Alyeska Resort hosted an open house to present their Mountain Plan today from 1 PM to 5 PM in the Kahiltna Court (the room formerly known as the Prince Court.....).  On hand were Resort management, as well as representatives from the Department of Natural Resources, and representatives from the Resort's engineering firm.  Between this open house and other discussions I have been a part of with the Resort, it sounds as though the attention, wisely I might add, is focusing on the mountain itself and how to deliver an even better "product".  Both summer and winter maps were on hand today with concepts clearly depicted. 

Most striking is an upgrade of Chair 6, a replacement of Chair 4 with a high speed detachable quad, removal of the existing Chair 1, a "recycling" of the existing Chair 4 to an alignment similar to that of Chair 1 with the base being in the vicinity of the corner of Von Imhoff Drive above the top terminal of Chair 3, and the addition of a Glacier Tram from the top of the existing Tram to the ridge which will access terrain on both sides (Virgin Creek side in the future) of the Headwall and Max's via a hike along the ridge over the Shadows.  Momentum, from my perspective, seems to be increasing with respect to opening new terrain sooner rather than later through the construction of the Glacier Tram; this, to me, seems like an efficient way to open a considerable amount of terrain while giving Alyeska Resort about 3,500' of vertical relief.

Summer concepts include a study of the installation of a Mountain Coaster, the construction of a network of mountain biking trails, and a potential zip line down the North Face.

Exciting things are in the future!