Landing in an Alaskan blizzard

[offshore171]

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

 

[offshore171]

Travelling party is a family of 2 adults 2 kids, and the travel occurred in mid April 2023.

The plan:

• QF From SYD to HNL
• Alaskan Airlines from HNL to ANC
• Stay at Alyeska Resort for about a week
• 2 Nights at the Captain Cook hotel in Anchorage
• Alaskan Airlines from ANC to HNL
• Few days in HNL
• QF From HNL to SYD

So what brought this plan about?

A few months ago, I was looking at an overseas family ski trip. First in years.

January airfares were really off the charts expensive to the typical places like Japan or Europe.

Could we do it in April? And where?

 

[offshore171]

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!

 

[offshore171]

I was expecting SYD international to be a madhouse on Easter Saturday at the start of school holidays, but it was oddly empty. Straight through checkin, immigration and security without a line in sight.

However, there was some drama leaving Sydney, despite the great weather.


Flight is supposed to leave at 20:40, but there is a delay.

The pilots for our flight walk around the lounge and personally advise all the HNL passengers of the situation. The A330 they were supposed to take from the hangar has a tech problem and cannot be used.

So a replacement A330 is flying down from BNE right now, it then needs to be prepped for the long HNL sector. They are saying we will be cutting close to curfew, but should get away ok.

And we do, just. Pushback was at 22:48!

 

[offshore171]

As expected, touchdown in HNL was a couple of hours late.

US Immigration was quite quick, maybe 15 mins.

I'd accumulated a few Hilton points, and I usually find these quite hard to use. However i found I could get 1 night at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on points, so we had a 1 day layover in HNL.

This also gave a bit of contingency for the unprotected Alaskan ticket, in the event that the Qantas flight was cancelled etc.

The hotel was really busy. There was even a massive high school prom being held there.



The Alaskan flight was 11pm the following day, so we pay an extra "day use" fee on departure day to have the room until 6pm.

Then it's back to HNL airport for the overnight to Anchorage.

 

[Scr77]

Your report is bringing back some great memories. Keep it coming. HNL to ANC is the only fight where my neighbouring passenger was a cat.

 

[offshore171]

The Alaska Airlines checkin at HNL Airport is quite slick.

However the rest of the airport, not so much.

The TSA line is massive. Once through, the rest of the airport terminal is pretty ordinary for such a massive tourist destination, in a developed nation. The "food court" is absolutely shocking!

Anyway, rant over, and we make our way to the gate.

There is an issue. They need 13 volunteers to not take the flight.

There is a 100 knot headwind along the HNL-ANC sector. So they need less payload and more fuel.

Furthermore, it's blizzarding at the destination, so they need contingency fuel if they have to divert. Where on earth they would divert to is a good question as there's not a lot between Hawaii and Alaska other than the cold dark North Pacific! Maybe Kodiak Island, or somewhere in the Aleutians?

It seems like a long overwater route for a 737...



The gate staff start with an offer of $500USD plus hotel, transfers and fly tomorrow.

A few accept.

Then it goes to 750. They get more takers, but these guys are connecting through to Fairbanks. Gate rep says they can make the arrangements.


They still need another 5 pax and it hits $1000USD. That does the trick, and we are away on a 6.5 hour redeye.

 

[offshore171]

Paying for the upgraded cabin on this sector was well and truly worth it. We all got a decent amount of sleep and the flight went quickly.

In the morning the approach to Anchorage was spectacular.

The flight tracked up Cook Inlet on approach, and there were stunning views of mountains to the west, glowing in the morning sun.

 

[offshore171]

The flight descends over a frozen sea, and as we approach Anchorage, the sun disappears and we are in a full on blizzard. The runway is blanketed in snow and there's an army of snowploughs doing its best to clear the runway.

If HNL airport was horrible, ANC is the opposite. It's an absolute gem.





We booked a transfer with an outfit called Bear Valley Road Runners, who were waiting for us, and we loaded up for the 1 hour drive to Girdwood.

 

[offshore171]

There's been at least a foot of snow overnight and it's still bucketing down.

The road to Girdwood follows the coastline along a branch of Cook Inlet known as Turnagain Arm.

