The ice on the Kenai River opened up on Thursday April 6th at 8:19 a.m. and the experimental tripod triggered the monitoring device for the proposed Kenai River Ice Classic.
The Rotary Clubs of Soldotna and Kenai, on Monday, March 27th, deployed a tripod device near the Soldotna bridge of the Kenai River to test an apparatus to measure the movement of ice for a designated distance.
The purpose of the test event was to develop a game similar to the Nenana Ice Classic in Nenana. However, the Kenai River is very different from the Tanana River which always freezes. With the successful test, this spring Rotary Clubs will apply for a permit to have the Kenai River Ice Classic next year in 2024. As a sample run, members of the Soldotna and Kenai Rotary clubs submitted their guesses on when the ice would break; Will Morrow was closest to the actual recorded triggering.
Legislative approval sponsored by Sen. Peter Micciche for the Kenai River Freeze-Up Classic was passed last session, signed by the Governor and goes into effect this year with tickets going on sale at the Kenai Peninsula Beer Festival in August.
Now that the test is over for the 2023 Kenai River Ice Classic, the Rotary Clubs will be prepping to begin the sale of the Kenai River Freeze-Up tickets which will begin sales on August 12, 2023, at the Kenai Peninsula Beer Festival in August.
