Adventure Magazine

Inserts top to bottom: Steve deep in fresh snow at Alyeska
Alyeska Resort under the Northern Lights and Relaxation in the Alyeska Nordic Spa - Images compliments Visit Anchorage
Girdwood is a small settlement founded
in the 1890’s to supply miners during
the Turnagain Arm gold rushes and
home of the Alyeska Resort, which was
our next stop. We were surprised at the
magnitude of both the mountain and the
resort itself. It is part of the Chugach
mountain range and is the largest ski
area in the state. With numerous places
to eat at the hotel and a shuttle running
regularly, it was a great base for our
stay.
The snow continued to fall and we
woke to almost a foot of fresh snow. Not
knowing the mountain we decided to
work our way up from the bottom. The
snow was perfect, it was super light and
made for incredible skiing. At the top
of Alyeska the runs drop into big bowls
with few trees to be seen, a little more
similar to home. The terrain is suitable
for intermediate to advance skiers and
on the north side you’ll find a host of
double blacks including the longest
double black in northern America. On a
clear day you can see the ice covered
Turnagain Arm, up to seven “hanging”
glaciers and endless peaks deep into
the Chugach Mountain range.
With unusual daylight hours in this part
of the world, the lifts don’t open until
10.30am but continue until 5.30pm so
we skied until dusk and then headed
to the Nordic Spa right next door to our
hotel. This adults only spa is nestled
into the forest as you move between
hot and cold pools and rest in saunas
and steam rooms. With no cell phones
allowed (and no kids) it created a serene
place to unwind at the end of the day.
Wrapped in the supplied bath robes we
wandered between pools and saunas
before heading back inside to their
bar for a celebratory drink (still in our
bathrobes). They also have a restaurant
and massage services available.
One of the draw cards for anyone
coming to Alaska is the thought of
seeing the Northern Lights and we
were no different. We knew that
Girdwood and Alyeska were prime
viewing locations due to their lack of
light pollution so we checked the skies
before heading to bed. Unable to see
the mountain due to the low cloud we
settled in for a good night sleep. The
following morning as we were on our way
snowmobiling our host casually asked,
“So did you see the Northern Lights last
night?” You can imagine our horror to
find out that we had missed them!
We were joined on our snowmobile tour
by two ‘good ol boys’ from Texas and
their friend from Girdwood. They had
also been touring around Alaska hoping
to see the Northern Lights and some
wildlife. Like us, they had missed the
Northern Lights the night before but had
Skiing in Alyeska on a clear day exposes incredible views - Image by Sagar Gondalia
seen moose in the carpark at Walmart
in Anchorage. Surely we would get a
glimpse of a moose out in the back of
Girdwood, but we had no such luck.
Our guide, Erica was about 5ft nothing,
had a constant smile and a flash of
purple in her hair. Despite her small
stature she was skillful at handling a
snowmobile and super experienced in
the outdoors.
We had hoped to join the glacier tour,
however the conditions did not allow it
so we joined their scenic tour that took
us through private trails in the Chugach
Mountains. After an hour or so of riding
around we stopped for some reindeer
"the northern
lights shone
bright over
alyeska
resort -
unfortunately
we were
asleep!"
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