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Where to ski next? Why not Alaska?
State's only resort hopes skiers pass up Whistler and Aspen, head up north
 | A skier races down the hill at Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, Alaska, during the U.S. Alpine Championships. |
Al Grillo / AP file |
GIRDWOOD, Alaska - As alpine enthusiasts contemplate how they'll be breaking in their equipment this season, the managers at Alaska's only ski resort hope powder-lovers will bypass the classic slopes of Whistler, Deer Valley and Aspen and head to the far north.
The Alyeska Resort, long considered a niche venue for locals and adventure skiers, is undergoing a $25 million expansion to lure larger groups of winter vacationers, families especially, to the peaks of south-central Alaska.
The resort's owner, a wealthy real estate investor and self-professed ski junkie from Utah, has stoked big changes at the Girdwood institution, from new conveyor-belt lifts for beginners and snowmaking machines, to refurbished guest rooms and healthier menus.
John Byrne III, who bought the resort last year, is also negotiating with the U.S. Forest Service to build a lift that would open hundreds of acres (hectares) of raw terrain in the Chugach Mountains to highly skilled off-piste skiers and snow-boarders.
But the top priority, Byrne said, is making steep and rugged Mount Alyeska less daunting for novices. Intermediate runs, most on the harder side, make up about half of the 1,400 acres (567 hectares) of groomed trail. Another 10 percent are sculpted for beginners and 37 percent are black diamonds, the most difficult.
"Alyeska has lots of great expert terrain, which I love, but what we really need now is more good beginner and intermediate terrain," Byrne said by phone from his home in Alta, Utah. "In the long run, we need to offer the complete package."
This season, the resort is offering new ski-school classes and has carved out some mellower runs to give skiers and snowboarders more options on the mountain. At the low end, group lessons start at $45 for young children. Adults signing up for a six-hour private lesson pay $330.
Alyeska shares a sparsely populated valley with the community of Girdwood, home to an eclectic mix of artists, mountaineers and commuters to Anchorage, 40 miles (64 kilometers) to the north. Alaska's U.S. senators, Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski, own homes in Girdwood.
The former gold mining town has 1,200 full-time residents, zero stoplights and no mail delivery. Downtown consists of that the post office where everyone picks up their letters and packages, a health clinic, a few restaurants and several other buildings along a 200-yard dirt road.
Pat Ronan, who helps run the Girdwood Guesthouse, said most residents depend on the resort for employment. He hopes the expansion will attract more winter visitors to the roughly 25 lodges and bed-and-breakfasts in the valley.
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Byrne said guests want great skiing paired with great food and accommodations. He has spent $3.5 million so far on the 23-year-old hotel.
"Sometimes dad or mom doesn't ski and they just want a comfortable place to relax," Byrne said.
Each of the more than 300 cherry-trimmed rooms have brand-new beds, comforters, shower curtains and artwork. Black-and-white photo prints of indigenous Americans, by early-20th-century photographer Edward Curtis, now hang in each suite as homages to Alaska's native culture, resort spokesman Jason Lott said during a recent tour.
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