Industry News
According to the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), 486 ski resorts operated in the United States during the 2023-24 season. Those numbers do not include the non-profit ski resorts, which are much harder to quantify. This is due to the difficulty of classifying these ski areas; therefore, the exact number of non-profit ski resorts is unknown. Several dozen non-profit ski areas are estimated to be currently operating in the United States.
At least five non-profit ski resorts operate in Alaska: Artic Valley, Hilltop Ski Area, Fairbanks Ski Land, Mt. Eyak Ski Area, and Skeetawk Ski Area. These local hills are beloved in their communities and foster a family-friendly environment for children, new skiers and riders. These ski areas operate under non-profit models, often supported by local communities, volunteer efforts, or municipal organizations. Skeetawk Ski Area at Hatcher Pass has a development plan that includes major upgrades and terrain expansion to their community ski area, making it the second-largest ski resort in Alaska when completed.
The history and story of how Skeetawk came to be is about locals coming together, which began over 40 years ago. Skeetawk is located within Hatcher Pass, a hydro-pass management area largely governed by the state and the federal government, according to Megan Justus, Skeetawk’s General Manager. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Bureau of Land Management took that land and gave it to the state of Alaska. At that time, Skeetawk’s land was designated as land that could only be developed into an alpine ski area. Therefore, no hotels, condos, or anything of that nature at all would be permitted.
Since then, many companies and groups have tried to take the lease and develop it, with none being successful. “For the next 40 years, people have been trying and failing to get this [Skeetawk] off the ground,” Justus said in a video call with SnowBrains. “It was just this pipe dream that everybody talked about, and it was like, it could happen, it will happen, but it never happened.” That all changed in 2015 when a woman and her husband, who were both ski patrollers at Mammoth Mountain, moved to Alaska.
The couple ended up working in town, heard about the potential of the land for development into a ski resort, and put up a flyer at a local coffee shop. In typical non-profit fashion, the flyer just said, “If you want to help build a ski area, come to the coffee shop at this ‘time,'” Justus said. The people who attended the meeting were locals in professions like engineers, construction workers, and business people. The group formed a non-profit organization called Hatcher Alpine Xperience (HAX) and came up with the current development plan.
Skeetawk Ski Area Facts and Stats:
- Established: 2015
- Base Elevation: 1,450 feet
- Summit Elevation: 1,750 feet
- Vertical: 300 feet
- Skiable Acres: 30
- Trails: 12
- Beginner: 3
- Intermediate: 4
- Expert: 3
- Terrain Park: 1
- Lift: 1-triple
- Snowcats: 2 Groomers and 1 Cabin Cat
Hatcher Alpine Xperience (HAX), Doing Business As (Skeetawk), was incorporated as a non-profit organization and signed a 40-year lease agreement with the MatSu Borough for the property. Skeetawk’s development plan would increase its skiable terrain from 30 to over 1,100 acres. That would make Skeetawk the second largest ski resort in Alaska by skiable acres, only behind Alyeska, which has 1,610 acres of skiable terrain. Initial cost estimates for Skeetawk Ski Area’s Development Plan range from $50 million to $75 million, not including the proposed snow tubing park and campground area.
HAX is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is working to develop, operate, and maintain the alpine ski area in planned steps and phases. An economic analysis of Skeetawk’s total buildout was completed in 2024. Skeetawk has completed phase 1a of its plan and is continuing fundraising for snowmaking, a day lodge, and phase 1b. The final phase of the development plan is scheduled to be completed in 2035. Skeetawk’s goal is to become a year-round facility, supporting skiing and snowboarding in the winter months, hiking and mountain biking trails in the summer months, after-school ski and snowboard lessons for youth, and outdoor safety education.
Skeetawk completed Phase 1a of its development plan in 2019. This plan included installing a triple chairlift, giving skiers access to 30 skiable acres, cutting trails, expanding parking, a ticket booth, a warming hut, a snowcat storage building, signage, and portable restrooms. This allowed Skeetawk to open in the winter of 2019-20 with groomed trails. It improved its ski area throughout that year, developing backcountry facilities, clearing more trails, and more parking and restroom facilities at trailheads. Skeetawk opened to the public in the winter of 2020-21 when its new ski lift area opened.
In the summer of 2020, it received financial support from dozens of businesses, private foundations, and government agencies that were necessary to fund its development plan. From 2021 to 2024, Skeetawk continued to build and develop facilities, infrastructure, and services at the mountain. This ranged from a new Ski Patrol building, indoor customer service area, ski area lights for night skiing, indoor bathrooms, safety courses, and the addition of a snowcat.
The following Project Development Plan outlines the future development of the Skeetawk Ski Area. It was created using multiple organizations’ years of research and planning, such as the State of Alaska’s Hatcher Pass Management Plan and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough’s Hatcher Pass—Government Peak Unit Asset Management & Development Plan. Skeetwak will utilize these resources as a guiding force for future development. Skeetawk stated it has a proven history of efficiently administering quality projects in Phase 1a and intends to continue this practice for the future projects of Phase 1b and Phase 2 outlined in the Development Plan.