In good conditions it's about an hour. Today it is just on the limit of drivable according to the driver, who gives us an excellent rundown on the various types of snow tyres. Apparently this vehicle has a pretty good set, since there's a lot of snow on the road and we are hanging in there.

And almost not another vehicle to be seen.



This body of water has the second biggest tidal difference in the world, and the shoreline is very dynamic. At the moment there are frozen boulders of sea ice. Spring is late this year apparently.

 

[offshore171]

We reach the town of Girdwood, which is a small town, blanketed in fresh snow. The streets are named after ski regions (Arlberg, Verbier, Garmisch etc)

The hotel is Alyeska Resort

Resort & Amenities - Alyeska Resort

Resort & Amenities - Alyeska Resort

www.alyeskaresort.com

Our room isn't ready, but we can grab a late breakfast in one of their restaurants.

At around 1030am, breakfast service is nearly finished, and it's mostly empty, but they say no problem and serve up a hearty breakfast.

Snow is still coming down, but floating down vertically without a puff of wind

 

[offshore171]

The Hotel is right at the foot of the mountain, and has a bit of a Frank Lloyd Wright vibe to it.

There's quite a few lounge areas, bars and restaurants, most of which have open fires, and large windows to take in the views.

Here's a few pics from around the traps.

 

[offshore171]

So a bit about Alaska in April:

The days are getting longer by about an hour a week at this time of year.

The sunsets are well after 9pm and getting later each day. It's not getting completely dark until 10pm.

It's now about midday on arrival day. I wasn't planning to ski the first day, but the conditions are just about perfect. Kids are happy to wait until tomorrow. I ventured out.

There's fresh dry powder everywhere.


The ski area's April operating hours here are unusual:

11am to 6pm.

 

[offshore171]

The name Alyeska comes from the Russian era name for the Alaska Peninsula, which the Russians had called Alyaska or Alyeska.


Directly outside the back door of the hotel is the Alyeska Tramway


There is an interesting sign


This is a European style cablecar that takes you directly to the summit "Glacier Bowl" area. The vertical rise here is around 800metres.


Incredibly, the base is virtually at sea level, which makes it pretty unique, and you can see the ocean from most vantage points on the mountain. That's the sea in the centre of this image, with more mountains on the other side of the water

 

[offshore171]

The hotel has a bunch of really good restaurants.

Here's the ones operated by the resort

Dining at Alyeska - Alyeska Resort

Dining at Alyeska - Alyeska Resort

www.alyeskaresort.com

What I liked is that they really made an effort to source local ingredients.

Starting with the restaurant Forte:
I'm not a massive food photographer, but a couple of good meals from "Forte" restaurant.

The Deadliest Catch - Alaskan King Crab


Locally caught Alaskan Black Cod



And there are additional independent restaurants in the surrounding village of Girdwood. You can walk to these, or use the free bus that circulates town. A $1 donation is encouraged when you board the bus, to help cover the running costs. The drivers are super friendly local characters.

 

[offshore171]

Quite a few of the locals we spoke to moved to Alaska from the lower 48. Our server is one such person and tells us why she loves Girdwood:

No cops
No traffic lights
No mean people

Another of the restaurants is Sakura, a high quality Japanese fusion offering.

You can eat omakase style in front of the chef, or via the menu at a table.

 

[offshore171]

I have to make a special mention of the Alaskan craft beer scene. It's absolutely fantastic, with so many high quality local brews on offer.

There are small breweries all over the place from Anchorage, to Denali, and even one right here in the village of Girdwood. I don't think I had a dud beer the entire time.

And the variety was amazing, stouts, lagers, pilsners, ales and even wheatbeers.

 

[Quickstatus]

Thanks @offshore171 .
Have never considered AK for April skiing. Usually in April I've done Snowbird UT.
Will put it in the to do list

 

[offshore171]

Thanks @offshore171 .
Have never considered AK for April skiing. Usually in April I've done Snowbird UT.
Will put it in the to do list

Thanks @Quickstatus

Stay tuned, I think you’ll enjoy the next post.

 

[offshore171]

Day 2 in Alyeska and we've had another 8 inches of fresh powder snow.

The kids are up for it and we have a great day on the mountain.