By Girdwood Parks and Recreation, Girdwood Trails Committee, Girdwood Nordic Ski Club

Girdwood is a magical wonderland in the winter because of the variety of activities available during this special time of the year. Ask any local, and most will say their favorite time of year is winter! Download a Girdwood Trails Winter Map or a map from the Girdwood Nordic Ski Club and get prepared to ski, walk, bike, or snowshoe on some of the best winter trails in Southcentral Alaska.

Starting a couple of years ago, narrow-gauge grooming was initiated around the perimeter of Moose Meadows and upper valley, on Winner Creek Trail, the Lower Iditarod Trail and part of the Beaver Pond Trail. Narrow-gauge grooming provides a great multi-use surface for walking, biking and skiing and is maintained as snow conditions allow.

Cross Country Skiing

The Girdwood Nordic Ski Club and Girdwood Parks and Rec volunteers groom diagonal and skate skiing lanes in Moose Meadow, some upper meadows, and the community’s Nordic 5K Loop.  Moose Meadow and the upper valley multi-use trails are groomed once the snow depth measures 16”. The Nordic 5K Loop is groomed once 6” of snow has collected on the trail. 

Moose Meadow is the ideal place to go if you are unsure of your ability or have small children who want to cross country ski. This multi-use trail is approximately 2K, slopes gently toward the middle of the valley, and has terrain that is most often soft and forgiving.  The ski trail is set wide enough to accommodate diagonal as well as skate skiers, and dogs are welcome. A headlamp can be handy on dark winter nights, but if the night skiing lights are on at Alyeska Mountain, try a lap without your headlamp. You’ll be amazed at how your eyes adjust and how well you can see. Stop for a minute and listen for owls, too!

Connector cross-country trails lead from the northwest end of Moose Meadow to the upper meadows, requiring a thrilling trip down Horror Hill. It is fine to side-step or walk down this hill.  Grooming through the upper valley meadows makes a great out-and-back ski, although if you like to go off-trail, you can ski through the trees and discover social trails and quiet meadows. 

Read the entire story here:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/enjoying-turnagain-arms-winter-wonderland

By Tim Lydon

TNews Contributor

 Girdwood is home to the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center, which provides daily Turnagain Pass avalanche forecasts from the Glacier Ranger District office. The center’s director, Wendy Wagner, recently shared updates with the Turnagain News.

TN: Southcentral Alaska has several avalanche programs. Do you all work together?

Wagner: We do. We have a close-knit network that includes avalanche professionals at the Department of Transportation, Alaska Railroad, and Chugach Electric, who work along the transportation and powerline corridors. There’s also the Alyeska Ski Resort and Chugach Powder Guides. We all communicate regularly, especially when conditions get interesting or scary. We also coordinate with the Alaska Avalanche School on outreach and keep our online platform consistent with the Hatcher Pass program since people might visit Turnagain one day and Hatcher the next.

TN: What’s new this year?

Wagner: The big news is we have two new positions on the Seward Ranger District. We’ll now have daily forecasts for Turnagain Pass, Summit Lake, and Seward/Lost Lake. With three zones, you might see different conditions across the areas. We’re also updating our website for greater consistency with the National Avalanche Center and others. It’ll be a new look, but it should be easy to navigate.

Read the entire story here:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/whats-new-at-the-chugach-avalanche-center

By David Nyman

TNews Contributor

For more than 40 years, two state agencies have kept a good record of avalanche forecasting, control and detection along Turnagain Arm and in the mountains above Alaska Railroad corridor to Seward. 

While avalanche control has relied on military surplus 105 mm howitzer artillery—big, booming cannons shooting at a snow pace—ammunition has become five times more expensive and harder to find.

Now, state agencies are exploring new technology to shear a dangerous snowpack before it becomes a dangerous and massive avalanche.

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/fire-in-the-hole

Girdwood Vote Key in His Election, Helps in Flipping House

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

Though November's election saw a Republican takeover of federal offices, a more local race that sent independent Ky Holland to Juneau had the effect of tilting the state house in a more progressive direction. 

Holland won District 9 which e. Girdwood overwhelmingly approved Holland and, he said, the margin not only gave him the win, but his election helped give a bipartisan coalition a slim majority in the state house.

Holland, 62, beat Republican Lucy Bauer by roughly 1,000 votes and will take over a seat vacated by Republican Laddie Shaw. Nearly 700 voters from Girdwood and Indian picked Holland on Election Day. 

Girdwood resident Lee Ellis withdrew from the race after a primary election and endorsed Holland. 

Holland said though the District, which encompasses Anchorage's hillside and stretches along Turnagain Arm to Whittier, is diverse—he called it "purple". He said many residents share the same views on issues like the economy, getting a secure natural gas source for home heating, and education. Holland's wife, Sharon, is a school librarian in Anchorage.

Read the entire store here:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/new-district-representative-holland-ready-to-get-to-work

District Slightly Favored Harris

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

Girdwood's voters chose Kamala Harris over Donald Trump, 70% to 22%, in the Nov. 5 election with 830 people showing up at the community center to fill in ballots. 

