Fairbanks is a really small town, I've got friends in every business here. It makes life easy, even if it's 30 below for a lot of the winter.
The HDPE is totally worth it, its so fun to slide. This rail is better than a lot of the ones at my local hill's park. Some people swear by half inch, but quarter inch seems to work just fine. It's cheaper too.
@Adam, thanks for the embed.