Spring time is a relatively short season in Alaska. The cold of winter seems to last forever, then before you know it, the snow is melted and the flora of south central AK is growing. One barely notices this transformation because of mild temperatures and lots of rain, which is a good thing. Without the rain Girdwood and the surrounding area would not be able to sustain the dense, lush rain forest. One of the most dominate plants in this area is the Northwest Lady Fern, or Athyrium Filix-Femina for all you botany buffs out there. Another common name for this fern is the Fiddlehead Fern, which, when picked at the right time is a delectable ingredient to local dishes adding not only a bright green color but also a rich, earthy taste.

 In celebration of the transition from spring to summer, Alyeska Resort hosts the Fiddlehead Festival. This two day event takes cooking demos, food vendors, craft vendors, live bluegrass music and of course beer, wine and spirits and centers it around this unique plant. This year’s Fiddlehead Festival will be taking place on June 1 & 2 from noon to 8 pm. This event is perfect for a family outing and is FREE to all attendees. The music line up includes Anne Lynch Band, High Lonesome Sound and Third Wheel Project. Visit www.alyeskaresort.com for more info.

Fiddlehead Festival 2013,

Face it, mom has taken care of you and put up with you for as long as you’ve been around. This includes making you countless breakfasts, lunches and dinners not to mention snacks, birthday cakes and holiday meals. Sunday May 12 pay her back with a brunch at Alyeska Resort’ Pond Cafe.

Featured dishes include a special Mom’s Yummy Bar, Honey Mandarin Garlic Chicken, Roasted New York Strip Loin with Chimichurri Sauce, and made-to-order omelets, as well as Alaskan favorites and signature dishes including Grilled Alaskan Cod with Lobster Cream Sauce and Smoky Cheddar and Shrimp Eggs Benedict.

Seatings at 10 am, 12 pm and 2 pm
Adults: $42, Children 6-12: $21, Children under 5: Free
   Plus 20% gratuity.

Preview the menu here.

If you’d like to treat her to a little extra, send her to the spa for a relaxing afternoon.

Unconditional Love
Lemongrass Mimosa Body Treatment, The Natural Face Lift and Firming Eye Treatment.approximately 2 1/2 hours
$278 per person

Absolute Gratitude
Moroccan Glow Head to Toe, 50-minute relaxation massage, customized facial and Signature Almond Milk Manicure. approximately 3 1/2 hours
$356 per person

Reservations: Please call the Spa at 907-754-2550 or send an email to spa@alyeskaresort.com to book.
Available Dates: May 10-12, 2013

Celebrate Mom this Sunday at Alyeska Resort,

Alyeska Resort and Midnight Sun Brewing Co. are hosting a special beer dinner at the Aurora Bar & Grill. The evening will be featuring five beers paired with Chef James Davison’s four-course dinner. Space is limited!

The Menu

Greet Beer
Snowshoe White Belgian Wit

Alaskan Fried Oyster
Fallen Angel Belgian Golden Strong Ale

Seafood Paella
Meltdown Double India Pale Ale

Roasted Rack of Boar
Sex Machine Belgian Sour Brown Ale

Flourless Chocolate Tort
Moscow Rye Russian Imperial Stout

Get Away to Alyeska

Need a ride out to Girdwood? Liquid Leisure Tours of Anchorage can give you a lift from the Midnight Sun Brewery to Alyeska Resort for just $25. Stay in the hotel with the Beer Dinner Package. This package includes dinner for two and lodging. Space is limited at this dinner so book now!

Midnight Sun Beer Dinner,

Just as most of the human ski patrollers begin to transition into other seasonal jobs for the summer, our canine patrollers are getting ready to change jobs as well. Yesterday we began transitioning our dog teams into some of the skills they will continue to develop over the summer. Our teams had a final training season yesterday aimed at developing a bark indication. An indication is what we call the action a dog is trained to do to indicate the source of human scent under the snow, and for most avalanche rescue dogs this is digging. The combination of energetic digging with repeated barking is an even better indication that aids a handler searching in conditions with diminished visibility from blowing snow, long distances, terrain, or darkness. A bark indication is also a reliable indication for dogs working in other search and rescue disciplines such as; disaster search, wilderness area search, and human remains detection.

