Arctic Valley Ski Area opens for the season

Arctic Valley Ski Area opened Saturday after a dump of snow in Anchorage provided the boost it needed to start hosting skiers and snowboarders.

The nonprofit ski area planned to open the previous weekend but pushed back its first day of operations because there wasn’t enough snow, general manager John Robinson-Wilson said. Tuesday’s significant snowfall coated the mountains with fresh powder and made it skiable, he said.

Sixteen to 18 inches of snow fell on the mountains during Tuesday’s storm and more was piling up Friday, Robinson-Wilson said.

The area opened for tubing in late November.

[Get out your skis and snowboards. Southcentral Alaska mountains are opening for business.]

Hilltop Ski Area, also in Anchorage, opened the previous weekend, as did Skeetawk Ski Area at Hatcher Pass. Alyeska Resort in Girdwood has been open since last month.

The ski area will be open during weekends this season, along with weekdays during school holidays. It will open on Thursday and Friday afternoons and evenings after Feb. 28.

Arctic Valley’s 2023-24 season is scheduled to run through at least the second weekend of April.