Ski Vacations to Alyeska Resort

Alyeska is Alaska's only full-scale ski resort, in Girdwood about 65 km south of Anchorage on the Turnagain Arm. It is not a big mountain by Rocky Mountain standards and it has two things almost nowhere else has: enormous snowfall and a base area at sea level with the sea in view.

What the skiing is like

The vertical is around 800 metres, served by a tram from the hotel and a set of chairs above it, with terrain that runs from gentle groomers to the North Face, which is genuinely steep.

The snow is the headline. Alyeska averages something on the order of 15 metres a season at the top, which is among the highest of any North American resort, and the maritime climate means it arrives wet and heavy rather than as Utah powder. Bring wider skis and a waterproof shell rather than a down jacket.

The season runs roughly from November or December into April, and is longer at the top than the base.

The daylight problem, and the daylight advantage

This is the part that makes Alyeska unlike other resorts.

In late December, Girdwood gets about five and a half hours of daylight, and the sun does not get far above the horizon. That is a short ski day, and it is also the reason the light is extraordinary: the whole day is effectively a long sunrise over the inlet.

Alyeska runs night skiing under lights, which is not an add-on here but a practical necessity in midwinter.

By March the days are long, the snowpack is deep and the weather is better. March and early April are the best weeks of the season and it is not close.

Getting there

Fly to Anchorage, then 45 minutes down the Seward Highway, which runs along the Turnagain Arm between the mountains and the water and is one of the best short drives in America. Beluga whales are sometimes visible from the road, and the tidal bore comes up the inlet.

Shuttles run from the airport and from Anchorage hotels. You do not need a car for the skiing, though you will want one to see anything else.

Beyond the pistes

The reason to come here rather than to Colorado is what surrounds it. Heli-skiing operations run out of Girdwood and the Chugach range behind it is one of the world's serious big-mountain destinations, with a reputation built on enormous consistent snow and long steep lines.

That is expert terrain with real avalanche exposure and it is guided for good reason.

Less dramatically: the resort has an aerial tram that runs for sightseeing as well as skiing, there is a hotel at the base, and the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is a few minutes down the road.

Worth knowing

Alyeska is a destination resort with one mountain, not a ski town with several. If you want variety of terrain over a week, this is the wrong trip. If you want deep snow, very few people and an Alaskan winter with the sea in the view, it is the right one.

Prices are lower than the comparable Rocky Mountain resorts and the lift queues are a fraction of them.