Our dog teams continue to cross train through the non winter months with Alaska Search and Rescue Dogs (www.asard.org) in search disciplines that will compliment their winter jobs. This also includes lots of obedience and agility training, socialization, drills to increase ranging (the ability for a dog to work away from the handler), and motivational drills called “runaways” that keep the game of hide and seek going year round.

The following video is a demonstration of a drill called the Bark Barrel. The goal of the drill is to entice the dog with its reward during a runaway much in the same way a dog is taught to indicate human scent by digging in the snow. The hole is closed with a wooden door which a dog can obviously not dig through. The frustration from being kept from the reward leads the dog to bark at the buried subject, thus beginning to indicate the location of human scent behind the door. Ideally next season our dogs will bark while they dig. Barking will also become the primary indication for non-snow disciplines.

Watch a rescue dog at work 

Video by: Brian McGorry. (Some wind noise present in video)

The dogs would like to give a howl out and thanks to all of you who contributed and supported our efforts. This includes Diamond Animal Hospital, Redpaw Dog Food, Orthopedic Physicians of Anchorage, BP, Girdwood Forest Fair Committee, Girdwood Pets, Ruffwear, Chugach Flyer, and of course the Alyeska Resort Management, Ski Patrol, and Snow Safety.

Also a special thanks to our devoted auction buyers who threw down high bids at the Annual Ski Patrol Auction Fundraiser: Macky and Lauri Derrick, Jannet Platt, Heidi Provencher, Shawna Wilson, John Eldred, Debra Reinwand, Natalie Osborne, Christina Anderson, Salley Huntley, Branch Haymans, and Garth McPhie.

We hope to see you all next year at the Ski Patrol Auction on December 7, 2013!

What do avalanche dogs do in the summer?,

FOR THE BLOG:

Two weeks ago I found myself looking for a ticket up to AK- Girdwood was getting pounded by snow and the weather forecast indicated that blue, sunny skies were right around the corner. The anticipation of making a trip to Alaska in the spring is electrifying, just about every ski bum-enthusiast-pow seeker-mountain lover in the universe hopes to have the experience at least once in their life. And once that experience happens you’re hooked. If you grow up in Alaska the experience is truly no different. I consider myself a lucky person to have grown up in the Chugach Mountains calling Alyeska my home resort. As I have grown older with a catalogue of travels around the world seeking out new adventures in the mountains under my belt, I have only grown more enamored with a heightened sense of respect and awe for the mountains in AK, especially the ones that in my youth I fondly called my backyard.

The weather did indeed produce sunny skies with fresh snow. Unfortunately I was a day late in my arrival to Girdwood to get in on the preeminent 1-day only opening of Headwall. Bummer! Skiers understandably shredded the resort to pieces, leaving me in search of fresh snow in the backcountry. My purpose in Alaska this go around was more than to just enjoy my time at Alyeska, I came to town with the intentions of meeting up with Lynsey Dyer and JGS Concepts to film for the all-female ski movie, Pretty Faces. The blue skies held as well as the cold temperatures and thus good snow, making it possible to ski and film day after day. On one occasion we were able to get in the heli with CPG to work with Outside TV. What a glorious afternoon for Lynsey and I that was! It’s now ten days later, the weather has finally turned, and I am making my way back to the Lower 48. This April trip will be fondly remembered. Thanks Alyeska for the great times! I’ll see you next winter.

Spring Skiing at Alyeska with friends and family is one of my most favorite things to do in the world.

A line up on West Crystal filming for Pretty Faces. photo cred: JGS Concepts

Watching the heli fly away as I prep for my line in the Velvet Curtain. photo cred: Lynsey Dyer

Home Sweet Home: Words from Girdwood Local & Alyeska Athlete Elyse Saugstad,

Check out what’s going on at Alyeska Resort over Spring Carnival weekend here.

Spring Carnival and other Alyeska happenings…,

It all began one New Year’s Eve party. Impressed with the talents of Nicki’s performance when asked to play an impromptu blues song, musician/producer Tim Bluhm (The Mother Hips) introduced himself to the artist, encouraging her to dedicate herself to singing and song writing. It wasn’t long before Nicki had begun cultivating a fan base through live performance, one that craved an LP to take home and listen to.

