Opening Day a Wash

By Harper Landry

TNews Contributor

There was skepticism amongst skiers and riders when Alyeska announced that they were opening the mountain Nov. 24, the earliest day in a decade. 

That skepticism turned to sheer excitement when recent blizzards and ongoing snowfall led riders to anticipate an epic full mountain opening pow day. 

Where we landed was somewhere in between. 

Alyeska followed through and got the mountain open early but a shift in weather to rainfall and warm temperatures resulted in a limited opening and groomed slushy slopes.

Chair 3 (Bear Cub Quad) and Chair 7 were open from 10-5. Resort management cited safety reasons for the limited opening. 

An email sent out by the Mountain Manager Duane Stutzman informed passholders that the new ticket system adopted would not recognize the passes that were purchased in the spring/summer of 2023. 

The email directed passholders to ticket offices to exchange passes. Some passholders were unaware of this change, but lifties at Chair 3 had great attitudes and graciously let passholders through and directed them to the ticket offices to update their passes.

The weather was blustery, rainy, and unseasonably warm with temperatures in the low forties. This didn’t stop skiers and riders from having fun and being clearly excited to be shredding in November. 

Nor did limited mountain access stop the Alyeska Ski Club racers from training. The two functional lifts had congestion at times due to the racers which usually train on Chair 4. 

The Sitzmark also experienced congestion. The Sitzmark opened its doors to eager patrons at noon with limited seating capacity. Some customers soon became visibly frustrated by long wait times with empty tables in view.

Despite bad weather and a bit of a slow start, Alyeska fans brought the stoke and seemed excited for another great ski season.