“Go fast or go home” is the motto of Arctic Man. This year, the race is staying home. The delays and jacked up costs from the Department of Natural Resources became so unreasonable for Arctic Man, a ski, snowboard, and snow machine race that has taken place for decades, that the race has been canceled this year, organizers said.
It’s been canceled before, due to weather and one year because of the Covid pandemic, but this time it was because by the time DNR came up with the promised five-year permit structure, the cost was a surprising $100,000 a year, and the organizers said they couldn’t do it — there was too little time left to raise the money.
DNR disputes that characterization. In a note, the agency said, “The first renewal option was exactly the same as previous permits (annual $6,480 multi-day commercial land use permit plus $4 fee for each registered event participant. In 2019 the total cost for permitting the 4-day event on State of Alaska land was $6,640). The second permit option could reach $10,000 annually based on the number of attendees ($1,440 multi-day commercial land use permit plus $4 visitor day use fees for each registered parking spot and each registered event participant).”