Violent Weather Destroys Alaska Ski Area's Lift Shack

Originally posted on Powder | By Ian Greenwood | Last updated Jan 20, 2025 11:21 AM ET

After a surge of violent weather, Arctic Valley Ski Area—near Anchorage, Alaska—was forced to repair some of its equipment and structures.

Last weekend, intense winds thrashed parts of Alaska. Alyeska Resort temporarily closed on Sunday amidst the storm, writing in a social media post that “We are experiencing high winds, downed trees and debris on the slopes, and low visibility.” At an airport in Anchorage, a few planes flipped over. Arctic Valley, meanwhile, got blasted by winds that reached above 100 miles per hour.

On Tuesday, January 14, Arctic Valley shared an update detailing the damage. The lift shack at Chair 2 lost its roof, a groomer maintenance tent was destroyed, and the T-Bar derailed at two towers. The lifts, thankfully, seemed to be fine.

One day after the first update, Arctic Valley announced that the lift shack and the T-Bar derailment had been fixed, alongside sharing that an inspection of Chair 2 would take place Thursday. A few minor issues with Chair 1 were discovered and addressed, too. The tubing lanes at Arctic Valley, according to the post, would be open between Thursday and Sunday.

The ski area, which hasn’t opened yet this season, had no specific news to share about when they'll welcome skiers and snowboarders, but was working towards an eventual opening. Due to disappointing snowfall, Arctic Valley didn’t open in December like usual. The storm, which blew in from an unconventional direction, made the challenging snow conditions worse.

“If the storm had hit like they more typically do, coming in from the south… then those typically bring a lot of snow with them and would have packed the mountain in with snow,” Arctic Valley general manager John Robinson-Wilson told KTUU. “Instead, it came just enough east that it came down the valley instead of up the valley, and that tends to strip the snow away.”

However, in a blog post, the ski area noted that opening after December is “far from unprecedented”—in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017, Arctic Valley opened in mid to late January.

“As they say in the investing world, past results are not indicative of future returns, so we’ll hope a slow start to the season is followed up by lots of snow later this year!” the blog post reads.

Arctic Valley, Alaska Stats/Info:

Vertical: 1,400 ft.

Skiable Terrain: 500 ac.

Average Snowfall: 250 in.

Lifts: 4

Trails: 15

Snowmaking: N/A

Night Skiing: NO

Mega-Pass: Indy Pass