Spring snow at Skeetawk

HATCHER PASS — Skeetawk Ski area opened in December as the first lift-access skiing in Hatcher Pass in nearly 50 years, and have hit their stride as mid-season snow continues to fall on Hatcher Pass.

On Tuesday, nearly 200 members of the Mat-Su Ski and Snowboard Club enjoyed the slopes at Skeetawk as the first group to rent out the entire hill. After three months of operation and minimal difficulties, the staff at Skeetawk are finding their groove operating a low-cost ski lift in Hatcher Pass for families and backcountry enthusiasts alike to enjoy.

“We feel pretty good about what we’ve done. We feel really good about the product that’s out there, the lift lines, this is kind of your average day here where if you show up early right when we open you’re probably going to have 45 minutes to an hour with no lift lines,” said Skeetawk General Manager Scott Patridge. “The snow is a lot better. It’s spring skiing in Hatcher Pass, it’s snowing outside right now. The base is getting a little bit better, we’re getting better at running the organization and I think people have kind of figured out what the deal is up here and what to expect and people are coming out and having fun and getting their runs in.”

Skeetawk is just over the halfway point in their inaugural year operating in Hatcher Pass. Staff planned to operate the lift for 52 days during the winter and have delivered on all but two weekends, due to some technical difficulties with the lift. Partridge said that after staff heard a peculiar noise, a technician from the lift manufacturer traveled up to Hatcher Pass to assist in repairing pillow bearings to ensure the lift safety for riders. The lift was dormant for only four days that had been planned for operation and Skeetawk offered avalanche training and skier education in the parking lot for those skiers and snowboarders determined to ski the hill without the lift. King of the Mountain food truck has offered cuisine in the parking lot for much of the season and Birdhouse food truck will serve in the parking lot next weekend. Throughout the winter, trees around the trails have been trimmed and the “Happy Trail” named after former Hatcher Pass Lodge owner Hap Wurlitzer, who passed away last year, has now been opened as one of the 11 different runs available from the top of the lift. The “Happy Trail” offers a rugged course of moguls and hills for skiers and snowboarders at a black diamond difficulty and has become popular among experienced riders. On Tuesday, members of the Mat-Su Ski and Snowboard Club enjoyed the many features of the terrain park positioned at the top of the hill with jumps, boxes, and rails for riders seeking airborne thrills.

“It’s something special for sure because everyone that lives down in this area, they’re really stoked to make the short drive to come up here and to see their friends and to see their neighbors. It’s great,” said Patridge. “Hopefully tomorrow we’re going to let it snow a foot and then Thursday will be a powder day.”

Partridge’s prediction rang true and pillows of powder fell on Hatcher Pass on Wednesday and Thursday. Partridge says that Skeetawk has averaged over 100 riders per day, with typically 30 to 40 of those being season pass holders. The current iteration of the lift at Skeetawk is “phase 1a” and plans have been drawn up to build lifts that reach to the top of the mountains in Hatcher Pass eventually. Long term planning for improvements at Skeetawk include a variety of projects that are not limited to ski lifts, providing entertainment and education around the backcountry access in Hatcher Pass.

“The main things that we’re looking into right are some projects out there on the hill where we’re going to do like some excavation, work we’re looking to do some smoothing, some more alder clearing on the hill, we’re trying to get it to where we can groom our runs a little bit earlier and keep the snow better longer and make sure that people have nice good easy ways down with some grooming. We are looking at like possibly enclosing the underside of the yurt and turning that into a rental shop so we can get rentals to provide our students. We’re looking at getting a robust ski and ride school program going here,” said Patridge.

The nonprofit group Hatcher Alpine Experience formed over 5 years ago with the goal of providing a lift in Hatcher Pass, and have accomplished the first phase of their plans. Additionally, Skeetawk hopes to eventually provide snowmaking capabilities, lighting for night skiing, rope tows and magic carpets on the hill. Construction has begun on an outdoor stage for musical performances and Patridge says that Skeetawk staff have begun offering private lessons on an appointment basis, with hopes to hire more ski instructors. Skiers and snowboarders are still required to wear face coverings in lift lines as they wait for their chair lift, and the yurt at Skeetawk offers a small selection of backcountry accessories. Mountain Director Brian McGorry runs the ski patrol operation to ensure safety of skiers and snowboarders, and lift operators take pride in safely putting skiers and snowboarders on the chair lift at the bottom of the hill for their enjoyment once they reach the top.

“Between us we’ve just been trying to make this, make it run like a ski area and just make sure that everyone safe, everyone’s having a good time, that we’ve got a good product out there that the lift lines aren’t getting too long, you can get some food and we can have some kind of normalcy out there in an abnormal year and I think our staff’s been awesome. We’ve all been learning a lot,” said Patridge. “We’re always getting more experience and I think everybody that’s up here, their hearts in it and they like the community and they like Skeetawk and they just want to be able to see everyone come out and ski and have a good time.”