jojo_obrien
Member
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I've been pretty lame in posting TR's.....so here is my season ending report.
This was my first season skiing AK.
The season started in November...and it started out quite well.
It's been truly, an epic season. Every single time I've been on the mountain it's been very very good to EPIC (light blower powder snow shooting over my head).
Alyeska is fine (it's not nearly as big as PCMR or Alta/Bird), but it does offer some great terrain.
I skiied every weekend up here ......some random thoughts on each month:
December -- beautiful, cold, sun is VERY low in the sky, the entire mountain does not see the sun (its all "shade" skiing). The light is extremely flat and contrast is a real, real challenge.
January -- probably the coldest......sub zero temps. I dropped a lot of coin on good gear and I was happy as a clam. I'm a big fan of Mountain Hardware now...but thats another story. January had some beautiful days.....
February -- had some EPIC days in Feb. Blower powder bluebird, where's my snorkel? At the end of the day, if it's bluebird....on the weekend......the goods will be tracked up quickly. From there it takes more and more effort to get to the goods. (Like all places, I suppose).
March -- this is the good part pecker....the mountain is starting to get light and visibility is awesome. The temps are warming up (10 to 25 deg F). I really really loved March. I'm so used to being able to see the sun when I ski (being from SoCal and all).......I was so happy to ski in the sun.
Terrain -- I skiied the "North Face" a LOT. It offers some great bowl like terrain w/ some steep chutes. It is accessible by the tram and the main lift, Chair 6. Other sick areas include "Max's" (insane tree skiing) and "High and Low Traverse/Shadows". There is some REALLY steep stuff that just opened in March. Unfortunately this requires a beacon and...I don't have a beacon. Avalanches are very common in AK........ The terrain here offers something from everyone....beginner to charger/expert.
Complaints: I dont like the lifts very much. There are essentially 1 tram and 2 lifts. There is one high speed quad and one low speed quad. The tram offers a fairly impressive vertical gain but....on a good day.....expect to wait 20+ min for 2-3 carloads. The low speed quad really limits access to parts of the mountain - there is word it will be replaced by a high speed next year. It would really make the mountain better.
Culture/Apres Ski -- Girdwood is a bit of a hippie town...replete w/ ski bums and hippies. Not that many women....there is one bar where people go afterwards and.......it's filled w/ ....Alaskan men......! I'll leave it at that.....
Tickets -- Season passes are outrageous at $1400 but they got you where they want you (only one resort near Anchorage).......alternatively 10 packs are avail for $500.
All in all....it's been an EPIC season (may finish w/ 900")......I plan to hit up the resort for "Slush Cup" one last time. Other than that, I'm not a big fan of spring skiing (unless it involves bunnies skiing down in bikinis.....and I dont expect to see that up here in AK). Besides, I am looking forward to golfing........
jojo
I've been pretty lame in posting TR's.....so here is my season ending report.
This was my first season skiing AK.
The season started in November...and it started out quite well.
It's been truly, an epic season. Every single time I've been on the mountain it's been very very good to EPIC (light blower powder snow shooting over my head).
Alyeska is fine (it's not nearly as big as PCMR or Alta/Bird), but it does offer some great terrain.
I skiied every weekend up here ......some random thoughts on each month:
December -- beautiful, cold, sun is VERY low in the sky, the entire mountain does not see the sun (its all "shade" skiing). The light is extremely flat and contrast is a real, real challenge.
January -- probably the coldest......sub zero temps. I dropped a lot of coin on good gear and I was happy as a clam. I'm a big fan of Mountain Hardware now...but thats another story. January had some beautiful days.....
February -- had some EPIC days in Feb. Blower powder bluebird, where's my snorkel? At the end of the day, if it's bluebird....on the weekend......the goods will be tracked up quickly. From there it takes more and more effort to get to the goods. (Like all places, I suppose).
March -- this is the good part pecker....the mountain is starting to get light and visibility is awesome. The temps are warming up (10 to 25 deg F). I really really loved March. I'm so used to being able to see the sun when I ski (being from SoCal and all).......I was so happy to ski in the sun.
Terrain -- I skiied the "North Face" a LOT. It offers some great bowl like terrain w/ some steep chutes. It is accessible by the tram and the main lift, Chair 6. Other sick areas include "Max's" (insane tree skiing) and "High and Low Traverse/Shadows". There is some REALLY steep stuff that just opened in March. Unfortunately this requires a beacon and...I don't have a beacon. Avalanches are very common in AK........ The terrain here offers something from everyone....beginner to charger/expert.
Complaints: I dont like the lifts very much. There are essentially 1 tram and 2 lifts. There is one high speed quad and one low speed quad. The tram offers a fairly impressive vertical gain but....on a good day.....expect to wait 20+ min for 2-3 carloads. The low speed quad really limits access to parts of the mountain - there is word it will be replaced by a high speed next year. It would really make the mountain better.
Culture/Apres Ski -- Girdwood is a bit of a hippie town...replete w/ ski bums and hippies. Not that many women....there is one bar where people go afterwards and.......it's filled w/ ....Alaskan men......! I'll leave it at that.....
Tickets -- Season passes are outrageous at $1400 but they got you where they want you (only one resort near Anchorage).......alternatively 10 packs are avail for $500.
All in all....it's been an EPIC season (may finish w/ 900")......I plan to hit up the resort for "Slush Cup" one last time. Other than that, I'm not a big fan of spring skiing (unless it involves bunnies skiing down in bikinis.....and I dont expect to see that up here in AK). Besides, I am looking forward to golfing........
jojo
