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For those of us yearning for warm weather, it is hard to imagine that anyone would actually pay to experience 40 degrees below zero. But the Riverboat Discovery is counting on it, with a new business set to open at Denali this season.

“Alaska At 40 Below” will offer visitors a chance to “actually experience the kind of temperatures that inspired Robert Service’s poetry and classics such as ‘The Call of the Wild.’”

For a $10 fee, visitors will tour a 40 below zero museum, throw hot water into the air, and pound a nail into wood with a frozen banana.

Located at the Denali Princess Resort, the visit will include a stroll through the Alaska at 40 Below museum. There, visitors will learn how animals adapt to severe cold, how vehicles are “winter-proofed,” what kind of clothing must be worn, how schools handle those temperatures, how home construction differs in arctic climates and the freezing points of different fluids at 40 below zero.

Sledding accident

Send get well wishes to Karen Weiner of McKinley Village and her friend April Cole, who were seriously injured in a sledding accident last weekend and had to be medevaced to Fairbanks.

Sitting atop a big freight sled, they were zooming down a popular hill in the local area with two other friends. They ended up airborne and hit a tree.

Karen has a fractured pelvis. April — who just started work the day before — broke five ribs and her shoulder blade.

Friends are setting up a special account for April, a young woman who has no insurance. Watch local bulletin boards for more information.

Stampede recreation area

Following the lead of the Denali Borough Assembly, state legislators Joe Thomas and David Guttenberg have introduced companion bills, HB 241 and SB 173, establishing a state recreation area in the Stampede townships.

The House Resource Committee will hear comments on this bill today at 1 p.m. Here is a chance to give the Legislature your opinion on the matter. Be sure to call Christian Gou-Leonhardt at Guttenberg’s office (465-4955) if you want to testify.

Although the area has received extra attention since the movie “Into The Wild” was released, (“the bus” is in this area), the idea of a state recreation area was hatched long ago. The Denali Borough Assembly proposed the idea to ensure the land is well-managed under increased traffic.

At public hearings in Healy, local residents endorsed the concept as long as the new designation helps maintain the area and traditional usage is allowed to continue at no cost.

The Barney McClure Trio

When last we saw Barney McClure in Healy, he was conducting the small group of musicians accompanying the fabulously successful performance of “A Year With Frog and Toad.”

His visit here Saturday will feature another musical side of McClure — his incredible talent as a jazz pianist.

He will perform with The Barney McClure Trio at Tri-Valley School’s multi-purpose room. Admission is $5.

His musical cohorts include Dirk Westaff on bass and Diamond Fuller on drums. Denali Borough’s own musical instructor Candace Mainiero is a featured guest artist, accompanying on her favorite instrument — the vibes.

McClure has performed all over the world. You can even hear him in movies — on the soundtracks of “An Officer and a Gentleman” and “Mr. Holland’s Opus.”

The performance in Healy is part of a special tour, which also will include performances in Fairbanks and Anchorage.

Moose-hide boat

Cantwell Community Center is hosting a community potluck March 31 at 5:30 p.m. to unveil a special project worked on by a Cantwell student and Native elders. Nick and Verdrisia Dennis of Nikolai are working with B.J. Gore of Cantwell to construct a traditional moose-hide boat.

This special project is made possible by the National Park Service, the Murie Science and Learning Center, Alaska Geographic and the Denali Borough School District. This was also one of several projects included in a statewide partnership award that the school district received from the park service recently.

Following the boat presentation, park staff members will discuss opportunities to involve Cantwell students in the Youth Conservation Corps program this summer at Denali National Park; a public forum will allow community members and park staff to discuss park issues, including proposed trail work, snowmachine regulations and implementation of ORV regulations.