'Fun hog' heaven

The idea is simple. In a single day, catch a king salmon and ski steep corn snow.

Since this is the first weekend of king fishing on many Kenai Peninsula streams and the last skiing weekend of the season at Alyeska Resort (the mountain is open Friday through Monday), your low-budget opportunities are seriously limited. But with more than 18 hours of daylight available -- some 13 more than skiers saw in December -- count your blessings.

A possible itinerary:

• After a leisurely breakfast, head down the Seward Highway from Anchorage by 9:30 a.m. You'll want to be ready to go for the first tram ride up Mount Alyeska at 11 a.m.

• Ski maybe a half-dozen runs on top portion of the mountain of the mountain.

• Jump back in the car by 2-3 p.m. and head toward Homer.

• That should allow a solid five hours of fishing at Deep Creek or the Anchor River before midnight tolls, plenty of time for a talented angler to entice a king.

The cost, assuming you have the gear, is modest -- a $40 adult lift ticket, maybe $60 in gas, a $24 resident sport fishing license and a $10 king salmon stamp.

You could pay more. Much more.

Chugach Powder Guides, the heli-skiing specialists out of Girdwood, offer week-long packages for $8,650, and two of the company's five packages that run into July are sold out.

"It's a terrific thing to do," said Julian Mason of Anchorage, a lawyer and member of the Chugach State Park Citizen's Advisory Board who signed up for a Kings & Corn trip with Chugach Powder Guides two years ago.

"It's sinful is what it is. I like to ski -- it's one of the things I enjoy in a passionate kind of way. And the kings are kind of special too," he said. "The combination of somebody waiting on you hands and foot and flying in, it's just easy."

Mason purchased a June package, skiing in the Tordrillo Mountains west of Anchorage and fishing a tributary to the Yentna River.

"The guides pay attention to ability level of everyone in the group," he said. "They're very sensitive to that. They pick the right terrain and match you up with the right people. I was completely comfortable with the skiing."

Skiing comes first, continuing until the snow starts getting slushy in the afternoon. Then it's off to the river bank.

"The king salmon were very cooperative," Mason said. "More so for others than for me. I'm sure not so hot with my fishing skills, but my luck was good."

Among the guides working for Chugach Powder Guides is Tommy Moe, the silver and gold medalist at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway. Moe now lives in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Not everyone gets to ski with Moe, an Alaska legend. But most go home with memories.

"Of course people like the warm skiing and the fishing is ridiculously good -- sight fishing kings with fly rods," said Chris Owens, general manager of Chugach Powder Guides. "But I think what people like the most is really the gluttony of it all. The fact that you can do both in the same day and sometimes go ski under the midnight sun is really pretty ridiculous.

"It appeals to the 'fun hog' in our guests. After a five-day trip, they go home quivering."

Of course, many would demand gluttony at those prices, but Owens said the company is offering a discount June 30-July 2 package for $4,900 aimed at Alaskans.

Reach reporter Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.