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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

TRAVEL INFORMATION

WHERE IS ALYESKA RESORT?

Alyeska Resort is located 40 miles from Anchorage, Alaska in the town of Girdwood. The region is referred to as Southcentral Alaska. Alyeska Resort is home to 299 hotel rooms offering slope-side access and full-service guest amenities.

In the winter, Alyeska Resort offers world-class skiing and snow boarding, as well as the spectacular Alyeska Nordic Spa. In the immediate area, you can also participate in helicopter and snow-cat accessed skiing and riding, dog sledding, snowmobiling, flightseeing, ice climbing, cross country skiing and snowshoeing.

During the summer season, Alyeska Resort features easy access to nature trails for hiking, viewing the top of the mountain ranges from Veilbreaker, biking in our trail park and berry picking. You can also take wildlife and glacier cruises, guided fishing, sea kayaking, glacier hiking, and rafting trips, as well as helicopter flightseeing, bear viewing, dog sledding and much more!

There are several transportation options from the Anchorage airport to the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood:

  1. The resort can make arrangements for taxi and/or car service. Contact the concierge to make arrangements 24 hours in advance at guestservices@alyeskaresort.com.
  2. Car rental
  3. Take a train to Girdwood, then the local Girdwood transit.  It is a 15-20 minute taxi/Uber ride in Anchorage from the airport to the train depot in Anchorage. In the summer the train runs twice a day from Anchorage to Girdwood and twice a day from Girdwood back to Anchorage.
    https://www.alaskarailroad.com/ride-a-train/schedules.
  4. The Girdwood bus schedule can be found here

Alyeska Resort offers a variety of convenient parking options for resort guests, including valet parking, self-parking, accessible and overflow parking during peak periods.

  • Valet Parking is available at the main entrance and provides easy access to the hotel, restaurants, tram, Nordic spa and resort amenities. Our Bell Desk team is available to assist with luggage and guest arrivals.
  • Self-Parking is available in designated resort parking lots located throughout the property. During busy periods, guests may be directed to overflow parking areas, with complimentary shuttle service available when applicable.
  • Accessible (ADA) Parking spaces are available throughout the resort. If all designated accessible parking spaces are occupied upon your arrival, please proceed to the valet area, where our Bell Desk team will be happy to assist and help accommodate your accessibility needs.

If you have any questions regarding parking or accessibility, please contact the resort prior to your arrival and our team will be pleased to assist.

Reservations for your stay at Alyeska Resort are highly advised to ensure availability for your desired trip dates. For activities, if you have your heart set on a specific tour or trip, we recommend advance reservations in order to guarantee availability. Reservations for Seven Glaciers Restaurant are also recommended.

Southcentral Alaska has four distinct seasons. Summer can be mild with temperatures ranging between 40°F and 75°F. Winters see temperatures between 15°F and 40°F. Autumn sees the hibernation of animals and plants begin, while spring sees first evidence of the bloom. Both these seasons can feature weather conditions of their two adjacent seasons, so check temperatures and be ready to experience a range of conditions in Alaska! For historical climate conditions in the Anchorage area or current conditions at the Resort, please see the links below.

Anchorage Climate 
Alyeska Mountain Report 

Girdwood WEATHER
In the heart of winter (December to January), Alyeska receives 5.5 hours of daylight per day. Around summer solstice, Alyeska sees more than 20 hours of daylight each day. Click here for an annual daylight chart.
The Girdwood Clinic is located at the Girdwood New Townsite, about three miles from Alyeska Resort. They can be reached at 907-783-1355 or visit their website.

SKIING

WHAT'S THE SKIING/RIDING LIKE AT ALYESKA?
Alyeska Resort is known for steep lines and abundant snowfall. Located at sea level, Alyeska’s snowfall has a heavier water content, allowing it to stick better to these steep faces of the Chugach Mountains. In the recent past, the resort’s ownership has invested heavily in family-friendly skiing and riding amenities including two Magic Carpets, two new high-speed quad chairlifts, and physical terrain changes to open up key traffic areas.
On average, Alyeska Resort receives 650″ at the summit annually.
Alyeska is open from mid-December to mid-April (conditions permitting).
Alyeska Resort is Alaska’s premier destination resort. All winter, the resort sees a lot of local traffic from Anchorage. Vacationing skiers and riders tend to visit Alyeska starting mid-February and President’s Week. By late February, Alyeska starts receiving more hours of daylight than the continental US. The Iditarod Race kicks off Spring the first week of March. Spring skiing is very popular with locals, heli & snowcat skiing guests and other avid skiers and riders.

