In Search of the Northern Lights

Alyeska Ski Resort

1.5.23 - 1.6.23 25 °F

We arrived just at sunset at about 4pm and checked into our room. The hotel is not full by any measure and there was only one of their four restaurants open - an Italian themed restaurant. I has the halibut which seemed the logical choice given where we are.

Today, we headed to the top of the mountain - about 2500 feet above sea level. The resort sits at 250 feet. Although it is the lowest ski resort in the US, it gets the most snow of any resort at more than 600 inches, compared to about 400 inches in Colorado or Park City. It is open 7 days a week until April and then on weekends until the snow is gone. Alyeska is part of the Chugach Mountains. The Chugach Mountains of southern Alaska are the northernmost of the several mountain ranges that make up the Pacific Coast Ranges of the western edge of North America. The range is about 250 miles long and 60 miles wide, and extends from the Knik and Turnagain Arms of the Cook Inlet on the west to Bering Glacier, Tana Glacier, and the Tana River on the east. It is bounded on the north by the Matanuska, Copper, and Chitina rivers. The highest point of the Chugach Mountains is Mount Marcus Baker, at 13,094 feet , but with an average elevation of 4,006 feet, most of its summits are not especially high.
Even so, its position along the Gulf of Alaska ensures more snowfall in the Chugach than anywhere else in the world, an annual average of over 1500 cm (800 in).