The 2012 Nenana Ice Classic came to a close last night at 7:39 pm when the tripod went out with the ice.

Yesterday, Monday, the tripod began leaning toward shore, but didn’t topple all the way over to stop the clock, but as the day progressed, it became evident that the 2012 classic was coming to an end in hours.

The whole day yesterday, as open water above the tripod began to grow, water moved over the surface of the ice around the tripod, picking up speed until at last it ate through enough to melt and break up the ice.

The camera view for the classic showed open water from bank to bank this morning.

Yesterday was the fourth earliest time that the tripod has triggered the stopping of the clock. The clock has stopped twice on April 20th and once on April 23rd.

The prize amount for this year’s event is unknown at this time, but those numbers will be out as early as later tis week. The names of the winners may take longer to announce.