Skeetawk set to open

HATCHER PASS — For the first time since 1972, a ski lift will take skiers to slopes in Hatcher Pass this winter at Skeetawk Ski Area.

The tentative date for opening of the lift has been set for Dec. 5, but more snow is needed to safely open the lift to the public. After organizing as Hatcher Alpine Xperience in 2015, a group of local volunteers has provided a ski lift in Hatcher Pass for skiers and snowboarders in the Mat-Su Valley.

“They’ve been hearing about this for 40 years and they’re ready for it to get going and excited that we’ve got a lift and ready to come out and we’ve sold quite a few season passes,” said Skeetawk General Manager Scott Patridge. “It’s going to be all about like, coming up here, getting outside, clicking your skis on, clicking your snowboard on and going for a ride.”

Partridge is one of the first paid employees hired to operate Skeetawk along with Mountain Director Brian McGorry who brings two decades of ski industry experience to Hatcher Pass. McGorry began skiing in Ohio before moving to Alaska 15 years ago. McGorry was hired last fall to take over as Skeetawk prepared to open in 2019. The 2019 opening did not happen and the COVID-19 pandemic has changed how ski lifts operate. Skeetawk ski lift riders will ride as individuals or with the family unit that they traveled with in compliance with National Ski Area Association policy. Masks will be required inside the yurt at Skeetawk and signs have been placed in the snow encouraging distancing in line for the lift.

“It was a great opportunity to kind of really take some of that experience that I had had and bring it to a part of the state that really needed it as far as taking the vision of the community to build a ski area that was kind of well underway, and so my role in the organization was mostly to take this finished product and bring it up to industry standard and so it’s actually been fun. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been a pretty rewarding experience,” said McGorry.

The Skeetawk Ski lift sits at 1,450 of elevation and will provide a 1,250-foot long run with 300 feet of