Monday 1/27 update: Wow, that was a wild weekend! We got a LOT of windblown snow, from a good direction, and despite a bit of minor damage, it was overall very good for us. We were able to get the groomers out on Sunday and work to pack it down and build roads so things are easier for us as we get ready to open this week.
With all the new snow, we now anticipate opening Chair 2 and the rope tow this weekend (Feb 1 & 2)! We’ll be hard at work this week getting everything ready for you.
Note: Our internet, weather station, and webcam is currently down. Borealis Broadband is coming up Wednesday to restore service.
Friday 1/24 update: By now you’ve probably seen the weather warnings for the Anchorage area this weekend. At Arctic Valley, the forecast calls for gusts up to 60 mph on Saturday, and a huge rain storm down in Anchorage. We’re hopeful that we’ll remain above the rain line here at Arctic Valley, but we will likely be impacted by high winds. We’ve spread literal tons of sand on Arctic Valley Road this season, and it’s held up well so far this week, despite a fair amount of rain on Thursday. At the moment, we’re putting the odds of opening on Saturday at under 50% (and that may even be optimistic). The storm is forecasted to slack off early morning Sunday, so we’ll hope the wind decreases ahead of schedule and give us a better chance at opening.
We know everyone is looking forward to riding at Arctic Valley, and this storm is another in a long line of setbacks this season, but we’re close! Snow Safety is up here on Friday, scouting terrain and getting a baseline for the season. The lifts are ready to go, and we’ve already been winching Ptarmigan Bowl and grooming the base area to set a base.
Original post: The day we’ve waited for is (almost) here! We are planning to open for the season on Saturday, January 25th. We’ve been just as frustrated (if not more) than you all have, as we’ve had near record-low snowfall and lots of warmups into the mid-30s and even low-40s that have hurt our snowpack.
The big windstorm Jan 12th moved enough snow into Ptarmigan Bowl for us to open that area, along with good coverage in Brandy Bowl and out near the alders off Chair 1. We would have loved to open last weekend, but spent all week getting the lifts operational again after being hit with those 100 MPH winds on January 12th.
The tentative plan for this coming weekend is to spin the T-bar and Chair 1. Due to low snowpack at the top of the T-bar, we will have a suggested offload (with a sign) just after Tower 6. The top will be open, but there’s very limited snow up there for us to move around and make it rideable without damaging your gear. There are decent exits off both sides of Chair 1, though the entrance into Ptarmigan Bowl and down the ridge south towards Military are both less than perfect (expect some rocks & tundra).
Why no Chair 2? The 100+ MPH winds on Jan 12th stripped ALL of the snow away from the top of that lift. There is no exit from the offload – just bare tundra down to the entrance to Shooter. Given that, we’re focusing our efforts on making the riding on the front side of the mountain as good as it can be, and will open Chair 2 as soon as we get enough snow up there. There’s also not enough snow yet for us to put the beginner handle tow together behind the lodge. The bottom of that area needs snow moved in to make the lift track even. We’ve been mining snow from the parking lot, but there hasn’t been enough yet to move into that area.
Some words of caution:
- The forecast for this weekend is not great (to put it mildly). We may be in for heavy winds, and potentially temperatures warm enough that we get r**n at the lodge. Keep your fingers crossed for a change in the forecast for this weekend.
- Snow conditions in general are very low. Expect marked and unmarked rocks, gravel and tundra at the snow surface level, and lots of brush sticking through. This is not the time to bring out your good skis or boards!
- We’ve groomed some from the center of Ptarmigan Bowl, but there isn’t currently enough snow at the top of the T-bar to use that anchor, which means grooming in the Bowl will be limited to a handful of passes. We have currently groomed about six passes wide, and hope to expand that a bit..
- Grooming on the north side of the T-bar will also be limited due to low snow cover. We will likely not be able to groom up as high as we typically do on that lift.
So …. is there anything I should look forward to?
- We’ll be open! Even if it’s limited, and conditions aren’t great, some riding is better than no riding!
- The beer will be flowing at the Afterglow Pub, and we have Tim Easton playing music on Saturday.
- See all your skiing & riding friends! One of the best things about Arctic Valley is the community, and we can’t wait to see you all.
- The forecast calls for additional snow before Saturday, so hopefully conditions will improve before we open.
