ANCHORAGE, Alaska—
Snow and ice have created dangerous road conditions this week, but Anchorage’s parking lots and sidewalks are just as dangerous. A local shoe store, Skinny Raven Sports, is offering a creative solution: snow tires for your feet.Skinny Raven is well-known for serving Anchorage's running community, providing footwear and outerwear essentials. But near the back of the store resides an unadvertised service, one which customers like Judy Caminer learned about through word of mouth.
“It's really important to me not to be slipping, feel safe when I'm walking,” Caminer said.
Call them studs for your shoes: screws specifically made to provide traction on ice, which can given a pair of shoes slip-free soles in about two minutes.
“They're hollowed-out, case-hardened, hollowed-out sheet-metal screws,” said Skinny Raven’s Seth Stetson. “I think it's just something that came naturally, because our business is so focused on community.”
“Don’t even really feel them so, very comfortable; sort of surprising,” Caminer said, standing in Skinny Raven wearing her freshly drilled shoes.
Skinny Raven claims it's the only store in town that studs shoes. It also offers grippers and ice bugs on sale, but the store studs about 10 to 20 pairs of shoes each day.
“That all started eight to 10 years ago, when the runners started putting sheet-metal screws in their shoes, and then we caught on to it and started offering it to our customers,” Stetson said.
The studs cost $10, but if you're over the age of 60 or disabled Skinny Raven says they’re on the house. Mary Tomasiewicz says she’s already had two falls on the ice, and doesn't ever want to fall again.
“I didnt know it was free,” Tomasiewicz said. “What happens when you're older, you lose your balance, and so we have to take all the precautions we can.”
It’s a creative way to be cautious, which some say can help start off winter on the right foot.
“As the streets and the sidewalks get more glaciated, it's -- you have to have something to keep the grip and keep your feet under you,” Stetson said.
If you purchase a pair of shoes at Skinny Raven, you can also get them studded for free.
Contact Christine Kim at ckim@ktuu.com
