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Weekly UpdatesAlyeska may be the jewel of Alaska ski resorts, but it's hardly all that sparkles in this Mecca for outdoor enthusiasts. Winter offers a patchwork of resort development, mom-and-pop-style operations and remote adventuring in challenging-often virgin--white terrain. From eagle's view, a variegated trails network could conjure up the specter of Bigfoot crisscrossing the state on snowshoes.
The name of Alyeska Mountain, in the Chugach range, is derived from an Aleut word meaning "Great Land." It's the state's largest ski mountain, averaging 782 inches of snow a year. Alyeska Resort in Girdwood (population 2,000) boasts fine slopeside accommodations. To get there, leave
Seward Highway at scenic Turn-again Arm, off of Cook Inlet, about 45 miles southeast of Anchorage.
Skiing author Charlie Leocha, who makes a living sizing up slopes, finds plenty to make up for shorter days and the distance it takes to get to Alaska. Alyeska, he says, ranks in the Top 10 for views to be had at North American ski resorts: "Watching the whales leap in the Arm is unique.
"Those who find skiing at altitude difficult will love Alaska," he says. "Starting at virtually sea level makes a lot of difference to the altitude challenged. Colorado skiing starts more than a mile-and-a-half high in thin air."
With the big-city amenities of Anchorage (at off-season prices) also within half-an-hour's drive, he views Alyeska as in a class with resorts surrounding Salt Lake City, Reno and Quebec.
At least 280,000 out-of-state visitors-close to the Anchorage population again--are expected to visit the state this winter, and summer tourism drew 1.6 million visits, up about 2.5 percent from the year before, according to Mafia Benner, research and marketing director for the Alaska Travel Industry Association. An estimated 4 percent of visitors participate in winter activities.
Hours vary, so check individual ski areas before you go, and also for trail difficulty, season passes, lessons, rentals and special deals, amenities (child care, adaptations), and other features such as children's or women's programs, night skiing, terrain parks, snow-skating, snowshoeing, soaking, boarding, heliskiing, tubing, ice skating, ice fishing, ice climbing, snowmachining, mushing, leashes--even restrictions.
ALYESKA, GIRDWOOD
Larry Daniels, who came to Alaska from Washington state, has been in the business for decades. His love affair with Alyeska started when he was a general construction laborer on a chairlift during the height of the pipeline, when "we were all moving north."
Alyeska, where he is skiing general manager, has been around for more than 50 years. Ranked last year as the 50th largest employer in Alaska, Alyeska reports a monthly average of 350 employees in ski activities and draws about 150,000 skier visits a year; 92,000 guests stay in the 304-room hotel, with 55,000 of those visits occurring between mid-September and May. Even in summer, the tram boasts 80,000 riders. According to Daniels, the resort's annual payroll and benefits total $13 million. He figures the company's direct impact on the local economy is about $23 million annually.
September saw the opening of new spa facilities. Alaska's only four-star restaurant is a tram-ride away, and the four-diamond resort will host the U.S. Alpine Championships from March 27 to April 3.
Alyeska's proximity to a big city also means easy accessibility to such winter celebrations as Fur Rendezvous (Feb. 23 to March 4) or the start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on March 3.
The summit is 4,000 feet, with a rise of 2,500 feet. There are 1,000 skiable acres and 68 runs open to snowboarders as well; 89 percent of terrain is for intermediate or advanced use.
Alyeska's lifts include a high-speed detachable quad, two fixed quads, three double chairs, two pony lifts and a 60-passenger aerial tram.
Basic rates are adult, full-day, $55 (hotel guests, $44), Alaskana, $48; half-day, $39; high school (14 to 17), full-day, $36 and half-day, $29; college and senior/military, $36, $33 and $29; child (8 to 13), $28 and $22. Half day/night rates range from $10 to $55 and night-only rates from $10 to $24. A family-of-four rate for lift tickets is $134 (plus $26 for additional family members).
Snowshoe aficionados like to trek along Winner Creek, and trails in the Moose Meadows area are groomed and tracked.
ALPENGLOW, ARCTIC VALLEY
This day-use area in Chugach State Park is operated by the Anchorage Ski Club, which turns 70 years old this winter. So all maintenance is done by volunteers. It hasn't been open on weekdays since the mid-90s. For over 50 years, winter traffic for beginner through advanced skiers and snowboarders (most slopes are intermediate) has ranged from 5,000 to 50,000 a season, and was about 10,000 in 2005, according to Beverly Luedke-Chan, general manager.
Elevation is 3,900 feet with a vertical drop of 1,401 feet. Annual snowfall is 250 inches, with no snowmaking. There are 25 trails, 15 for snowboarders, with the longest run 4,545 feet.
