watched the snowshoe softball games. Stealing bases while wearing snowshoes would be something to see. The Frostbite Footrace would have been a great way to warm up. We missed the big Miners and Prospectors Ball, but caught the fireworks, lighting up the Anchorage sky.
As we headed back to our hotel for a good night’s sleep, we noted a racing outhouse still parked on the street, a reminder that our hotel’s facilities were considerably more comfortable.
Who knows—maybe we’ll return again soon for this community’s annual wacky, but traditional, celebration. Maybe even to race our own outhouse.
The 2013 Fur Rondy is scheduled for Feb. 22 – March 3. www.furrondy.net
Hilary Meyerson is the editor of Outdoors NW magazine and prefers indoor plumbing in winter.
