Wild ice skating draws global attention as Alaska outdoor recreation scene grows

Alaska lawmakers heard Thursday how wild ice skating has evolved from scattered individual outings to an organized outdoor recreation movement that is drawing global media attention and supporting local manufacturing.

The presentation at a legislative lunch-and-learn session traced the sport's progression from what one speaker called the "spark" stage of isolated experiences to the current "fire" stage, where infrastructure, commercial activity and widespread public interest have coalesced around skating on natural ice formations across the state.

Paxson Woelber, co-founder and outreach chair of the Wild Ice Skate Club of Alaska, told lawmakers the club's Facebook group has grown to nearly 12,700 members in just a few years. The club hosts regular community events that fill breweries and event spaces around Anchorage throughout the winter.

"This is an amazing thing that's happening," Woelber said. "It's just a positive thing. There's nothing wrong here. It's just something that's great that's happening in our state."

Woelber defined wild ice skating as skating on naturally formed ice without maintenance or grooming, distinguishing it from rink-based activities. The sport emphasizes covering distance and exploring varied terrain rather than confined athletic performance.

"When you're doing wild ice skating, the whole purpose is covering distance," Woelber said. "It's adventuring. It's going from point A to point B to point C."

The presentation highlighted how the activity has attracted international media coverage. A short film Woelber produced in 2017 with videographer Cale Green appeared in National Geographic and the Washington Post, won a film festival and aired on Outside TV.

"People all around the U.S. and really a lot of people around the world just saw this video and they loved it," Woelber said.

State Representative Kai Holland, who represents House District 9 covering South Anchorage to Girdwood and Whittier, framed the presentation in terms of economic development and manufacturing opportunities. Holland noted that areas including Potter Marsh, Rabbit Lake and Portage Lake have been attracting visitors from around the world.

Holland emphasized manufacturing as a priority for economic development, describing it as creating diverse job opportunities beyond production work.

"Manufacturing creates shop jobs on actually running machines, but it also creates jobs for accountants, marketing folks, engineers," Holland said.

The presentation connected wild ice skating to broader outdoor recreation tourism and the potential for attracting low-season visitors. Representative Tim, who co-sponsored the lunch-and-learn, described the activity as part of what makes Alaska a year-round destination. He noted the sport's influence on young adults deciding whether to move to or remain in Alaska, saying "there's tens of thousands of working-age young adults in Alaska now and across the country that are on the fence about coming here or staying here, and something as simple as wild ice skating can make the difference in that decision. I know it did for me."