Alyeska Resort
Alyeska Resort | |
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magic carpets | |
Lift capacity | 10,335 per hour |
Snowfall | 650 in (1,650 cm) - top 512 in (1,300 cm) - mid 208 in (530 cm) - base |
Snowmaking | 113 acres (0.46 km2) |
Night skiing | Thu–Sat (4–9 pm) nightly (late Dec to early Jan) |
Website | alyeskaresort.com |
Alyeska Resort is a ski resort in the Girdwood area of Anchorage, Alaska, approximately 30 miles (48 km) from downtown Anchorage. Mount Alyeska is part of the Chugach mountain range and the Alyeska Resort is the largest ski area in the state. It includes the mountaintop Mt. Alyeska Roundhouse, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Facilities and terrain
Mt. Alyeska Roundhouse | |
Girdwood, Alaska | |
Coordinates | 60°57′42″N 149°4′50″W / 60.96167°N 149.08056°W |
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Built | 1960 |
NRHP reference No. | 02000562[1] |
Added to NRHP | November 5, 2003 |
The Alyeska Ski Corporation was founded in 1954, and the first
Currently, Alyeska has five
Chair 4 ends halfway up the mountain. The tram ends three-quarters of the way up the mountain. The interconnected buildings contain the Roundhouse (patrol quarters), and a much newer facility housing the upper tram terminal, a quick-service cafeteria, and the Seven Glaciers 4-star restaurant and bar. At the base of the tram is the modern 300-room Hotel Alyeska.
Chair 6 goes to the highest lift served point on the mountain at 2,750 feet (840 m). Several areas above Chair 6 are occasionally opened, but require hiking to access. Plans to build a new chair lift higher up the mountain have been announced.
Mount Alyeska is a fairly challenging mountain, and has a much higher percentage of advanced and expert runs, as compared to most other mountains in North America. It has a small section for the novice, but the rest of the mountain is almost entirely for the intermediate and the advanced skiers.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Turnagain_Arm_seen_from_Mount_Alyeska_.jpg/220px-Turnagain_Arm_seen_from_Mount_Alyeska_.jpg)
Terrain Aspects
- North: 35%
- West: 40%
- East: 0%
- South: 25%
Source:[3]
Racing
Alyeska hosted
American Olympic gold medalist Tommy Moe (b. 1970) sharpened his racing skills at Alyeska as a teenager in the 1980s.[6]
New owner
Alyeska was bought in December 2006 by
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Mount_Alyeska.jpg/500px-Mount_Alyeska.jpg)
Climate
Alyeska has a subarctic climate (Köppen: Dfc), with short but mild summers and long, snowy winters. Snowfall is extremely heavy, owing to the Aleutian Low, with an average year getting 209 inches (530 cm) of snow at the base (elevation 250 feet above sea level) and an average exceeding 650 inches (17 meters) at the top of the Glacier Bowl Express (GBX) chairlift. The record annual snowfall measured at the top of the GBX is 939 inches (23.9 meters) during the 2000–01 season. Precipitation in general is heavy, but is considerably less from late spring to mid- summer. A freeze has been recorded for every month of the year.
Climate data for Alyeska Ski Resort, 1991−2020 normals, extremes 1963−present | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 57 (14) |
53 (12) |
57 (14) |
67 (19) |
78 (26) |
85 (29) |
89 (32) |
88 (31) |
73 (23) |
63 (17) |
51 (11) |
50 (10) |
89 (32) |
Mean maximum °F (°C) | 42.0 (5.6) |
42.9 (6.1) |
45.6 (7.6) |
54.4 (12.4) |
68.0 (20.0) |
75.7 (24.3) |
77.3 (25.2) |
75.3 (24.1) |
65.7 (18.7) |
54.5 (12.5) |
44.5 (6.9) |
41.2 (5.1) |
79.1 (26.2) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 27.1 (−2.7) |
31.4 (−0.3) |
35.7 (2.1) |
45.5 (7.5) |
55.4 (13.0) |
63.8 (17.7) |
66.5 (19.2) |
64.5 (18.1) |
56.3 (13.5) |
44.4 (6.9) |
32.7 (0.4) |
29.4 (−1.4) |
46.1 (7.8) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 22.0 (−5.6) |
25.4 (−3.7) |
27.6 (−2.4) |
37.1 (2.8) |
46.2 (7.9) |
54.2 (12.3) |
58.1 (14.5) |
56.0 (13.3) |
48.5 (9.2) |
38.0 (3.3) |
27.4 (−2.6) |
24.3 (−4.3) |
38.7 (3.7) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 16.8 (−8.4) |
19.3 (−7.1) |
19.5 (−6.9) |
28.7 (−1.8) |
37.0 (2.8) |
44.7 (7.1) |
49.6 (9.8) |
47.6 (8.7) |
40.8 (4.9) |
31.5 (−0.3) |
22.2 (−5.4) |
19.2 (−7.1) |
31.4 (−0.3) |
Mean minimum °F (°C) | −5.0 (−20.6) |
0.0 (−17.8) |
4.0 (−15.6) |
16.1 (−8.8) |
29.8 (−1.2) |
37.2 (2.9) |
43.0 (6.1) |
39.1 (3.9) |
29.6 (−1.3) |
17.2 (−8.2) |
3.7 (−15.7) |
−0.9 (−18.3) |
−7.4 (−21.9) |
Record low °F (°C) | −30 (−34) |
−24 (−31) |
−18 (−28) |
−2 (−19) |
24 (−4) |
31 (−1) |
32 (0) |
30 (−1) |
17 (−8) |
2 (−17) |
−15 (−26) |
−18 (−28) |
−30 (−34) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 7.34 (186) |
6.57 (167) |
5.37 (136) |
5.25 (133) |
3.99 (101) |
2.21 (56) |
2.66 (68) |
4.86 (123) |
8.26 (210) |
7.78 (198) |
7.65 (194) |
8.98 (228) |
70.92 (1,800) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 37.4 (95) |
36.6 (93) |
37.5 (95) |
9.6 (24) |
1.2 (3.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
8.1 (21) |
29.9 (76) |
54.2 (138) |
214.5 (545) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 18.9 | 17.7 | 15.9 | 15.9 | 14.2 | 11.9 | 14.4 | 16.8 | 19.6 | 18.8 | 18.3 | 21.8 | 204.2 |
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 11.0 | 10.7 | 9.9 | 3.9 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 2.7 | 9.3 | 14.0 | 62.0 |
Source 1: WRCC[8] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: NOAA[9] |
See also
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Home". Roundhouse at Alyeska Museum.
- ^ Best Ski Resorts, ZRankings. "ZRankings Topographical Survey, Alyeska". ZRankings. ZRankings. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ Terrell, Roy (April 15, 1963). "Cool skiing in sun-baked Alaska". Sports Illustrated. p. 54.
- ^ "Alyeska to host U.S. Alpine Championships in 2009". Ski Racing.com. July 7, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
- ^ "VerticalFeet.com-Accurate Ski Resort Ranking with monthly updates".
- ^ Polk, Leroy; Palsha, Rebecca (October 9, 2018). "'We'll see what happens'; Girdwood locals react to Alyeska Resort's sale".
- ^ "Period of Record Climate Summary". Western Regional Climate Center. Retrieved on October 6, 2022
- ^ "U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved on October 6, 2022.
External links
- Official website
- Powder Tour Social Community - Member submitted Alyeska images