Eaglecrest skiers share fond memories, hopes for ski area’s future during its 50th birthday celebration
- Mark Sabbatini
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
Large crowd shows up for $7 lift tickets and spring-like snow; many say more reliable operations tops their wish list, support installation of gondola if that helps
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Donny Peterson didn’t make it to Eaglecrest Ski Area until two hours before it closed Saturday because he was delivering donuts all morning, but said it was still worth the drive to get some runs in.
"Despite Eaglecrest struggling — everyone knows it is — we are all grateful that it's still here," he said while putting on his ski boots near the back of a mostly full parking lot. "And a lot of people who've come to Juneau over the years have come here and stayed because they love Alaska, but they also love Eaglecrest."
The ski area has indeed struggled with difficulties such as weather, inoperable lifts and a broken water main that are hurting ticket sales this season. But the mountain was lively on Saturday as Eaglecrest continued a two-day celebration of its 50th birthday with $7 lift tickets and special activities.
Longtime residents who said they grew up skiing at Eaglecrest generally expressed support for the ski area and optimism about its future, although with some frustrations about disruptions in operations that have occurred in recent years.
Peterson said he probably visits Eaglecrest 30 to 40 times a year — fewer than the 60 he did as a kid since he has a job now — and while he was too young when taking ski lessons to remember those, he has plenty of other fond memories.
"I remember coming up here as a kid I kissed my first girl right over there in those trees," he said. "It's just got a lot of good memories."
Keeping the city-owned ski area going is important for the sake of residents, Peterson said, although he also supports efforts that help Juneau’s tourism industry. A major focal point of the latter is a gondola Eaglecrest leaders hope to have operating by 2028 that will allow large-scale year-round tourism on the mountain. Part of that project involves Goldbelt paying $10 million for installation costs in exchange for a share of revenues — and Peterson suggested maybe the urban Alaska Native corporation could play a bigger role.
"I'm almost hoping Goldbelt buys Eaglecrest," he said. "I don't know if they will, but I think that would be huge for a private owner to come in and buy it, and have it not be city-run anymore."
Lack of snow due to warming weather has shortened some seasons, the Black Bear mountaintop lift closed permanently as of last season, and aging infrastructure has affected both ski slope operations such as snowmaking as well as lodge operations including the current water outage. Management and budget issues have also been a concern among some residents and city leaders.
Getting ready to leave at the same time Peterson was arriving were Nicole and Jorge Alba, who said they had other plans for the afternoon and gotten in plenty of skiing with their $7 lift tickets. They said the Ptarmigan lift to the top of the mountain was closed part of the day, which resulted in long lines at the mid-mountain Hooter lift, but once Ptarmigan reopened lines at both lifts were short despite the number of skiers on the mountain.
Nicole Alba, a lifelong skier at Eaglecrest, said she wants to "see stability and consistent maintenance" at the ski area in the future.
"We all know the situation has been kind of challenging, I think, in the past few years, just in terms of operationally with the lack of consistent, it seems, maintenance on the chairs," she said. At the same time "we're still happy to be here, happy to have the ski hill."
She said they come up to the mountain often during the summer as well, but is willing to share the area with cruise tourists riding the gondola if it helps Eaglecrest in the long term.
"I am supportive of that if it can keep the mountain in a more stable position and operational — that will help keep Eaglecrest moving forward," she said.
A favorable first impression of Eaglecrest was offered by Ben Goltz, an Anchorage resident who recently arrived in Juneau to work as a legislative intern until March. He said he learned about the $7 lift tickets from his landlady and decided to seize the opportunity since he’s been skiing less at Girdwood’s Alyeska Resort because "it's gotten more expensive and a little more corporate-feeling."
"The snow is different than what I'm used to — it's wet and heavy right now — but it's fun," he said about Eaglecrest while taking a lunch break on the tailgate of his vehicle. "I think there's a lot more that I haven't seen in the skiing I did this morning, so I’m excited to come back here sometime."
Although Eaglecrest has been stating in online notices there is no food or beverage service at the lodges due to the water outage, the Mountain Lift coffee stand began offering limited pre-made items on weekends and holidays starting a couple of weekends ago, said Stephanie Bucheli, who owns the stand. Water dispensers were also in the main dining area of Fish Creek Lodge, but empty as of early afternoon.
Eating a midday meal of quinoa, pea pod chips and other mostly healthy foods — with making sure they wouldn’t squish while skiing also being a consideration — were Amy and Patrick DeFreest, and their two children, Gabe, 10, and Josy, 6. The couple said they have been bringing their kids to the ski area for lessons the past few years, and were planning to spend some extra time on the mountain Saturday.
"Probably we'll head back out until we all get cold, so if we make it until 3 p.m. great, but if not we have $7 tickets so we’re OK," Amy DeFreest said.
Both parents said their wish list for Eaglecrest includes more reliable operations, although not all of the issues can be solved through maintenance and money.
"Get enough snow to stay open and obviously we have no control over that," Patrick DeFreest said when asked what he wants to see as part of the ski area’s future.
However, the ski area can make some upgrades that will improve winter conditions, said Dave Fermin, a season pass holder arriving at Eaglecrest at about 1:45 p.m. — 75 minutes before the lifts closed — to get a couple of snowboarding runs in.
"With climate change we need better snowmaking machines," he said.
Eaglecrest leaders can count on strong support for their year-round tourism plans from at least one member of the DeFreest family.
"I want them to set up the gondola," said Josy DeFreest, 6, who has fond memories of riding one with his family during a vacation in Vietnam. "I just want to ride on the gondola."
His father also supports the idea — preferably with the full guest facilities that have been proposed rather than scaling some back, at least at the beginning, to save costs, which city leaders have also discussed.
"If they actually executed what they originally wanted to do with a lodge on the top that would be super fun because then it would give access to people that would otherwise not want to hike up the mountain," Patrick DeFreest said.
Another family at Eaglecrest for lessons on Saturday was Amanda Underwood with two of her children, Eli Underwood-Knowles, 13, and Layla Underwood-Knowles, 8. The older sibling said he feels good about how his are going, while the younger expressed some reservations about her instructor bringing the class to the top of the mountain on the Ptarmigan lift for the first time.
"I just don't like long runs," she said. "I would fall at least five times."
Amanda Underwood, who planned to "enjoy an hour and a half of relative quiet and solitude" in one of the base lodges during her kids’ lessons, said she’s been coming to Eaglecrest since she was a child. She said she’s aware of the current controversies such as the gondola, but her thoughts about the ski area’s future are more general in nature.
"I sure hope that Eaglecrest continues because I think it's been an amazing resource for our community," she said.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
