2021.12.21 EagleCrest Alaska
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By some measures, this would be a “small” ski area … 1620-ft vertical rise and 640 acres, three main lifts, all fixed-grip double chairs.
It’s on an island near sea level, with 1130-ft base elevation.
Wait what ?!? Ski. Island. Alaska. forget vertical statistics, you had me at hello.
EagleCrest is 12 miles from Juneau, on Douglas Island, in the South-East tip of Alaska.
It may not be easy to get to Juneau, but, once there, this ski area is very accessible … 12 miles from town and 19 miles from the airport. You can’t even beat that in Salt Lake City. This ski area is actually inside the city limits of a state capital!
This trip did set a new superlative for us … furthest north in latitude, at about 58.3 degrees. Previously, that title was held by Mt. Tremblant (Quebec). Eagle Crest is a mostly locals underdog mountain - not a destination resort.
Plot of all mountains we have skied to date - Latitude vs elevation. EagleCrest 12 degrees more northern latitude compared to any place we’ve skied before. Most of our favorite places are below the 41st parallel and above 7,000 feet. EagleCrest is different. What it lacks in elevation, it makes up for in latitude, with plenty of steep and jagged west-coast mountains and deep, soft, dry snow.
Douglas Island siits west of Juneau downtown. The mountain-top formation favors collection and preservation of quality snow.
2021.12.22 - ski day 1
check out the video below for an Amelia-skis montage…
2021.12.23 - frozen ocean walk
slideshow below from a frozen ocean walk near Douglas bridge
Amelia sees…
Play video below to visit scenic Juneau boardwalk and check out the bald eagle…
2021.12.24 - ski day 2
Dinner at “Salt” Restaurant
downtown Juneau
2021.12.25 - glacier
…approaching Mendenhall Glacier, hike over frozen lake
Later that day Amelia walked Douglas Bridge to get some cool shots of the Big Blue Whale … can you see the red fish bait?
2021.12.26 - coastal tour
2021.12.27 - ski day 3
click below to check out the ski-day-3 video after the arrival of 5 fresh inches….
Pittman’s Ridge virtual tour
The highest in-bounds terrain at EagleCrest is accessible only by a strenuous up-hill hike over Pittman’s Ridge.
The ridge towers 200 feet above the main peak dismount area. Snowpack along the spine of the ridge was firm and chalky, but loose and soft along the northern exposure
play the video below to follow along on the journey to the other side….
around town
The flight in to Juneau was on the morning of the solstice, with snow on the ground and more falling at the local airport .. a winterwonderland from the beginning :)
views of the airport upon arrival. bottom right is from the hotel room
at Hangar on the Whorf, Juneau waterfront
family friends from way back when
