Snow to Alaska

Location, location, location. Those are magic words to the real estate agent. They’re also a limit on some ski areas.

Take Alaska, for example. It has plenty of snow, and it’s a good destination for heli-skiing. But that’s a small segment of the snowboard and ski market. But what about the person who limits himself or herself to lift-served terrain? Would it be worth the trouble to go to Alaska?

The distance between the lower 48 and Alaska is one challenge facing Alyeska Resort, according to this AP story printed in the Argus Argus Observer (“Aspen, Whistler, check. Where to ski next? Alaska?”)

The Alyeska Resort, long considered a niche venue for locals and adventure skiers, is undergoing a $25 million expansion to lure larger groups of winter vacationers, families especially, to the peaks of south-central Alaska.

The resort’s owner, a wealthy real estate investor and self-professed ski junkie from Utah, has stoked big changes at the Girdwood institution, from new conveyor-belt lifts for beginners and snowmaking machines, to refurbished guest rooms and healthier restaurant menus.

John Byrne III, who bought the resort last year, is also negotiating with the U.S. Forest Service to build a lift that would open hundreds of acres of raw terrain in the Chugach Mountains to highly skilled off-piste skiers and snow boarders.

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The resort also faces the challenge of convincing people that the long, and often expensive, trip is worthwhile. From Seattle, the flight to nearby Anchorage takes upwards of three hours and bypasses Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada, a top ski destination with 8,100 acres of premium runs and the well-established shopping and nightlife that Girdwood lacks.

Alyeska has the novelty factor for most people, so it’s a destination for those of us who have a goal of riding in every state with snow, or hitting up 300 destinations or something like that. But that’s a limited market.

There’s also the altitude factor: With a base village at sea level, the resort is a good place for people with altitude sickness. Then again, there are plenty of places with a fairly low elevation that will serve just as well, including the Utah resorts and Whistler Blackcomb.

So what’s to entice the average ski and riding family from outside Alaska to make the trip? You could look at the larger scene, such as the Iditarod or big game hunting.

If you have to travel a thousand miles and bypass some excellent resorts in the process … will you go?