Eaglecrest crafts new strategic plan as GM takes over struggling ski area

Year-round plan could include one big attraction, or multiple smaller ones, involving Goldbelt and/or other partners, officials say

New Eaglecrest Ski Area General Manager Julie Piper, left, and longtime ski area administrator Erin Lupro, who was serving as interim general manager, discuss the change in leadership during an Eaglecrest board meeting at City Hall on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

Eaglecrest Ski Area leaders are creating a new long-range plan for year-round operations following the cancellation of a long-planned gondola earlier this year and hiring of a new general manager who started last week.

The plan seeks to optimize winter operations that have operated at a loss for many years while considering a range of possibilities for warm-weather operations that attract cruise tourists, Jim Calvin, an Eaglecrest board member, told Juneau Assembly members during a Committee of the Whole meeting Aug. 31.

"After the gondola we have to go back to the drawing board, figure out what makes sense in terms of summertime lift development or a full suite of other potential developments in the summertime," he said. "It could be eight or 10 different attractions that each draw 15,000 visitors, or it could be (a) gondola type where we have one big attraction that's drawing 100,000. We just need to step back and take a careful look at all of the opportunities, the range of opportunities, and make sure that we're making good choices as we proceed from here."

Discussions also include partnering with a company such as Goldbelt Inc. and/or other entities, with specifics still to be determined, Calvin said. He said officials "hope to have the heart of the meat of the project done by the end of October."

During an Eaglecrest board meeting on Thursday, Calvin said the strategic plan is about 65% complete, and the goal is to talk to potential partners this fall and next spring.

Eaglecrest, which celebrated its 50th season of operation during the past winter, has been under intense scrutiny from the Assembly during the past couple of years due to increasing annual financial losses, aging equipment that has resulted in lift and other shutdowns, and leadership and employee instability.

A major setback in plans occurred when the projected cost for a used gondola purchased in 2022 soared from less than $10 million to more than $35 million in March of this year. That led to the Assembly voting to sell the gondola at what’s expected to be a heavy loss, and repay Goldbelt the $10 million (plus more than $2 million in interest) the company provided in exchange for a share of the gondola’s revenue.

The Assembly considered a proposal earlier this year by Mayor Beth Weldon to demote Eaglecrest’s board to an advisory role, effectively giving the Assembly and city manager direct responsibility for the ski area. But action was postponed because the gondola’s future was still being decided and a new general manager was being sought.

The Assembly was scheduled at its Sept. 14 meeting to reconsider the Eaglecrest board’s authority, but at the Committee of the Whole on Aug. 31 supported Weldon’s request to delay the matter until after the new strategic plan is complete.

Short-term plans for the upcoming season were the primary focus of Eaglecrest’s board meeting last Thursday, which was the first for new General Manager Julie Piper after starting the job Aug. 31.

Season pass sales that are now underway, employee housing this winter at the University of Alaska Southeast, and various mountain infrastructure and state-planned work on the road to the ski area were among the topics discussed.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.