Want to win a pair of ticket’s to this concert? It’s easy. Check out Alyeska Resort on Facebook and join the event!

Winners will be chosen Friday at 2:00pm AK time. Tickets will be left at the door with will call.

Win Tickets to Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers!,

This past weekend Alyeska Resort held it’s annual Chugach Open, a freeride event displaying the local big mountain talent over several disciplines.  The event included alpine skiers, snowboarders, and telemark skiers, as well as the International Freeskiers & Snowboarders Association (IFSA) junior categories (12-14 and 15-18 yrs). 

I was fortunate to have been asked to act as IFSA’s liaison and head judge for the event.  Joining me in the pit were fellow Alyeska athletes Jason Scheben and Ryan “RD” Davis.  Jason is a born & raised Alyeskian, founder of the athlete team, and long time professional skier.  RD is a former Chugach Open champion and long time ambassador of all disciplines.  It was both these guys first time judging and they knocked it out of the park.  Their competition and freeride experience was clearly on par with the direction IFSA would like to take the sport.  Also in the judges pit was the Alyeska Resort Events & Mountain Services Manager, Brian ”Burntski” Burnett.  Brian is no stranger to the pit, as he has been a regular on previous Chugach Open judging panels.  I was honored to be in the pit with these guys and appreciate the opportunity. 

The Open was not without the usual challenges experienced during events of this kind.  In true Chugach form, the projected venues received several feet of snow during the week leading up to the event.  This combined with the forecasted weather limited us to our lower elevation venue, the Northface.  This venue is by no means a back up, as it provides an arsenal of steep, technical terrain, and is quite the leg burner.  We were not blessed with good visibility and were only able to run athletes for one of the 3 possible days scheduled.  Thanks to the hard work of the Alyeska ski patrol, events staff, and all of the athletes, we were able to pull of running all competitors through the venue.  We even ran all junior competitors twice.  A big thanks to everyone involved in making this happen! 

All and all, the 2013 Chugach Open was, once again, a success!  The level of riding was quite impressive and the interest in such an event brings nothing short of a smile to my face.  As the sport continues to grow, I look forward to seeing this event grow with it.

Thank you to all of the competitors, judges, IFSA and to Alyeska for quite the weekend!

Chugach Open 2013: A Judges Perspective,

Alyeska sponsored athlete Rosie Mancari checks in from the road:
I just wanted to let everyone know that I’ve gone to three competitions in the past two weeks. I had to take the first couple months of the season off because of a knee injury but was able to come back with a bang. I attended the Revolution Tour in Sun Valley Idaho and won my first competition back. I then moved on to the North American Hole Shot tour in Mt. Hood and placed 7th on the first day of racing, and claimed my biggest win on the second day. I am now headed to nationals in Copper and then will be back in Alaska to shred Alyeska! Thanks to Alyeska Resort for all the support this season.

Back on the Podium,

The end of the 2012/13 ski season is in sight. Sadly, at the end of this month Alyeska Resort will be shutting down the lifts and  the winter of 2012/13 will be in the books. With the longer days and more exposure to sunlight the resort changes it’s hours of operation every year to give skiers better access to the best snow conditions. In the morning hours before the lifts start turning the snow can be very firm and tricky to ski. In the late afternoon hours however the snow is so wet and sloppy it turns very sticky and grabby. With the more sunlight there is also more risk of wet-slide avalanching on south facing slopes. Alyeska Ski Patrol and Snow Safety have determined that the safest hours to be on the mountain are from 11 am – 6 pm.

All lifts start uploading skier traffic at 11 am including the Tram. Lifts stop spinning at 6 pm and last upload on the Tram for the day is at 5:45 pm.

Check the mountain status here

If you’re lucky enough to be here in April know that the happenings are plentiful. The Sitzmark will be offering 4 weekends of music including Big Fat Buddha April 5 & 6, Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers April 12 & 13, Jerry Joseph & the Jack Mormons April 18 – 20 and the Photonz will close out the ski seaosn April 26 – 28. For guests staying at the Hotel Alyeska an easy way to purchase concert tickets is to simply add them to the room booking. Guests can also enjoy the Rockstar Package which includes a night’s stay at the hotel, food credit, concert tickets and two cans of Rockstar Energy.

April Skiing,