Alpenglow features two double chairlifts and a T-Bar platter lift. Rates for nonmembers are: adults, $28 full-day or $19, half-day ($20 and $15 for members); students (7+), seniors and military, $20 full-day or $15 half-day ($15 and $11 for members). Under 6 years old and over 70 ski for free.
HILLTOP SKI AREA, ANCHORAGE
Hilltop serves mainly locals or visitors to the Anchorage area on weekends, says Steve Remme, chief operating of ricer. Seasonal ski traffic at nonprofit Hilltop ranges from 30,000 to 50,000 and was in the high 40,000s in 2005, he says. More than 95 percent of visitors are local, about 3 percent more are from Alaska and only about 2 percent from elsewhere.
On weekend days in winter, numbers might range between 800 skiers a day after a good snowfall to 10 people on a rainy day, Remme says.
Hilltop has a triple-chair lift and a platter lift.
Basically, an adult pays $26 for a weekend/holiday ticket (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) or $22 for half-day (noon to 5 p.m.), $24 for weekend 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., and $22 weekday 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.; students (ages 8 to 18) pay $24 for weekend/holiday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., $22 for half-day, $22 for weekend, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., and $20 for weekday 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.; and a child rides the lift for free with purchase of a full-price adult lift ticket. Superskier rate is $28 for 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
OTHER TRAILS AND SKI SPOTS IN SOUTHCENTRAL
Also within Anchorage, the Nordic Skiing Association maintains about 115 kilometers of groomed cross-country trails in Kincaid, Russian Jack and Far North Bicentennial parks.
Old-favorite lodges such as Sheep Mountain on the Glenn Highway are popular with the cross-country and mushing crowds, and other day areas, including Hillberg (three lifts), on the backside of Elmendorf Air Force Base, draw loyalists as well. To follow the evolution of some beloved outdoor haunts, check out the Alaska Lost Ski Areas historical project online at www.alsap.org
EAGLECREST, JUNEAU AREA
Municipally run Eaglecrest Resort on Douglas Island posts 30,000 to 55,000 visits a year, and after Dec. 8, thanks to some aggressive marketing to the armchair crowd, expects skier visits to push 60,000. It generates about $100,000 in sales tax for Juneau and a payroll of $1.2 million and keeps about 150 people employed in wintertime, says Kirk Duncan, general manager. He's been in the ski business almost as long as Daniels, but has been at Eagle-crest for just a few years.
While some critics of municipal ownership see the ski resort operation as a luxury, supporters see a quality-of-life issue. "If the city didn't operate it, we wouldn't have it," Duncan says. And if the Juneau area didn't have Eagle-crest, many more people wouldn't get outside during the darkest, coldest time of year, which can be stressful. In a community of 32,000 people, 2,500 are season passholders.
Just 12 miles from downtown, Eagle-crest is within comfortable reach of at least eight hotels offering rooms and weekend/holiday bus service.
It has 31 trails, two chairs (and plans to add two more next year) and a surface lift. Many skiers ride the Ptarmigan lift up, then hike up another 20 minutes and go down on the east or west sides.
The summit is 2,600 feet, with a vertical drop of 1,400 feet. The longest run is two miles. There are 8 kilometers of groomed Nordic trails and a tubing hill. New this season is a winch-cat for grooming advanced slopes; Duncan figures it should allow many downhill skiers to ratchet up a notch in their slope comfort levels. Most terrain is for intermediate to advanced use.
Lifts operate Wednesday through Mondays from December to April. Average snowfall is 300 inches and 60 acres are for snowmaking.
Lifts costs are: adults, $34, full-day, $30 half-day; senior/youth, $26 and $22; and child $20 and $16.
MOOSE MOUNTAIN SKI RESORT, FAIRBANKS AREA
Moose Mountain, about 20 minutes from Fairbanks, features more than one, 250 feet of vertical slope, with terrain ranging from a bunny slope to the steep North Slope. It's a mom-and-pop ski area, open mainly weekends, where buses ferry skiers to the summit. It boasts that its southern exposure shields guests from the winds and that temperatures here tend to be 20 to 30 degrees warmer than in town. Annual snowfall is 70 inches.
Day rates include adults, $35; student/ military $30; beginners hill only and child (7-12), $20. The bus to the top is no longer a free ride, but requires a lift ticket. Punch cards are available.
Mount Aurora Skiland, Fairbank Area
Mount Aurora Skiland, a family owned area north of Fairbanks, lures ski enthusiasts with visions of riding the far-northernmost (double) chairlift in North America and a chance to see the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis.
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