Alyeska Resort
Goodbye to a great ski season at Alyeska Resort
Yesterday was an incredible day of skiing for my family at Alyeska. The sun was shining, the temperatures were warm and the mountain was full of our friends from Challenge and the Alyeska Ski and Snowboard Club.
Challenge Alaska closed for the season (why they don’t remain open for the full ski season is a topic for another day) but we arranged private access. Another family that we ski with all season had done the same and were hosting a birthday party for their daughter who has autism. The building was full of music, the great smells of a bar-b-que, and many friends. We had fun being together, reminiscing about the great season and sharing the mountain on a beautiful spring day.
As much as I enjoy the warm weather and long days of spring and summer, I am always sad to see the end of another ski season. Skiing brings my whole family together. We all share a love of the mountain and it’s a gift to be able to share that with my children. When summer comes along, my kids will all get involved in their own individual interests and we will spend less time together. It’s good for each of my kids to develop their own individual interests and gain independence, but I will miss our days together. I will miss my younger children watch Quincy do what they do and be impressed with her attitude and toughness. I will miss snowball fights, building snowmen, eating snow cones made from fresh fallen snow, and hot chocolate and cold beer after a long day of skiing.
The mountain is officially open through next weekend, but the snow is probably too soft to tether Quincy. My boys will surely brave any conditions imaginable to get in a few more days but the girls are hanging up their boards. Thank you Mother Nature, Alyeska Resort, and Challenge Alaska for our best ski season yet. Now, I wonder if it would be to much to ask Mother Nature to bless us with a warm, dry summer? I will keep my fingers crossed…
US Alpine National Championships, Alyeska and adaptive skiers
We are heading to Alyeska again this weekend to watch the US Men’s and Women’s Alpine ski teams compete at the US Alpine National Championships. This is the third time Alyeska has hosted this event and I can tell you from experience it is really fun to watch.
Two years ago when this event was held at Alyeska we were lucky enough to have most of the Men’s US Ski Team walk in to the Challenge Alaska Ski School and spend about an hour just hanging with our kids and seeing what adaptive skiing in Alaska is all about. It was an amazing experience. The guys were incredibly gracious to the disabled athletes, patiently signing as many autographs as requested and posing for endless photos. It was access that most other people did not have the opportunity to enjoy. We have photos of Quincy and her brother and sister with great athletes like Bode Miller, Julia Mancuso, and Marco Sullivan. Afterwards anytime they saw us on the mountain they would high-five us and say hi to Quincy. She was a rockstar for a day! It was probably a little thing for them to do, but meant so much to Quincy and I am still touched by their kindness.
If you love ski racing as much as we do, grab your boards and join us. It’s going to be a really fun weekend! Plus, Alyeska got about 40″ of fresh snow in the last two days so the skiing is going to be amazing!
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