I hope your son enjoys his time up here. A summer in Alaska at a young age is something I would recommend for just about anyone, especially if they are working outside.
Winter will not let go. It's been snowing for the better part of a week now. Usually by this time the snow is noticeably retreating. The weather worm is supposed to turn around about midweek with highs in the 40's.
Outsiders can buy tickets for the Ice Classic. I believe there is a number you can call in to for that to happen if you are interested in getting in on the game next spring, or they might have upgraded to be able to do it online. I do know that ticket prices doubled to $3 a guess this year.
My wife's guess is always April 24. I think she bought 2 tickets this year. With all the new snow I don't see that date as a realistic possibility, but you never know. I picked May 2.
Wally, DM me if you would like my phone number for your boy. I'm sure he'll have plenty of support from the people where he is working, but it's always nice to have an oh shit number too. I'll be in Fairbanks quite a bit this summer with my wife working there, so I'll be "in the neighborhood" so to speak. Also if he gets down to Denali I can give him some advice on where the locals go and what they do.