EVENTS & ACTIVITIES

WHAT'S AN AERIAL TRAM?

Alyeska Resort is home to a 40-passenger aerial tram that takes guests up 2,300 ft in elevation. This scenic ride takes up to seven minutes and stops at the Upper Tram Terminal on Mt. Alyeska. Click here to learn more about the tram.

Alyeska Resort is a playground for all ages year-round. In addition to skiing and riding, Alyeska Resort offers family-friendly nature trails designed for hiking, biking and berry picking (in season). Alyeska also hosts a variety of events in the summer and winter seasons.
In the summer, you may not see the northern lights due to the long hours of daylight. In the winter months, on a cold clear night, you have about a 20% chance of seeing the northern lights.

Alyeska Resort is situated along the Seward Highway and the gateway to the Kenai Peninsula, home to world-class salmon and halibut fishing. Fishing season typically runs from May to September, with July the peak fishing season for visitors. Winter fishing is also available and is typically a local, avid fisherman’s sport. In season, there are multiple runs of King, Sockeye and Silver salmon. Other fish local to the area include varieties of trout (Dolly Varden, Rainbow, Steelhead), halibut and hooligan. As many local fisherman will tell you, on the Kenai River and elsewhere in the region, timing is indeed everything, and prudent anglers do their homework. For guests, we highly recommend guided fishing—from day trips to week-long fly-in tours, let a local expert take you out for the most rewarding fishing experience. The Concierge Desk can help you identify the best outfitter for your desired fishing adventures.

Chugach Powder Guides offers helicopter assisted skiing right from Alyeska Resort. They operate guided heli-ski trips from mid-February to late April. CPG also offers guided snowcat skiing, a very affordable way to ski and ride intermediate to expert terrain in the Chugach range.

ABOUT ALASKA

WHAT DOES THE WORD “ALYESKA” MEAN?
“Alyeska” is an Aleut word meaning “Great land of the white to the east”.
Captain Cook supposedly entered the Cook Inlet only to find that the inlet did not connect to Prince William Sound. He was forced to turn around; therefore, the area is now known as Turnagain Arm.
The world-famous marathon dog-sled team race is held the first week of March. Anchorage celebrates the start of the annual event with the Fur Rendezvous, a two-week event that includes family-friendly festivities and demonstrations. Don’t miss the Running of the Reindeer! For more information about the Iditarod, click here.
Juneau, located in Southeast Alaska, is the only U.S. state capital accessible only by boat or plane.
This is the Alaskan term for snow mobiles.
Look for the “Made in Alaska” symbol indicates that the article is made in Alaska. The “Silver Hand” emblem guarantees that it was hand crafted by an Alaska Native.
In addition to being a starter used to make bread, sourdough has come to mean any person who has lived in Alaska for a significant period of time and has established themselves in the lifestyle which is typical of the frontier Alaskan and outdoors man.
This traditional Eskimo woman’s knife is a fan shaped tool made for scraping and chopping.

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While on the slopes, you will see people using alpine skis, telemark skis, snowboards, and other snow play equipment such as snow skates, snow bikes and adaptive ski gear. You will see skiers of all levels – from beginners enjoying their first day on the slopes to expert skiers with years of experience. It is always your responsibility, regardless of the equipment used or the level of skier that you are, to be courteous to others and to be aware that skiing safely makes the ski slopes safer for all of us.

Alyeska is a large mountain with difficult and dangerous terrain and skiing and riding are dangerous sports.  We do our best to inform guests of the possible hazards associated with snow sports. We do our best to mark hazards and dangerous terrain appropriately. We also actively open and close certain areas of the mountain often due to Snow Safety considerations, ski conditions, or darkness

Our beginner ski zones and high skier traffic areas are important to us and we refer to these areas as “Slow” zones. We label them as such on our trail maps and with signs and banners as you ski through each of these areas. We encourage guests to ‘Go with the Flow’ in these areas, ski only as fast as the skier next to you. Our least favorite part of the job is to be the police on the mountain. We do our best to keep an eye on people skiing around to ensure everyone is skiing safely and within their limits.

Alyeska has set Enforcement Guidelines based on the Skier Responsibility Code and Mountain Safety Concerns for behavior on the mountain. Alyeska operates under a lease through the Department of Natural Resources which requires the resort to enforce violations of state statute. Violations of the Alaska skier safety act or other state laws can be referred to DNR and may lead to a citation. In addition to loss of lift privileges and fines we also require all ‘violators’ to take the Mountain Education Test, a tool used to help educate.