Season in AK?

panojibber

panojibber

Active member
So, I was recently thinking I might take a gap year next year and get some epic skiing in before I start university and get too busy to ski much anymore.

AK seemed like the place to do it.

So, a couple questions:

1. How much does a season's pass for Eaglecrest cost? How much is one for Alyeska?

2. What are the pros and cons of riding Eaglecrest or Alyeska?

3. How much would it cost me to find a place to stay in the winter?

4. How difficult is it to find a job?

5. How long is the season?

6. How often will I be able to ski pow?

And feel free to throw out any other pertinent information.
 
i dont know why im still here, but im probably the only real voice for eaglecrest besides a couple other locals. most people in ak on here seem to be from alyeska.

EC is $450 this year. it was 350 last year... dont know why they raised it that much.

eaglecrest is almost always pretty empty, basically never any lines during the week, awesome terrain EVERYWHERE.. you have to know where to go to NOT get awesome terrain, and that stuff is always just a run over (or right next to the run) if youre on a run thats plain groomers.

it excels in natural terrain. endless chutes, gulleys, cliffs, pillows, natural hips/etc, tree jibs, side hits.. and the hiking is amazing. you can get to some lines in not too long that are equal to lots of stuff you would heli to.

also.. no vibes at all. every other resort ive been to, there always seems to be a weird vibe. we dont have that here. people love to ski/ride and dont care about anything else... most dont even know about anything else to begin with.

as for alyeska, i wont speak on its behalf, because people dont like what i have to say.
 
it will probably be cheaper for you to live in juneau since girdwood prices just keep going up and up.

If you want more of a ski/resort town vibe and parties and such

girdwood is where you want to be. If you want more of a raw experience that doesnt distort reality because people exist outside the ski bum bubble then go to junuea.

either place you go will be a good decision. Both are stunning, have amazing and talented people, and will change your life.
 
What you should really do is post up in Anchorage. The living is cheaper, and it's easier to find a job. Take the $1000 or so that you would spend on a pass at Alyeska, and put it towards buying a sled, some touring binders, and a set of skins. Turnagain Pass is about an hour from Anchorage, and Hatcher's Pass is around an 1.5-2ish?
You will get a much more enriching experience if you do it this way... and you can always scope the resorts with a day ticket or so if you really want to. I've only been to Eaglecrest a couple times, but nothing really stands out in my memory, and there isn't much going on in Juneau.
 
just for the record, the sledding is at least just as good around here.. and i hope by saying nothing stood out at eaglecrest, youre not implying things DO stand out at alyeska. so... temped.............. but i wont get into it. im already disliked here enough as it is.

i definitely agree its probably easier to find a job, especially one that you dont totally hate, in anchorage. way more to choose from. i dont know the costs of living to compare, so i cant speak on that.. but last i saw, anchorage was higher up on the list than juneau, as far as cost of living, but who knows. rent can probably be found for cheaper, and more to choose from.

and as far as other activities, anchorage has more to offer, being a much bigger place. it depends what youre into, though. if youre looking for some kind of nightlife/etc, go to anchorage. all there is in juneau are a few bars, and the regulars there are usually less than wonderful.

as far as outdoor activities go, i would think theyre pretty damn equal. hiking, hunting, etc. for fishing though, the win goes to southeast, being that were right on the ocean.. bigger fish in bigger quantities. but all fishing is fun, really.. from little streams to the open ocean.
 
If you are a fair representation for the type of shit stain that lives and skis in the Eaglecrest area, I'm NEVER going to recommend that mountain to anyone... no matter how sick it is.
 
Eaglecrest is cheaper, and is less crowded. And Juneau is slowly being overrun by sketchy oxy fiends from what I hear. Be that as it may, I really reallllly want to go to Eaglecrest this year.

Alyeska is near more non-skiing activity, but the prices are fucking ridiculous. Girdwood is the shit, but is more expensive. From Anchorage, you can choose between Hatcher, which is gnarly steeps with rocky hits, and Turnagain, which is less rocky and more variable (rollers, big mountain, etc)
 
i met a kid in rehab from Juneau, he smoked lotsuh oxy. that kid had some hilarious stories to tell, holy shit. he said he was on this site. he skis.weird meeting a skier in rehab from Alaska, in Seattle.
 
that was my old best friend Jake, hes in my friends list as snow720 or something. we raised lots of hell our first couple years of high school, and he raised even more the last few. and juneau used to have a huge oxy problem, but that has settled down dramaticly. E seems to be the new drug of choice. anyways...

I know this is an old thread, but id like to through my thoughts out on juneau since ive lived here all my life. the backcountry here, is amazing, and eaglecrest is the only resort ive ever loved to ride purely for the terrain. you will find yourself bored skiing at other places terrain down south, i can testify this for Utah, Montan, and Oregon, even though there is lots of fun to be had different resorts around there, the terrain is just on another level here. and its everywhere. being on the coast, our snow tends to be heavier sometimes, but same thing at times up at alyeska from what little i hear. sledding here is amazing, dan moller is like 1 mile from the middle of downtown, about 15 miles away if you live in the valley. thats one of the things i really love about here, everythign is right at your back door, no driving for an hour plus ever. moller requires such a short run to find the funnest terrain ive ever riden on a sled. the slack country at EC is out of this world, the pillows and tech lines that you can access so quickly unbelievable. skiers can travers out to heavenly valley in like 5 minutes, and the east side of the valley, is called ends of the world, has the dopest cliffs and pillows imagionable.

anyways im bored because i just had to get ankle surgery, its late, my sleep clock is way screwed up, but im going to bed now.
 
so when you guys are talking about the cost of living, what are we talking here?

What kind of rent would I be looking at for my own room in a 2 or 3 bedroom house in both Girdwood and Juneau. (no interest in Ankorage really) Would it be hard to come into either town in March or so and find a place for the tail end of the season?
 
I would have to agree. It seems every time I travel to a state known for it's gnarly lines, I get there and think "where the hell are the mountains?"

Except for Baker and Jackson. Baker is sicker than anything I've skied in AK (to be fair, I've never heli skied).
 
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