Downhill dreams

HATCHER PASS — For years, many of the Valley’s dedicated alpine skiers have looked at the slopes of Hatcher Pass, squinted a bit, and tried to picture a lift and runs — of any scale — that could put the region’s downhill potential into focus.

That idea has taken various forms in the past 30 years, but these days a determined nonprofit group is taking a grassroots approach that it hopes will provide alpine skiing opportunities for all ages.

In the last 15 years, attempts at a viable lift system, day lodge and snowmaking infrastructure in the area reached cost estimates in the tens of millions, and that capital was largely left to private or public ventures that didn’t pan out. Pieces of smaller-scale projects with various management structures also cycled through the Mat-Su Borough in the late 2000s, but those too faltered.

Enter Hatcher Alpine Xperience, a nonprofit formed in November 2015 that wants to take a steady, phased approach at getting a downhill ski area on the lower, eastern reaches of Government Peak and Peak 4068 off Mile 10.6 of Palmer Fishhook Road, said board chair Louisa Branchflower.

Instead of a commercial development, the all-volunteer Hatcher Alpine group envisions an area built from private donations, grants — and eventually lift fees — that would appeal to skiers of all ages and abilities.

The proposed terrain lies within the northern subunit of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough’s Government Peak Recreation Area. In recent years it has been used as mainly a borough-maintained sledding hill with a small cross-country skiing loop. It also has been an access point for backcountry skiers heading to the less avalanche-prone slopes in the area.

“People have been talking about this since at least 1980… and we are hopeful that this approach is going to be what brings people together for a ski area,” Branchflower said. “There are so many possibilities for a real community-led project.”

While the project is just now in its infancy, Branchflower said the eventual first phase for the 260-acre area would include a T-bar, high speed quad lift, daylodge, snowcat building and expanded parking and access facilities at the existing parking lot at Mile 10.6. Power is already accessible to the site, she said.

But for now, the group is racing the winter clock to complete the construction of a 2,400-square-foot Quonset-style building to house the group’s snowcat, which Branchflower said will be used to groom some downhill sections this winter. The foundation work for the building was funded by the Fishhook Community Council, she said, adding that the group is seeking other grant sources from the likes of the Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation.

Hatcher Alpine signed a management agreement this week with the borough, which will maintain the parking lot and provide a restroom.

The borough also could soon release $100,000 allocated to the group after a project review in October.

“Both the borough and assembly have been supportive,” Branchflower said.

Along with the grooming shed construction, the group is working on brushing out runs and is seeking donations to that end. She added the hope was to clear a mile of terrain before winter sets in.

“I costs around a dollar a foot for brush clearing,” she said, “so we are hoping to get some donations for that.”

The group got what Branchflower said were “two good responses” this year from Outside companies with regard to quotes on a T-bar, which will cost in the $450-$650,000 range.

“Realistically, we are a couple of years out on the lift,” she said. “It is just going to be a step-by-step process.”

Past debate for a commercial-scale operation in Hatcher Pass with condos and other ski village amenities centered on altering the backcountry flavor of the area. Branchflower said traditional backcountry skiing along with the Mile 16 run farther up Palmer Fishhook Road should be complemented by the alpine facility.

“We are working with the backcountry groups; this is a popular area when the avalanche danger gets high elsewhere,” she said, adding that the proppsed lifts could be viewed as an aid to get backcountry enthusiasts to their preferred, higher-slope runs faster. As for the popular Mile 16 run, Branchflower said having another alternative for that location is important to spread out the use.

“Most people who are up there in the winter know how much (vehicle) traffic gets generated with the skiers,” she said. “I think it can take some pressure off Mile 16 and give them something else to be excited about.”

The volunteer, grassroots nature of the project is one Branchflower said she hopes Valley residents will embrace.

“We will go as fast or as slow as the community wants us to go with this,” she said. “I think it is an Alaskan value to step up and take care of this ourselves instead of looking to state and borough governments — especially in these budget times — or commercial projects to move things forward.”

For more information on Hatcher Alpine Xperience, visit www.skihatcherpass.org

Contact reporter Steven Merritt at 352-2269 or steven.merritt@frontiersman.com