Landing in an Alaskan blizzard

[offshore171]

And late in the day, it starts snowing. Really dumping, and they are beautiful large, light flakes, falling straight down with no wind. View from the bar.


It snows all night, and then stops bang on 11am when the lifts open. A foot of fresh dry powder snow, right down to village level. It's -8 and the sun is breaking through.

This would be a day of days. This is why we travel.

Speaking to someone on the lift, we figured we had chanced our way into probably the best conditions of any ski resort in the world on this day, in mid April.

Crowds are quite low as it’s midweek, so there was fresh tracks on offer until around 2pm.

 

[craven morehead]

This trip had us taking off in Sydney in warm autumn sunshine, and touching down in this:

View attachment 325211

View attachment 325212

Following this TR

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Landing in a blizzard… whatever next!!!??

We get two spots of rain in Syndey or Melbourne and ATC/pilots/airlines can’t seem to cope… delays and cancellations

 

[offshore171]

Landing in a blizzard… whatever next!!!??

We get two spots of rain in Syndey or Melbourne and ATC/pilots/airlines can’t seem to cope… delays and cancellations

True. And the poms aren't much better - Heathrow closes with 1cm of snow! To be fair though, the alaskans are truly geared up for it.

Incidentally, Anchorage is one of the world's busiest airports - due to cargo

 

[Pushka]

Where is it still cold enough in mid april to get good snow on big mountains? Alaska maybe?

So I tapped the brains trust on the Au ski forum, and they came up with a few options, but several posters confirmed that Alaska is indeed a solid option.

Then AFF came good with some info about getting to Alaska

Qantas to Alaska via Hawaii. Possible?

Any QF booking engine gurus want to have a crack at this one? I'm looking at travelling SYD > HNL > ANC return in March or April with Qantas+Alaskan next year. Qantas flies to HNL and Alaskan flies from there to ANC. Should be an easy one stopper right? The Qantas booking engine doesn't like...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

I was wanting to go 1 stop via Hawaii in both directions to avoid the US mainland, (which involves at least 3 flights)

You can't do it all on one QF itinerary, so the solution was a "nested" ticket.

Ticket 1 QF return SYD <> HNL


Ticket 2 Alaskan Return HNL <> ANC.

The Alaskan ticket was relatively inexpensive for a 6.5 hour flight, so we did this bit in "1st". That is, US domestic first, which is similar to Jetstar business. Bonus - 100 QF Status Credits!

We had a massive snowstorm, in the Grand Canyon of all places, in May 2019. We were going on a cruise in Alaska and had to dig out al the thermal stuff.

 

[offshore171]

We had a massive snowstorm, in the Grand Canyon of all places, in May 2019. We were going on a cruise in Alaska and had to dig out al the thermal stuff.
View attachment 325655

Wow, those unseaonal cold snaps are really a thing!

Even here in Australia, we had a decent dump of snow in Perisher last December and again in early feburary. It's quite bizarre.
3rd Feb 2023


Also just saw that Alyeska had another foot of snow overnight, 26 April, bringing the season total to 615 inches = 15.6 metres in our language

Mountain Report - Alyeska Resort

mountain report Girdwood WEATHER Webcams Trail Map Activities Upcoming Events Webcams View All 7 day forecast Girdwood WEATHER Alyeska Weather Base Weather Mid Mountain Weather Max’s Summit Weather Top GBX Weather Alyeska Peak Weather

www.alyeskaresort.com

 

[Pushka]

Wow, those unseaonal cold snaps are really a thing!

Even here in Australia, we had a decent dump of snow in Perisher last December and again in early feburary. It's quite bizarre.
3rd Feb 2023
View attachment 325656

Also just saw that Alyeska had another foot of snow overnight, 26 April, bringing the season total to 615 inches = 15.6 metres in our language

Mountain Report - Alyeska Resort

mountain report Girdwood WEATHER Webcams Trail Map Activities Upcoming Events Webcams View All 7 day forecast Girdwood WEATHER Alyeska Weather Base Weather Mid Mountain Weather Max’s Summit Weather Top GBX Weather Alyeska Peak Weather

www.alyeskaresort.com

Yes, I think it was called a polar vortex! It was warmer in Alaska than Grand Canyon!

