Alaska’s favorite annual guessing game came to a close for another year at 12:50 pm on Friday as the Nenana Ice Classic’s clock was stopped.

This year’s jackpot, $233,591 is far less than in previous years. Many say this is due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped the nation for over a year, shrinking everyone’s pocketbooks.

Today, the river at the classic’s location is completely clear, a stark contrast to the condition seen in the hours before the breakup that brought the game to an end. Unlike other years, where the breakup begins downriver, this year the breakup up river got the river moving enough to trip the clock.

Organizers report that an estimated 180,000 participants doled out $2.50 a ticket to take a guess at the winning time, but also report that ticket processing is not complete so the number of winners is unknown as yet.

  clock, ice classic, nenanaw, tripped