Newest Mountain Skeetawk Bolsters What Funky Alaska Has To Offer
The 49th state in the Union is the farthest north with the shortest and coldest days in the nation -- and a bunch of ski and snowboard mountains of all shapes and sizes.
True to Alaska's quirky nature, one mountain once had 1,000 inches fall in a season. Another is not only the northernmost resort in North America but also upside-down. One still runs a single chair. Another has only a bus for its lift. And yet another can reached only by plane or boat.
The newest in Alaska is Skeetawk (30 a., 300 vert.), also one of the smallest. An hour's drive from Anchorage, it first opened 2020 but periodic closures followed. Now a local nonprofit to put in snowmaking for a promising future. There's a new magic carpet, too.
The largest in the state is Alyeska Ski Resort(1,600 a., 2,500 vert.), a 50-minute drive from Anchorage. It gets plenty of snow -- 1,000 inches in 1998-99 and 20-year average of more than 400 inches. Lifts generally open around 10 a.m., and tram, quad and base lifts run until 8 p.m. Alyeska is an Ikon Pass seven-day partner.
Also in the Anchorage area are a pair of nonprofits. Arctic Valley (320 a., 1,500 vert.) is the oldest operating ski hill in the state -- coming up on 90 years. Open on weekends and holidays, the treeless hill runs double chairs built in 1968 and 1978, and a retractable cable T-bar built in 1958.
Hilltop Ski Area (30 a., 294 vert.) perches above suburban Anchorage. It's got a triple chair and a long platter for the extensive terrain park. With snowmaking and lighting all over the hill, Hilltop is open daily until 8 p.m. except on Sunday.
And then there's Mt. Eyak (100 a., 800 vert.) over near Cordova. Not only does it have one of two remaining single chairlifts in America (the other at Mad River Glen), it's also reachable only by airplane or ferry.
Up north in the interior near Fairbanks, Moose Mountain (750 a., 1,300 vert.) has a short rope tow at the base. But everyone else rides heated buses to a wide array of blues and blacks, and a few greens. "The Moose" is on the Indy Pass.
The double chairlift at neighboring Aurora Skiland (300 a., 715 vert.) is as far north as any in North America. It's also one of the coldest, as Skiland has already set a record this season for most below-zero days ever.
Finally, to the far south near Juneau, Eaglecrest (640 a., 1,620 vert.) operates Wednesday-Sunday with tons of black-diamond chutes. The city-owned hill decommissioned the Black Bear chair in hopes of new gondola, but that hasn't made that happen yet. So 50-year-old double Ptarmigan does all the hauling.
