Alaska in Winter: Reveling in a Playground of Ice and Snow

16.12.2024 - 10:23 / nytimes.com

Twelve inches of fresh powder had just fallen at Eaglecrest Ski Area in Juneau, Alaska, when I arrived for my first day of skiing last February. Snow packed the slumping branches of towering pines and frosted the beards of draping moss. From the chairlift, skiers below me appeared from the thighs up, their lower halves plowing fresh tracks. Whoops of delight rang out from sources unseen.

Dropping into an intermediate run, I fought the pull of the depths and managed to surf the soft mantle in a joyous ride — whooping all the way.

Powder days, I always thought, were for locals and, occasionally, lucky visitors. After all, it’s hard to schedule a trip around an unpredictable snowstorm far enough in advance to get decent airfare.

To boost my luck last winter, I relocated to Juneau, the capital of Alaska, for a month. Though better known as a cruise port welcoming 1.6 million ship passengers annually between May and October, it’s also a ski town in the low (and budget-friendly) season.

Climate-wise, Juneau is renowned for rain. Surrounded by the Tongass National Forest, the world’s largest contiguous temperate rainforest, the destination gets 230 days of rain a year, some of them in winter.

But when the conditions are right, the rain turns to snow and freshwater to ice, creating a wonderland for winter fans, like me, who appreciate downhill and cross-country skiing as well as skating, hiking, cultural diversions off-piste and culinary intrigue after dark.