Bone-chilling cold weather during an exceedingly long stretch of frigid temperatures didn't prevent more than 150 people from attending the annual Winter Extravaganza event Jan. 24 at Whitetail Ridge Ski Area at Fort McCoy.

The people and families who chose to attend had plenty of events and games to participate in and many prizes to win, said the Fort McCoy Outdoor Recreation staff.

The Snow Dig Pile was new this year and proved to be the most-popular event. Youths searched through a large pile of snow for hidden treasures such as quarters, tokens for free movie passes and pizzas, and a chance to find the "gold coin," which could be traded for a $25 gift certificate from the Pine View Campgrounds.

Another popular event with youths was the frozen turkey bowling. The winning child could keep the turkey and received a $25 gift certificate from Pine View and Whitetail Ridge.

Participants also could earn prizes for participating in such events as the snowman-making contest, the snowball slingshot contest, slalom races, the obstacle course and the jump/rail/box run. New events, such as the snowball slingshot contest and the jump/rail/box run were introduced to focus more on families and younger children.

Outdoor Recreation staff members noted a number of other events are planned at Whitetail Ridge for Saturdays during the winter season that are open to the public. These include: Feb. 14, tubing races; Feb. 21, slalom races; Feb. 28, tube bowling; and March 7, Customer Appreciation Day/Slush Pit. A Fools Run 5K is planned for April 4.

For more information about Whitetail Ridge activities, call 608-388-4498 or for more information about Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) activities at Fort McCoy visit the MWR Web site at http://www.mccoymwr.com.