 

[offshore171]

There's a popular restaurant in Girdwood village called Jack Sprat and we headed there for dinner.

How it was for us


How it looks in summer

Jack Sprat Restaurant

Girdwood Restaurant: High-class dining everyone will love. Brunch Available on weekends. Local AK Seafood. Fantastic Vegetarian & Vegan options available

girdwood.com

A jenga tower of yams to work through while waiting for mains


Pinot from Oregon

 

[Quickstatus]

Crowds are quite low

And that is the great thing about April skiing.
Sun sets later, no crowds, lower ticket prices

You got the jackpot with fresh power added in

 

[Pushka]

Are yams sweet potato?

 

[offshore171]

Are yams sweet potato?

Apparently not - different botanical family according to this:

Sweet Potato vs Yam: What's the Difference?

No, yams and sweet potatoes are not the same, they're actually in different plan families! Learn all about the differences between the two in our blog post!

www.webstaurantstore.com

 

[offshore171]

With 2 days to go we have a clear day, with no new snow and then in the evening on the penultimate day in Girdwood, it again starts snowing like crazy.



It was another foot of new snow. A truly epic last hurrah at Alyeska.

Some of the terrain is very steep. View from the cablecar.


And with that, we depart the next morning for a couple of days in Anchorage. Adios Alyeska!


This time, the road is clear.

 

[craven morehead]

And late in the day, it starts snowing. Really dumping, and they are beautiful large, light flakes, falling straight down with no wind. View from the bar.
View attachment 325576

It snows all night, and then stops bang on 11am when the lifts open. A foot of fresh dry powder snow, right down to village level. It's -8 and the sun is breaking through.

This would be a day of days. This is why we travel.

Speaking to someone on the lift, we figured we had chanced our way into probably the best conditions of any ski resort in the world on this day, in mid April.

Crowds are quite low as it’s midweek, so there was fresh tracks on offer until around 2pm.

View attachment 325574

View attachment 325577

View attachment 325579
View attachment 325582View attachment 325583View attachment 325584

Sensational

 

[offshore171]

Met this good boi, who could be a future Iditarod competitor

 

[offshore171]

On to Anchorage, where we arrived around midday.

The accommodation is the Hotel Captain Cook, a large heritage hotel in the downtown area, with some pretty incredible views.

Welcome - Hotel Captain Cook

WelcomeIt’s not just the little things, it’s everything at Anchorage’s only Preferred Hotel. ROOMS & SUITESBETTER THAN HOME Located in the heart of downtown Anchorage, Alaska, every one of the Hotel Captain Cook’s 546 rooms and suites offer stunning views of the neighboring Cook Inlet or Chugach...

captaincook.com

 

[offshore171]

They allow us to check in immediately with no fuss, and the reception recommends walking the Anchorage Coastal trail which starts just 3 mins away from the hotel.

Home

Home

anchoragecoastaltrail.com

There are views of land, sea and sky that seem to stretch to infinity. Just 3 mins walk from downtown anchorage.

The weather is good and several locals are out walking the trail, many with dogs. Quite a few were the type you'd expect to see in Alaska: Malamutes, Huskies etc, but also labradors and the like. All getting out in the spring sunshine.

 

[Quickstatus]

Some of the terrain is very steep.

Just do it

 

[offshore171]

Just do it

 

[Quickstatus]

Most skiers don't read

 

[offshore171]

After the coastal trail, we make our way back through the burbs


And walk up quite the appetite. We head for 49th State Brewing, a brewpub downtown for lunch

Anchorage – 49th State Brewing

They have an outdoor viewing deck facing the mountains to the north.

From here, on a perfect day, you can see the top of the 20,000ft Denali - the tallest mountain in North America, some 200km away.