Tim Terwilliger spoke above the din of dozens of teenage snowboarders and skiers Monday afternoon, confirming that conditions at Hilltop Ski Area are pretty darned good. An overnight snowfall of 4.7 inches in the Anchorage area Sunday night and Monday morning added new powder to a growing base at the ski area, giving kids and adults a chance to enjoy a post-Christmas ski outing.
"Right now we've got an additional 4 to 6 inches of packed powder, and it's really excellent conditions," Terwilliger, Hilltop's mountain manager, said. "It's pretty crowded too. There's a lot of new snowboards and skis and gear that kids are coming in with from Christmas."
Skiing across Southcentral Alaska got a needed boost over the weekend with snowfall of up to 8 inches in places such as Alyeska Resort, where communications manager Gary Scott said fresh powder is luring skiers by the busload.
"It is definitely a powder day," Scott said. "The lower bowl is now open, which just happened over the weekend, and right now they're trying to get the north face open."
Scott said the resort area has a 100-inch base at the top of the mountain and 80 inches at midway. While skiers have complained about a lack of snow, Scott said this season's conditions aren't far off the average.
"It's not often that we can get the north face open for the first week of skiing. That happens about one in every four years," Scott said. "We're about on par for snowfall, but the base has been a little warmer, and that's what people see when they look out their window."
Downhillers queued in growing lines at Alyeska chairlifts because the north face isn't open yet, Scott said.
"Chair six is where the lines are, but the rest of the mountain is not too bad," he said.
Elsewhere in Anchorage, the new snow revived the slopes at Alpenglow at Arctic Valley, which will celebrate the New Year with an extra day of skiing Friday. Ski area spokeswoman Jennifer Gordon said a 40-inch packed base makes for great skiing just a few minutes' drive out of town.
"We also are grooming every Thursday or Friday the three-kilometer Nordic ski loop and the bottom of the mountain," Gordon said.
Alpenglow will be open 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. this week on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to allow extra skiing time for kids on winter break or those looking to celebrate the new year outdoors. For Christmas, the ski area offered free skiing for those with enough nerve to dress like the Grinch. But this week, it's come as you are.
"It was fun," Gordon said of last week's promotion at Alpenglow. "We had a lot of people with Santa stuff on with a green nose, but one guy had the full paint on his face and everything."
Scott, of Alyeska, said New Year's events at the resort include a torchlight parade beginning 8 p.m. Friday in which all the lights are turned off on the mountain and skiers whiz down the slopes holding burning torches.
Afterwards, a fireworks display will help ring in the new year. A special dinner and dance will be at the resort.
On Monday, Scott had just finished eating lunch with some of the lift crew, all of whom were wishing they weren't operating the lifts but out skiing and boarding.
"We're having a good powder day," Scott said.
Judging by the mix of clientele taking runs down the mountain, Scott said he and his co-workers are probably not alone.
"It's usually kids here (during the school holiday)," Scott said. "Today's a good mix, though. I think a few people called in sick after that snowfall in Anchorage."
Daily News reporter Melissa DeVaughn can be reached at mdevaughn@adn.com.
