Alyeska AK, Conditions Report: Last licks & Weekend finale

A flippin’ good season at Alyeska, AK.
Ralph Kristopher photo

Today, Thursday, Alyeska Resort reminds us two-fold why we fell in love with snowsport and why we’ve kept at it all our lives. Sun was full, snow was bright and music played while friends and neighbors laughingly shared laps and swapped tales of this 2018 season gone by.

Mount Alyeska will CLOSE for skiing access Sunday, April 22nd, but memories of this shred season will stretch far longer. These last weeks have been nothing short of a holiday romance. Warming temps have softened top-to-bottom snowpack while longer light has meant more reason to linger over aprés beverages or evening bonfires. And everyone is family when the carpark’s all but empty.

Following the ski-lead of a fearless two yr-old, I stuck to Lower Mountain today. Runs mountain-wide were devoid of skier traffic and we found ourselves lapping untouched corduroy as late as 2pm.

Run, Blueberry Hill was of particular thrill to my wee-one as it opened with spacious S-turns before necessitating an all-out straight line to make the loading station.

Warm thanks to every hand to ever catch a chair.

Lifties generously dispersed High-Fives from the base of each chairlift, and at the nefarious gig spot, Sitzmark local favorite, Photonz played a warm up set to the delight of relaxing ski-bums.

In their way, it’s a shame that these soft, warm Alyeska days can’t last forever. Then again, maybe that’s what makes them so special.