Embracing Winter, Part One: Alaska in Winter

Fairbanks’ cluttered G.I. Joe Surplus store has one of the last remaining stockpiles of genuine “bunny boots”. These white vapor-barrier boots (which make the wearer’s feet look like gigantic arctic hare feet) were originally made for the U.S. military and are rated for up to -60 degrees Fahrenheit. Fashionable they’re not, but they saved many an enlisted man’s feet from frostbite-or worse. In 1994 the army went to a different supplier, and the army-issue winter boots became more rigid, cheaper, and not nearly as well regarded. The pre-1994 Bata manufactured boots are preferred by Alaskans who have been known to spell out in their will exactly who will receive their bunny boots.

I was going ice-fishing. In Fairbanks. In early March. I wanted those boots. And I wanted them bad.

Owner Tom Schwartz fitted me to a pair of clunky, cozy used bunny boots. “You can tell who is a native of Fairbanks in winter by their boots,” he says. “If they’re wearing Sorels, they’re a tourist. If they’re in bunny boots, they belong here.” 

“Tourists?” Before my visit, the  idea of tourists in Fairbanks in winter might have tripped me up.  Who comes to Fairbanks in winter? Masochists? The certifiably insane?  The feverish? Well, right now the answer is, “Mostly Japanese.”  

Apparently there is a Japanese belief that children conceived under the Aurora Borealis are blessed with exceptional talent and beauty, which has spurred young Japanese couples-and in fact entire extended families-to make the trek to arctic climes. The Japanese, originally attracted to Fairbanks for the good odds of a Northern Lights display, are onto something that many people in the U.S. have missed-Alaska in winter can be a lot of fun.

The pervasive image of cold, dark winter days hold true, but only to a point. It is cold–don’t let the hardy locals convince you otherwise–but with proper clothing (which can be rented) it can be invigorating rather than eviscerating. The days are short, but dawn and dusk are long and beautiful. Photographers will rejoice in the low arc of the sun, which stays close to the horizon all winter, providing long shadows, dramatic lighting, and subtle colors. And of course, short days make long nights, which mean a greater chance of seeing the Northern Lights.

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