Ski club hosting special event

WASILLA — With snow rapidly accumulating in Hatcher Pass, it’s about time for area skiers to begin recharging their cross country batteries — or at least checking them.

The Mat-Su Ski Club is planning a “Moonlight Ski” tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Hatcher Pass.

According to ski club president Yvonne Sumner, the event is part of an ongoing effort by the club to stage group outings for area cross country enthusiasts. In fact, if the evening ski event goes well, Sumner said it could become a regular event.

“It’s one of the activities we’re hoping to do monthly on the full moon,” she said Thursday.

Skiers wishing to participate in tonight’s ski should show up at the beginning of the Independence Mine Visitor’s Center driveway (the A-frame) by 6:30 p.m. Interested skiers can also check the club’s Web site at www.matsuski.com for updates.

Sumner said the event will be a go unless the weather turns particularly nasty.

“If we had a bad blizzard or high winds, we’d cancel it,” she said.

The newly-formed ski club has been signing up new members throughout the fall, and the event is the first in several planned outings during the ski season. The group also has a couple ski clinics on its agenda in the coming weeks, as well as tentative plans to hold lunchtime ski events near town.

There is no cost for tonight’s moonlight ski, but Sumner said the ski club will be signing up new members at the event.

Membership in the ski club is $20 per person or $40 for a family, and includes free admission to two ski clinics, email updates on events and conditions, and a commemorative coffee mug.

“It’s a great deal,” Sumner said.

Tonight’s full moon should provide ample light for the evening ski session, though Sumner did recommend that skiers dress appropriately and might want to bring a headlamp — especially if it’s cloudy.

Conditions near the mine are already shaping up nicely, with area ski guru Ed Strabel dutifully grooming area trails on an almost daily basis. Strabel could not comment on the conditions Thursday afternoon — but only because he was busy on the slopes.

“He’s up there right now,” Strabel’s wife, Glynn, said from the family’s home near the pass Thursday afternoon.

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@

frontiersman.com