Alyeska - info hard to find?

Anyone ever been? I am finding a strange lack of information on the interwebs after a few searches.

How do you get from the Anchorage to the resort? Do you have to rent a car?

Where do people recommend staying?

Any experiences with dining and night life?

How cold will it be in mid-March? (I've heard that its not as cold as you think -- that true?)

Anyone know anything about their snow? What other resorts does it compare to? Do they typically get snow later in the spring/mid-March?

I don't know anything about it, other than it looks pretty sick at the beginning of this video:
http://www.salomonfreeski.com/others/freeski-tv.aspx?ep=6#player

I know that's not much help, but it is some added stoke.

jaywbigred said:

How cold will it be in mid-March? (I've heard that its not as cold as you think -- that true?)

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Coastal AK will not be as cold as you would think-- at least not that dry deep cold of the interior. The proximity to the ocean often moderates temperature (but increases snowfall). I've only been to Girdwood at the end of summer, but the mountain looks wonderful with a lot of exciting terrain.

jaywbigred said:

Anyone ever been? I am finding a strange lack of information on the interwebs after a few searches.

How do you get from the Anchorage to the resort? Do you have to rent a car?

Where do people recommend staying?

Any experiences with dining and night life?

How cold will it be in mid-March? (I've heard that its not as cold as you think -- that true?)

Anyone know anything about their snow? What other resorts does it compare to? Do they typically get snow later in the spring/mid-March?

Click to expand...

My wife and I spent a few nights down there on our honeymoon. That was late June, so I can only answer a couple of your questions.

I think the airport and/or the resort has a shuttle, but we had a rental car. It's pretty easy to get there, but I don't know what the road is like in the winter. It runs south from Anchorage, right along the water, and the turnoff to Girdwood is pretty obvious. It's not a very long trip, so if you do have to rent a car, you won't put many miles on it.

We spent one night at the Alyeska Prince, which is where the tram loads from. Very nice place. At the very least, pop in there for some apres-ski. Then we spent 2 nights at a condo that was very close to slopeside, off on the right hand side of the mountain. It was a very nice place - lots of room, hot tub, quiet street.

For dining, the only place we really ate at in Girdwood was a little bakery that was close to the end of the access road. I don't remember the name, off the top of my head. But when you're heading in, just before the road ends and you have to go left or right, there is a bakery on the right that made a killer breakfast. Highly recommended, assuming it's still there.

Jay:

I have a skiing friend who was up there last year. He said he really enjoyed it. I haven't seen him yet this year because obviously the mountain hasn't been open but when I do I'll ask him about it and relay any info I can to you.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

jaywbigred said:

Anyone ever been? I am finding a strange lack of information on the interwebs after a few searches.

How do you get from the Anchorage to the resort? Do you have to rent a car?

Where do people recommend staying?

Any experiences with dining and night life?

How cold will it be in mid-March? (I've heard that its not as cold as you think -- that true?)

Anyone know anything about their snow? What other resorts does it compare to? Do they typically get snow later in the spring/mid-March?

Click to expand...

1) You might want to pop over to epicski.com and ask the question there. That board has a more varied geographic representation of skiers over the entire country instead of mostly northeast.

2) Last year at JH, I met a guy from Anchorage and skied with him for a few days. He told me there's regular ski bus on weekends. Or just call up the resort and ask them directly?

3) "Night life"? :roll: Even in summer, there's not much to speak of. So I highly suspect it.