Alpine Skiing in Alaska

Alaska has long been known for having some of the best big mountain skiing in North America. With its sprawling Alaska Range and a max elevation of 20,310 ft atop Mt. Denali there is no shortage of stellar skiing opportunities. The mountains in the Alaska Range also receive an average of 650 inches of snow that blankets an area of 95,000 sq miles. The main, most prominent resort in Alaska is Alyeska Resort which is conveniently situated just an hours drive from the state capital of Anchorage. While Alyeska Resort is most certainly not the largest resort around with only 76 trails and 1,610 skiable acres, it boasts and is considered to have some of the most challenging terrain out of any resort in North America. 37% of their trails are rated expert/advanced and the resort possesses a respectable vertical drop of 3,200 ft. Like the resorts in the Cascades, none of the resorts in Alaska have any ski towns filled with attractions or any other external amenities. The people who end up going to Alaska to ski are the ones who really care about a great ski experience with deep snow and expansive terrain. While Alyeska is definitely a quality resort that offers great in bounds skiing, most people come to Alaska for the truly world class powder heli-skiing and backcountry skiing. Alaska's peaks and mountaintops are the perfect environment for stellar heli and powder skiing as they are much taller, steeper, and more closely positioned next to one another compared to Colorado's peaks. Because Alaska's peaks are positioned closer to one another a person can get in more runs simply because the helicopter has a shorter distance to cover. One of the most renown heliski tour guide companies is the aptly named Alaska Heliskiing company as well as Mica Heliskiing. Both companies have been around for a little over a decade with Alaska Heliskiing getting founded in 2001 and Mica Heliskiing in 2003. Both companies guide you around the mountains surrounding the town of Haines, Alaska. With each company you are organized into either groups of four or ten depending on your preferred package and lead by highly trained guides who are well versed in the mountain topography. Both companies offer two packages that range from two to five days in length. The packages that are available from the two companies vary slightly in terms of what they offer and the cost. Both the Alaska Heliskiing packages are slightly cheaper in price but the base package doesn't provide cooked meals, while both packages from Mica Heliskiing do provide cooked meals. The terrain that each company resides over along with the guides play a role in determining which company to choose. The price may be the final deciding factor, and while all four packages from the two companies are expensive, if you're a true lover of skiing and want a once in a lifetime experience that you'll remember forever shell out the 5,000 dollars and book a trip.