Anchorage

Anchorage entrepreneur hopes to build zipline, adventure course at Hilltop

An Anchorage entrepreneur is seeking approval from the city to build an aerial adventure course and zip line at Hilltop Ski Area.

Scott Amy, a local pilot and paragliding instructor, has submitted a proposal to the city for a treetop obstacle course with cables, ropes and aerial platforms in the ski area on the Anchorage Hillside. He said he wants to eventually build a longer zip line -- where riders slide down a cable on an incline suspended by a pulley -- in the ski area, similar to ones in Seward and Talkeetna.

City parks officials and business leaders share Amy's interest, and former mayor Dan Sullivan mentioned the proposal in a news conference in October. As well as pitching his idea to the city, Amy has support from the nonprofit that runs Hilltop Ski Area, Youth Exploring Adventures, which he hopes would help operate the facility.

At least for now, disputes between Youth Exploring Adventures and the city, its landlord, seem to be complicating his efforts. The main issue is the nonprofit's lease agreement, which is set to expire in less than five years.

The city's Parks and Recreation Department on June 16 solicited suggestions from entrepreneurs for a zip line and adventure course in Anchorage. In a document posted online, the city said that Hilltop, which is on city-owned parkland, had been identified as the "preferred location" for such a project.

That was news, however, to Youth Exploring Adventures, whose CEO said this week that he's concerned about the future of the nonprofit's lease. The CEO, Steve Remme, said his organization has been aware of Amy's project for months and is interested in a partnership. But city officials say they are not interested in extending the current version of the nonprofit's lease, which expires in 2020.

"We withdrew our (lease extension) request so we could try to figure out what's going on, why we're getting mixed messages," Remme said this week.

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Remme said the nonprofit hopes to exercise a 10-year extension option on the current lease before committing to help fund a zip line and challenge course project. But he said recent attempts to meet with Sullivan and former city manager George Vakalis were unsuccessful.

The Hilltop lease has been the source of friction in recent years. In 2014, the city paid a $875,000 settlement to Youth Exploring Adventures over a lawsuit about payments for the use of the chalet there.

John Rodda, director of the city's Parks and Recreation Department, said the city is unwilling to extend the lease "as it is currently written" without making adjustments to some of the language. He said the city does not want to re-live the court case over the lease, approved by voters in 2000 and amended by the city in 2005.

Under the lease, Youth Exploring Adventures does not have exclusive use of the Hilltop ski area. The city could independently contract with a vendor like Amy to bring a ropes course and zip line to the area, Rodda said.

That would involve striking a deal that would not interfere with the operations of the ski area, said Bob Owens, a city attorney who worked on the court case.

Rodda said the city doesn't have the resources or manpower to build its own zip line or adventure course. He said Hilltop is a prime location, as far as the physical terrain and the potential for attracting both locals and tourists are concerned. As for Amy's proposal, Rodda said he hoped Amy and Youth Exploring Adventures would be able to work together.

"It would be cleaner, simpler if they work together," Rodda said. "If not, we'll just have to figure out how the parties co-occupy, if you will, seasonally on that footprint."

In the absence of collaboration, Rodda said the city decided to move forward last month with its "request for information" from vendors on bringing a zip line and adventure course to Anchorage. The request for information does not necessarily lead to a contract but is designed to gauge the level of interest in the project, Rodda said.

But when the deadline arrived earlier this week, Amy was the only one who had submitted a proposal, said Ron Hadden, the city's purchasing officer.

At this point, Rodda said, there's no plan. He said the next step will be to brief new mayor Ethan Berkowitz and his administration before deciding how to proceed.

For his part, Amy said he's trying not to get in the middle of quarrels between the city and Youth Exploring Adventures. He said both parties have been "really supportive" of his idea, and he's confident the nonprofit ski operation will find a way to extend its lease. He's now in his fourth year pursuing an Anchorage-area zip line and challenge course, a quest that began with a proposal for a zip line at Alyeska Ski Resort and developed into what it is today.

Amy said his family has enjoyed zip lines and obstacle courses for years and he wants to see more activities for locals and tourists in Anchorage. The 49-year-old also has lengthy experience as a guide on hiking, paragliding and rock climbing trips -- "doing potentially dangerous activities and showing (people) how to do it safely," he said.

His Hilltop proposal would unfold in phases, he said, with the first phase being a 50-foot aerial adventure course structure that could hold between 40 and 60 people at a time for two-hour intervals. Visitors would move through treetop obstacles like swinging bridges, ropes and cables or zip lines while connected to safety equipment. Amy said the proposed facility would have more than 40 such "challenges." Once the course is built, he said, he would hope to add longer zip lines.

"I think it would be a real nice addition to the outdoor activities we have in Anchorage," Amy said.

He said he plans to send a letter to the new administration of Mayor Berkowitz and hopes to know by October how soon he can move forward.

Devin Kelly

Devin Kelly was an ADN staff reporter.

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