Alaskans go DIY route to resuscitate old ski slope

Grassroots work applied to obtaining amenities

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Until the late 1970s, skiers bombed down runs at Hatcher Pass, cranked up the slopes by rope tows at Independence Mine.

The old-fashioned lifts disappeared, ushering in decades of corporate alpine resort proposals, which fizzled despite the proximity of population centers Palmer and Wasilla just a 30-minute drive away.

Now instead of a big resort backer, it’s a grassroots effort to restore liftserved skiing to Hatcher Pass that appears to be slowly moving ahead.

A family-oriented downhill area called Skeetawk is scheduled to open next winter.

The nonprofit group behind it has leveraged more than $1 million in grant funding with hefty local sponsorships and donations, along with $100,000 in startup funding from the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

The nonprofit, Hatcher Alpine Xperience, still needs about $750,000 more to make the first phase of the ski area happen, executive director Amy O’Connor said. But the group already has raised or received more than $1.3 million and bought a ski lift. The group has about 900 members, who make donations, but it is also looking for local sponsors.

If Skeetawk succeeds, it will become a rarity in North America: a new ski area even as established resorts, especially in the mountains of the West, battle a mix of public-lands permitting hurdles and diminishing snowpack linked to climate change.

The last new ski area in the U.S. was Utah’s Cherry Peak Ski Resort, which opened in 2015, according to the National Ski Areas Association.

“The creation of a totally new ski area is not common. That is for sure,” said association spokeswoman Adrienne Saia Isaac. “That’s pretty cool, because you don’t hear about it happening too often.”

Right now, Skeetawk’s slopes are dominated by sledders given access to the area on weekends and school holidays.

Skeetawk backers plan to start with a lift and build from there.

Plans for a first phase of development call for a 1,000-foot triple chair lift that rises about 300 feet and opens up about 30 acres of mostly beginner to intermediate terrain, with ski rental and food truck service. That’s what’s planned for next winter.

Six miles of downhill trails will be groomed starting in January, with help from a $13,000 grant from the borough, she said. There is a community terrain park build event scheduled for that month, too.

The new lift is expected to be installed this summer.

The next phase would involve a mile-long high-speed quad lift rising about 1,200 vertical feet that would open up about 600 acres of terrain.

Initially, there wouldn’t be a day lodge. Instead, O’Connor said, the plan is to build slowly with a ski school and rental shop, making use of a local food truck and espresso stand for concessions. A day lodge is planned in the second phase of development.

She said the group expects 75,000 to 100,000 skier days a season — that’s per trip rather than per person — with users coming from Mat-Su but also parts of Anchorage, Eagle River and Chugiak.

Loren Holmes The Associated Press Sledders scoot down a hill at Hatcher Pass near Palmer, Alaska. A family-oriented downhill area called Skeetawk, about 10 miles up the Hatcher Pass road, is scheduled to open next winter.