The election district containing Girdwood and Indian and which includes Anchorage's hillside and Whitter, District 9, also gave Harris the nod, but only by a fraction, 49.3% to 47.1%. 

Girdwood's total vote, including absentee and early voting ballots, is not included on the state Division of Elections' website, but the community typically votes heavily in favor of Democrats. 

In Girdwood, more votes in the U.S. House race fell to Mary Peltola, 75.4%, than to Nic Begich, 21.3%, though Begich would end up winning the total state vote.

Almost 600 Girdwoodians voted for Ballot Measure 1, which increases the state's minimum wage, then rejected it (208) and voters chose to reject a repeal of rank-choice voting 607-189.

Both measures would eventually go Girdwood's way in statewide totals.

And Girdwood helped bring independent Ky Holland to office. He beat Republican Lucy Bauer in a local Election Day vote of 609 to 176. Holland went on to win District 9 by just over 1,000 votes, 6,079 to 5091. 

Seventy-two percent of registered District 9 voters turned out for the election, a turnout that is among the highest of any district in the state.

The municipality of Anchorage also leaned blue, with Harris winning there with a one-point lead. 

Statewide results will be finalized at the end of the month.

By PWS Regional Citizen’s Advisory Council

TN News Contributor

Last year, researchers from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, or SERC, partnered with the Council to conduct the largest survey of non-native benthic marine invertebrate species in Prince William Sound since 2003.

The work is part of a larger survey being conducted by Dr. Gregory Ruiz and a team of researchers from SERC to document non-native species in ports and bays throughout the United States. The researchers have also recently surveyed in California, southeast Alaska, and other sites along the Pacific coast of the U.S. Researchers anticipate surveying Cook Inlet in 2025.

What are benthic invertebrates?

Benthic: Occurs at the bottom of a body of water.

Invertebrate: An animal with no backbone.

This opalescent nudibranch (left) is an example of a benthic invertebrate that is native to Prince William Sound.

Non-native marine species of interest to the Council’s work

Researchers detected three non-native species during the survey: two crustaceans, Caprella mutica and the Monocorophium acherusicum, and a bryozoan, the Schizoporella japonica.

One of the three, Schizoporella japonica, had been detected previously. The other two are new to Prince William Sound.

Another new non-native species, Ciona savignyi was found by volunteers for the PlateWatch program, a separate monitoring program also sponsored by the Smithsonian. This tunicate has now been reported in both southeast Alaska and Prince William Sound.

Evidence of the Ciona savignyi was found using genetic analysis on a single settlement plate in southwest Prince William Sound. The report noted that this marine worm could be of concern as it has caused damage to oyster populations in locations where it has invaded. Further evaluation is needed to confirm this identification.

This survey brings the total number of non-native benthic marine invertebrate species confirmed in Prince William Sound to seven. The species Schizoporella japonica and Mya arenaria, a clam originally from the east coast of the U.S., are confirmed to be established in the area. Researchers do not know if any of the other five are established.

Read the entire story here:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/researchers-find-new-non-native-species-in-prince-william-sound

By Soren Wuerth and David Nyman

TNews Editor and TN Contributor

Following concerns that Anchorage is planning to sell land in Girdwood's Industrial Park, the municipality's Heritage Land Bank sought Thursday to dispel conjecture of an imminent land disposal and to assuage the public the idea is only up for discussion.

Girdwood's Industrial Park is a 15-acre area, near Girdwood's transfer and wastewater facility, has a long history of use by various Girdwood contractors, the Girdwood Valley Service Area and Girdwood Fire Department.

In her report to HLB's Advisory Commission, director Tiffany Briggs said the industrial park the department is considering selling is the "Maui" industrial park in Anchorage and that her staff was only discussing "future options" for the Girdwood's industrial park.

HLB's Emma Giboney wrote Friday that her department will meet with the Girdwood Board of Supervisors Monday to get feedback on the industrial park's value and how to address it in HLB's 2025 work plan

Read the entire story at:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/muni-bank-isnt-selling-girdwood-industrial-park-yet

By Clark Fair

KMTA Contributor

When I was 14 years old—long before I understood the concept of pacing myself—my father decided to take our family on a hike up from the heart of Cooper Landing into the valley holding the headwaters of Slaughter Creek. Dad strapped my four-year-old brother into a backpack and grunted his way along the difficult, rocky ascent, while my mother and younger sister tottered along behind him.

I was reaching the age at which I was losing enthusiasm for “family time” and desired more to be in the company of friends. In a tacit acknowledgement of this adolescent switch, my parents had allowed me to bring along my buddy Monte, a junior high classmate. Together, we were irrepressible in our energy and enthusiasm, racing up the trail ahead of everyone else, chattering like monkeys.

Eventually, all of us reached the saddle—a nexus for decision, where one can choose to rest before descending to the car, drop into the boggy Slaughter Creek drainage for further exploration, climb an adjoining ridgeline to the west, or embark on numerous bushwhacking options. There, my father stepped apart from the rest of us and took a somewhat fuzzy color photograph of the family reclining in the soft moss, proof that all of us on this July 1972 adventure reached the same goal.

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/a-lifetime-of-mountain-memories