Alaska troopers secure Arctic Man festivities

It’s like Mardi Gras with snow
Story and photos by Beth Ipsen, Information Officer, Alaska State Troopers

As the days get longer in Interior Alaska – the expanse of remote wilderness that encompasses an area slightly larger than California– roughly 13,000 people converge on the Hoodoo Mountains for one last bash of the snowmachining season. Most people are there to do two things – snowmachine and party. It’s like Mardi Gras with snow.

It was up to a handful of Alaska law enforcement officers to keep the peace and ensure everyone’s safety amidst the April 8-12 festivities.

During the day, snowmachiners of all ages hit the mountains in search of good snow and fun. The Arctic Man Ski and Sno-Go Classic attracts extreme snowmachine enthusiasts for events that have been coined “the ultimate adrenaline rush.” Skiers and snowboarders race against each other while being towed by snowmachiners. Snowcross, freestyle jumps, and snowmachine drag races are also part of the festivities.

Alaska Wildlife troopers Brent Johnson, left, and Mike Potter patrol the streets at Arctic Man.

The event provides enough activity to keep officers from the Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Wasilla and Palmer Police Departments busy. This year not only did troopers patrol the bar and campsites during the night, but a few hopped on sleds during the day to patrol the mountains, sometimes to help a snowmachiner in distress.

They aren’t there to keep people from having a good time, but are there year after year to make sure people are safe while they’re having a good time.

The event campsite sits in a valley surrounded by mountain peaks. The parking pad is lined with campers and crawls with snowmachines and four wheelers. Beyond the parking pad is the expansive Alaska Mountain Range. Most of the snowmachiners stick to the Hoodoos, the mountain pillars that climb to 4,528 feet above sea level and serve as the backdrop to the event. A few others venture out beyond.

It is here where the talents of Howie Peterson, an Alaska state trooper, come into play. Like many at Arctic Man, Peterson is an accomplished snowmachiner. His skills are often tested on numerous search and rescue operations in the Turnagain Pass area each winter. On April 10, Peterson was at the nexus of two search and rescue operations. In the first, Peterson needed to hook the litter cart with skis up to his state-owned 700 Polaris RMK and tow it up the mountain after medics became stranded part way up.

He then towed the cart, loaded with the patient and a medic, down the windy path along a slope, on a snowcross course in between races. The man who had two broken ankles, a broken leg, and lower back pain, was loaded onto the ambulance bound for Fairbanks. Even before the snowmachiner was out of the litter, a call went out regarding another injured snowmachiner. Peterson and Alaska Wildlife trooper Brent Johnson zoomed the three miles out to the second snowmachiner. The Department of Public Safety’s invaluable A-Star helicopter and pilot Mel Nading were called out to pick up the injured snowmachiner.

A few hours later, Peterson was off his sled and on foot, patrolling different campsites, checking identification cards to ensure no one underage was drinking and potentially putting themselves in harm’s way.

Alaska Wildlife trooper Brent Johnson shows a group of people drinking at a camp
the reading from a portable breath test one of the girls took to explain how little
alcohol consumption it takes to reach a 0.08 alcohol level.

The operation also included the AST Command Post RV equipped with a radio that, coupled with a satellite phone, was the only communication with the world outside the remote camp for law enforcement.

Seven troopers secured the festivities, while six troopers and two police officers from Wasilla and Palmer with the newly formed Alaska Bureau of Highway Patrol were on the road to help curb speeding and aggressive driving. The effort nabbed numerous drunk drivers, and the ABHP wrote more than 300 traffic citations.

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