Ever boarded in Alaska? (Alyeska in March, actually)

[toddjb]

Came across a good trip to Alyeska Resort, Alaska.

Has anyone ever been there?

It isn't very high, but it gets a buttload of snow, 782 inches, a
year and has 1000 acres of terrain, which isn't huge, but still
impressive.

Curious if anyone has any first hand knowledge of the terrain
and snow quality? Also interested in how close it is to good
heli terrain (would have to be shuttle pickup from resort)

I did a little usenet searching and found one report of wet conditions
in March (?) and multiple reports of very steep terrain :) which could
make up for any slow snow...kind of like Tahoe.


Thanks in advance for any info,

-todd

[RL]

This year I did a summer trip in Alaska and I've seen the resort: it's nice
and close to Anchorage. The snowboarders I met there told me to go to the
Valdez region during winter timr (the ski/board capital of Alaska they
said).
Regards, Ronald




"toddjb" > wrote in message
om...
> Came across a good trip to Alyeska Resort, Alaska.
>
> Has anyone ever been there?
>
> It isn't very high, but it gets a buttload of snow, 782 inches, a
> year and has 1000 acres of terrain, which isn't huge, but still
> impressive.
>
> Curious if anyone has any first hand knowledge of the terrain
> and snow quality? Also interested in how close it is to good
> heli terrain (would have to be shuttle pickup from resort)
>
> I did a little usenet searching and found one report of wet conditions
> in March (?) and multiple reports of very steep terrain :) which could
> make up for any slow snow...kind of like Tahoe.
>
>
> Thanks in advance for any info,
>
> -todd

[Lazarus]

>>
>> Has anyone ever been there?
>>
>> It isn't very high, but it gets a buttload of snow, 782 inches, a
>> year and has 1000 acres of terrain, which isn't huge, but still
>> impressive.


We did Alyeska last February...had a great time. It's an interesting
place...almost all of it is above treeline, although it's not very
high. It's basically on the water. If you're looking for steep and
deep, take the tram and then hike up a bit and drop down the north
face. I could have done that run all day every day. Very long,
steep, and ungroomed.

We had very flat light the whole time..consider some good goggles if
you don't have 'em already. Lists open late because of the
light...you can be the first one on the lift at 10:00am.

I figured it was going to be more of a destination...it's not. It was
almost completely empty during the week, then was packed with locals
on the weekend.

Beyond that, get ready for wide open runs...there aren't many trails
since there are no trees. We also did the Wasatch Powder Guides trip.
Supposed to take the helicopter, but there was a blizzard, so they put
us on the cat. Seemed like it might have been fun if the weather had
been better.

[toddjb]

Jesse Venable > wrote in message news:<1068745929.668267@prawn>...
> The other replies were right. I'd add that it's a crap shoot, depending
> on the conditions at the time. I've had the BEST POWDER OF MY LIFE (waist
> deep, light as down) there and have also seen it dump, rain, and freeze,
> turning the entire mountain into a mono-sheet of concrete ice. It's
> a fairly steep and challenging hill, and there's a nearby heli operation.
> I favor the Valdez area at that time, ...


What about Dec/Jan of this year? (New Years trip)

I realize it is a bit of a gamble, but could I expect Whistler-like
conditions? Better? Worse?

-t