Skeetawk ready for winter season

Skeetawk in Hatcher Pass finished multiple large projects this summer in preparation for the ski and snowboard season. Users this winter will experience easier access to the mountain and infrastructure that will make the season more enjoyable for all. New improvements will prolong the season and open the ski area to new programming through races, partnerships and bringing outdoor recreation to more people.

“People are excited about it,” Skeetawk General Manager Megan Justus said. “This is a 40-year dream, having a ski area in the backyard of Palmer and Wasilla and the Mat-Su Borough. And to see it finally come to fruition is really exciting for a lot of people.”

A new access road funded by the Mat-Su Borough was completed to bring more students to the slopes. A 12% grade on the previous access road to the parking lot did not allow school buses to visit, which require an 8% grade or less.

“With this road, we’ve already seen some pretty substantial partnerships forming with the school district and we only expect that to grow year over year,” Justus said. “It’s a pretty exciting project to have checked off the list.”

Skiers in the beginner area at Skeetawk will experience a new surface lift that will bring them up the mountain to make repeated runs without the intimidation of riding a full-size lift. Similar to what might be found at the airport, the surface lift will provide beginners the ability to make multiple laps and practice new skills without having to climb to the top for each run.

Nine different businesses and individuals helped to fund the project.

“It just gives beginners the ability to do a lot of laps in the learning area and practice those elementary skills that you need to turn and stop and all those things before they actually get onto the slopes and onto the chairlift and in some more precarious terrain,” Justus said.

Perhaps the largest project of the year was installing nine permanent “fan guns” and 11 mobile units to provide snow making capabilities. This has the capability to prolong the season and keep runs open in case of poor weather conditions. The infrastructure was established in lift-served terrain with the capability to move further up the mountain in the future. The project was funded by both the Mat-Su Health Foundation and the Rasmuson Foundation.

Not only will the snow making infrastructure help expand the season and lessen impacts of poor weather, it will also allow for Skeetawk to host ski racing and competitions into the future.

Plans for an expansion of their lift accessible area were announced this fall with the release of their campaign to install a second lift to bring users further up the mountain. Over the next two summers, Skeetawk will be working to install an enclosed, detachable-gondola system that will be used for year-round recreation. This mile-long lift will open up an additional 500 acres of access for a growing number of users. More information on their second lift installation and how to help raise funds for this multi-million dollar project can be found on their website.

“It’s one of these projects that is really exciting,” Justus said. “It sounds really daunting. It is achievable, but it’s only going to be achievable if our community rallies and actually lends their support to this project.”

The yurt cafe at Skeetawk remained open during the summer season for the first time ever while their partnering food truck served visitors during the warmer months. Hikers and trail runners could grab a coffee or a bite to eat after accessing new terrain made possible by the new system of trails that connected to the alpine. Users could now access Frostbite Ridge, Government Peak, a series of alpine lakes and beyond. Having trail access in the summer allowed users to spread out more throughout Hatcher Pass when overcrowding can be an issue at peak times, Justus explained.

“Once we released that information to the public, we saw a huge increase in users,” Justus said. “It was very positively received by the community.”

In addition to their day ski rentals, season-long ski rentals are now made possible by a growing fleet of equipment. Those interested can reserve skis online and get fitted for them on site. This new opportunity will provide growing families with the ability to hit the mountain without having to purchase new equipment each year and beginners with a cheaper option to try out a new sport.

Skeetawk’s cat-skiing opportunity was popular last year and will continue to provide users with access to backcountry terrain. For those looking to test their skills off of the maintained runs, skiers and snowboarders can use the Skeetawk parking lot and designated backcountry access route to utilize the terrain outside of the mitigation area. Users do so at their own risk.

“I am just really excited to welcome our customers back,” Justus said. “Last year was a bit of a gloomy winter even if you weren’t a skier or a snowboarder. It was definitely not the most ideal winter. We’ve done a lot to recover from that. I think everybody is just really excited for a good year to get their skis out and to have a really positive experience and we’re really looking forward to hosting that for them.”