Snowmaking equipment expands Skeetawk’s ability to serve outdoor rec enthusiasts

For decades, Mat-Su Borough ski buffs dreamed of downhill skiing at Hatcher Pass. Those dreams became reality in 2015, with a multi-phase plan to develop the facility that would become Skeetawk.

Two years later, after some successful fund-raising by the nonprofit organization that runs the operation, development began to transform the mountainside into a functioning ski facility. By spring of 2022, the ski lift and warming huts put a bit of a finishing touch on the effort.

Under the direction of a volunteer board of directors, Skeetawk has one year-round professional staff member – General Manager Megan Justus – and a crew of seasonal staff to work alongside volunteers to operate and develop the facility further. A $1.55 million grant in December from the Mat-Su Health Foundation gave that development a big boost.

Justus said the grant, along with a second one from the Rasmuson Foundation, provided the financial support to add snowmaking infrastructure at Skeetawk, ensuring that alpine recreation will be available to the community even during less-than-ideal snow conditions. It also builds a stronger early season snow base, which allows for additional programming at the ski area, like competitions and expanded terrain park services.

“Skeetawk’s Snowmaking system is uniquely designed to support, not just future expansion of the snowmaking infrastructure to service more terrain, but also to incorporate hydroelectric generating technology during non-snowmaking seasons,” Justus said. “This technology will offset operational costs for the ski area, and support sustainable energy initiatives for Skeetawk and local partners.”

The nonprofit Mat-Su Health Foundation, originally created as the Valley Hospital in 1948, has been making investments like this in community health and wellness since 2007, when it became part owner of the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. Since that time, while working to ensure the hospital continues to meet the needs of a diverse and growing population, the Foundation has channeled more than $160 million of its share of hospital profits back into the community through scholarships, sponsorships, and grants to nonprofit organizations around the Valley.

“Without the grants, we would not have completed this critical project,” she said. “Skeetawk would not exist without the overwhelming support of our community.”

In addition to the economic benefits that a destination ski facility brings to the Mat-Su, the added options for outdoor recreation bring a host of other benefits to the community. Justus noted the capacity of exercise to reduce rates of depression, substance abuse, suicide, obesity, and diabetes, as well as creating a healthier, happier community.

“We believe that by bringing year-round, affordable outdoor recreation to the residents of the Mat-Su valley, we are helping elevate the mental health and physical health of kids and adults,” she said. “Everything we do is to promote safe outdoor recreation, education, and healthy lifestyles for our community.”

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