Sports

Alyeska to reopen upper mountain to snowboarders and skiers Friday

The hit-and-miss ski season at Alyeska picks up again Friday, when the Girdwood resort will open after a four-day closure.

So far Alyeska has been open 10 days, with the longest stretch a five-day span earlier this month.

The entire mountain has yet to open during this snow-starved winter. The bottom of the mountain remains brown, but the upper mountain got seven inches of new snow early Thursday for a total depth of 54 inches, according to the resort's snow report.

When Alyeska reopens Friday, the Glacier Bowl Express will be the only chairlift running, and skiers will need to upload and download on the tram.

"Unfortunately we still don't have the coverage to open the entire mountain," Alyeska spokeswoman Amy Quesenberry said in an email.

"The resort has had similar years with delayed openings for the upper mountain, or alternatively we have had delayed openings for the lower mountain. There have been years that we don't get some of the outer areas open, but it's still early in the season, and the snow always comes eventually."

Thanksgiving came and went with no skiing at Alyeska, which asks playfully on its website that people put "snow" at the top of their Christmas wish list.

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Hilltop Ski Area in Anchorage is going a step farther. Friday is the deadline for entries in the ski resort's snow dance video contest, with ski passes going to the top 10 videos.

"We all are praying for snow and doing everything we can to get it to come out of the sky," said Hilltop's Katie Black, assistant ski school director.

Black said it got cold enough Wednesday to make snow and it stayed cold to keep the guns going all day Thursday.

"We're hoping to open as much real estate as we can," she said.

Hilltop's terrain park isn't open yet, Black said.

At Alyeska, Friday will mark the 11th day of skiing this winter. The mountain was open Dec. 5-6, Dec. 7-11 and Dec. 12-14.

It will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and will be open daily until further notice.

"It should be great skiing and riding," Quesenberry said. "Terrain open will be Mighty Mite all the way over to Center Ridge including Upper Silvertip, Chilkoot Knoll, Fairbanks (and) Wicks."

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