Phase 1b consists of eight projects that are planned to start and be completed between 2024 and 2029. Those projects include a bus-accessible road, a surface lift, improving its electrical infrastructure, adding snowmaking equipment, a day lodge, cutting trails and expanding terrain, adding a basic avalanche mitigation explosive program, and adding a second lift to access the mid-mountain and will be the most expensive of Skeetawk’s Phase 1b projects.
Adding any lift infrastructure to a mountain is not cheap, and Skeetawk’s mid-mountain lift is estimated to cost between $14 and $18 million. The eight-person detachable gondola will allow guests access to over 500 acres of intermediate and advanced terrain. The mile-long lift will run from the Skeetawk base area to the Saddle at the tree line. Quotes have been received from Leitner-Poma, Doppelmayr, and Pro Alpin for the gondola. The ultimate lift capacity will be 2,400 people per hour, which will be phased in slowly to lower the initial entry cost.
The reason Skeetawk went with a gondola is because the summer tourism market in the area is popular. “Alaska has a huge tourism market. Hatcher Pass is an incredibly attractive place for tourists,” Justus said. The idea is that strong summer tourism revenue would help pay off Skeetawk’s debt and, therefore, keep pass prices lower for the local skiers and snowboarders in the winter.
Phase 2 of Skeetawk’s Development Plan, which includes six projects, is scheduled to start in 2029 and be completed by 2035. Those six projects include installing a Remote Avalanche Control System, adding two more lifts, a mid-mountain chalet, a snow tubing area, and an RV campground. The two lifts are estimated to cost between $13.5 and $19.5 million to install and provide more access to the mountain and backcountry terrain.
The mid-mountain chalet will be used for guests to eat and warm up and also provide additional space for ski patrol and maintenance use. Until the permanent chalet can be built, Skeetawk can utilize the base-area Day Lodge and Education Center solution, which can easily be relocated from the base area to the mid-mountain. This facility is designed for both locations and will incrementally increase customer amenities across the mountain in the most cost-effective manner.
Alaska is known for its world-class backcountry terrain, and Skeetawk has plenty of it. Throughout the phases of Skeetawk’s Development Plan, backcountry access will remain open to the public. Skeetawk’s backcountry area is not patrolled, and no avalanche mitigation is being performed. This backcountry area gives guests exclusive access to the Phase 1b (mid-mountain terrain) area via Skeetawk’s cabin snowcat. Guests can expect four plus hours of skiing and riding, capturing 6,000-8,000 feet of vertical in a day. “We have the cheapest cat skiing seats in the country. The most expensive price is $295 [a person],” Justus said.
According to Justus, Skeetawk’s backcountry terrain will distinguish it from other resorts in Alaska. The terrain has something for everyone and plenty for intermediate skiers. “When we are fully developed, we will offer wide, level groomers, like the Alps, where it’s that flowy connected intermediate terrain for people,” Justus said. Alaska lacks intermediate terrain for skiers, according to Justus. Skeetwawk isn’t just geared for all beginners and intermediate skiers, though. She stated there are some steep shoots on the backside of the mountain, and there is also great terrain for expert skiers.
Moving forward, Skeetawk will remain a community-driven ski area directed by a volunteer board of directors and managed by professional recreation and ski industry leaders. The key to Skeetawk’s continued success and future is keeping the community involved. Non-profit communities have always had a strong sense of ownership of their ski areas. The local community has been very supportive of Skeetawk and its development. “I cannot say enough good things about this community,” Justus said.
From the start, the plan has been to keep the community in mind. Skiing is an expensive sport, and Justus values keeping it affordable to the community’s residents and families. That also transcends to the residents who are current or future mountain employees. “A lot of our employees right now are homegrown Alaskans, and we want them to be able to work here for as long as they want with a livable wage. Many of those decision-making factors drive what we do,” Justus said.
Having a land lease that does not allow housing, hotels, or lodging on it may seem like a detriment to some ski resorts, but not at Skeetawk. “We’re really happy about that. We have no desire to run a hotel to start with, but [Skeetawk] not being able to provide those amenities opens the door for other businesses to be able to step up and start hotels or start bed-n-breakfasts or run restaurants nearby,” Justus said. Supporting the community is vital to any non-profit ski resort’s success. That means keeping prices down for the community and its residents. “We want to keep our pass prices affordable to people, no matter their economic positions, as much as we can,” Justus said.
Skeetawk’s Mission Statement is to develop and maintain a regional alpine ski area in Hatcher Pass to promote safe outdoor recreation, education, and healthy lifestyles. Justus and the team at Skeetawk are focused on being a community-oriented ski area. We exist to provide a healthy option for our community, and we have a big task ahead of us. “Our mission statement is not just words on a page; it guides everything that we do,” Justus said.
For more information, visit Skeetawk’s website.
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