Juneau’s Eaglecrest ski area will remain open this weekend at a reduced capacity. Only the Porcupine chair will be running. This lift serves the easiest trails on the mountain.
Staff had hoped to open more mountain this weekend but the ski report this morning confirmed the closure of the Blackbear, Ptarmigan, and Hooter lifts. This means that there will be no access to the top mountain.
span style=”font weight: 400 It was 35 degrees at the base on Wednesday morning. Kristen Strom, Marketing and Events manager, said that it had been raining all the way up to Hooter. “That kinda set us back .”
This week’s temperatures were higher than expected. There were several days that were above freezing.
Last weekend, Eaglecrest held a soft-opening. Strom reported that there was a steady stream of people who came out to enjoy the trails.
span style=”font weight: 400 It was a slow opening for us. She said that we had been predicted to get a lot of snow this week.
Strom stated that safety concerns influenced the decision to close some trails. The snowpack at the base of the mountain is very thin, making it vulnerable to early-season hazards.
Another consideration is snowmaking. Eaglecrest depends on a snow base that is durable and can last the entire season. They have relied on man-made snow more in recent seasons. The temperatures this year have been too warm for snowmakers to cover the mountain’s base.
Strom stated that Eaglecrest is used to a slow rollout and that they expect the entire mountain to be accessible by Thursday, December 15.
Clear skies and below-normal temperatures are forecast by the National Weather Service
