Dawson City waits and watches for spring breakup
Last year's breakup of ice on the Yukon River was earliest on record, this year 'totally unpredictable'
There's a tradition in Dawson City, Yukon that stretches back more than a hundred years — betting on when the winter ice on the Yukon River will break up. And this year, after a winter of precarious ice conditions, it's anybody's guess.
"I think this year it's totally unpredictable, so any bet is as good as the next one," said Ava Steffans, who lives in Sunnydale, across the river from the main town site.
Steffans has had concerns all winter about crossing the ice and as of this week, she no longer wants to risk taking a vehicle across.
"We're done — we've decided we're no longer driving. But we're still walking," she said.
The river never completely froze over this winter at Dawson, and the Yukon government never built an ice road crossing — as it usually does.
But that didn't stop locals from commuting back and forth on their own accord. Some used an unofficial ice road.
Then, at the end of February, a chunk of that road collapsed, bringing with it renewed calls for caution.
"It was a little bit, to me, a gambling game," said Steffans.
"I just hope that people are smart enough to stop driving before anybody goes through the ice, that's my personal opinion."
Place your bets early
Last year the Yukon River breakup was the earliest on record — April 23.
It came so early, those organizing the annual breakup bet were almost caught off guard, and ticket sales were quickly changed.
"We changed the date last year in an absolute panic because we thought the river was going to break before the closing date for ticket sales," said Janice Cliff, the head of the Dawson Chapter of the IODE (Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire), which organizes the annual event.
"So we did an amendment to our lottery license last year that we thought might be temporary. But at subsequent meetings that we had, we figured there might be some changing trends in the weather here and we thought it might be beneficial to just bump that date up permanently."
The deadline for the long-standing betting game is in now mid-April, instead of the end of the month.
Maintenance started on Top of the World
Meanwhile, the unusual ice conditions this year will not have an impact on the opening of the Top of the World Highway, according to the Yukon government.
Government maintenance trucks weren't able to cross the river this winter, but the department of highways hired a local contractor on the west side of the river to do clearing and spring maintenance work on the seasonal road.
"That's to ensure that the highway... will open on time, and that the West Dawson road maintenance can proceed according to the normal spring schedule," said Alicia Debreceni, a spokesperson for the department.
She said the highway is due to open on the Victoria Day weekend in May.
