Girdwood and Alyeska Resort
We are lucky, in Anchorage, to boast a top notch ski area just 45 minutes away. Girdwood is officially part of the Municipality of Anchorage. Alyeska Mountain reaches a height of 3939 feet. The highest lift goes to about 2500 feet. The base elevation is just 250 feet above sea level. That means no elevation sickness when you ski here.
They get plenty of snow too, with an average of over 500 inches a year, sometimes upward of 900 inches. The Resort has a tramway and was recently purchased by an investor. They spent the summer putting in new snow making equipment. They are rennovating the rooms at the hotel. There are big plans in the works to replace lifts and make major improvements to the apres ski areas as well.
In general, it is just a good place to ski. The lift line are short. There is a tubing park and a groomed 1/2 pipe for the boarders. The tramway gets you from the bottom of the mountain to (almost) the top in 7 warm minutes. The terrain is steep and challenging enough for the tough skiers with plenty of intermediate terrain for people like me. They are adding new areas for beginners, which will improve the resort even more.
There are plenty of other activities available from the resort. Among them are: Nordic skiing on groomed trails, snow machining, snow shoeing, ice skating, dog mushing, heli & snowcat skiing, and flightseeing.
