Alaska does make it harder, but I agree, based on painful personal experience, don't try to save money by going for cheap skates. It will cost you loads more in the long run. I started skating in Wal-Mart specials ($40) and that was okay when it was strictly rec skating. But when I started taking lessons, my coach gave them to her partner to sharpen and she said when he flipped them over to look at the soles he said "She was SKATING on these?" (Her reply, "She was holding edges on these", aparently stunned him. He couldn't even sharpen the blades as much as they should have been because the soles wouldn't support it.) I upgraded to Jackson Elites (a midlevel boot for low-level work) and now I'm spending to get ankle pads, orthopedic insoles, and new blades (do NOT skimp on the blades--I have Ultima Mirages and after nine months they're shot). I'm planning to ask my parents for my birthday, instead of a trip home or a lot of little stuff, for new boots and move up another level to boots with a lot more built-in padding.
For a kid, whose feet are still growing, used higher-quality boots are going to be a better choice if at all possible than cheaper, poorer-made new ones. Have you tried looking on-line for skate fitters? There must be someone in Alaska who sells figure skates and not as a sideline or someone who can at least consult/advise long-distance.
