In a part of the world famous for its snow and magnificent mountains, I was quite surprised to learn that there is only one ski resort in all of Alaska.
There is more than one place to ski, of course, but the Alyeska Resort in south-central Alaska is the only place considered a proper resort –- you know, with rooms at the base of the ski lift and snow bunnies frolicking in the hot tubs.
The only problem is that few people outside of Alaska even know about its existence. But that’s all about to change according to a recent article in USA Today. That’s because the owners of the resort are investing $25 million to expand and improve facilities and to re-groom the 1,400 acres of trail to create more friendly slopes (currently 37% of the trails are black diamonds –- good news for hard core skiers but rather scary for amateurs such as myself).
Although the resort still remains “off the radar” in the lower 48, it’s only 40 miles south of Anchorage and therefore rather easy to get to. Perhaps not as easy as Whistler, for example, but it is still worth the journey before everyone else discovers it.