Alaska News

Tickets for popular ski train go on sale Thursday

With the prospect of snow in this week's forecast, the sale of tickets for Anchorage's popular Ski Train couldn't happen at a better time for the sponsoring Nordic Ski Association of Anchorage.

No need to wax your skis yet, though. The train doesn't head north for Curry until March 12. But you may need to grease your wallet: Tickets cost $135 for association members and nonmembers pay $170. That's a $5 increase from last year for members, $10 for nonmembers. Tickets for members go on sale Thursday.

The train carries hundreds of skiers – 664 last year – to Curry for a day of skiing, touring, and, for many, partying. Typically, tickets are gone in about two weeks, and skiers who reserve early can pick their rail car. In addition to the polka and the family-friendly cars, there's a wine-and-cheese car, a car with a DJ and a quiet zone.

"It's something different for every single person," said Tamra Kornfield, program manager for the ski association. Some skiing friends fill up much of a railcar with their own dress-up themes.

"It's an incredible party," said Anchorage skier Kenny Powers, who's been riding the ski train since the mid-1980s.

Snowy destination

Tickets for association members go on sale Thursday. If tickets remain available Nov. 7, nonmembers can purchase them. Details are here. How the skiing will be in five months is anybody's guess, though. "Actually, last year (Curry) was the only place with snow in March, so it was fortunate we headed north," Kornfield said.

Back in July, Alaska Railroad President and CEO Bill O'Leary said the railroad, in efforts to counter a sharp drop in revenue, might try to attract more passengers during the offseason by expanding schedules of popular themed train rides such as the ski train.

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"We're looking at more beer trains, holiday trains and ski trains," O'Leary said. "Passenger travel is an area where we try to expand where it makes sense."

Apparently, this year doesn't make sense for the Nordic Ski Association of Anchorage. There's only the single train.

"Not this year," said Kornfield, who called the ski train the association's top fundraiser except for memberships, which start at $85 for single skiers who want a trail pin and $170 for families. "I guess we've always focused on one day (ski trains) because it takes a lot of organization, a lot of volunteers to pull it off. "

A decades-old partnership between the ski club and the railroad, the train has headed north to Curry since 2003, replacing a trip south to Grandview that in some years posed avalanche concerns. The 2010 ski train was canceled shortly after the Alaska Railroad announced more than 100 layoffs and decided to cancel several charter trains in an effort to save money. It returned after a one-year hiatus.

'Still a lot of fun'

Even today, a contingent of Alaska skiers, including Powers, pines for the old Grandview destination.

"I don't have any doubt that the Grandview ski train was the best one-day tour in the world," he said. "Grandview is so gorgeous with such incredible skiing."

By contrast, "in Curry everybody comes down the same trail," said Powers, a member of the Anchorage Nordic Ski Patrol . "It's like the Chilkoot Trail going up, but very fast coming down. The skiing may not be special for backcountry skiers like Powers, "but the train is still a lot of fun.

"And I've seen plenty of them. I have probably been on more ski trains than anybody in Anchorage."

Party on.

Contact Mike Campbell at mcampbell(at)alaskadispatch.com

Mike Campbell

Mike Campbell was a longtime editor for Alaska Dispatch News, and before that, the Anchorage Daily News.

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