AMU Ski Hill and Jump

Alaska Methodist University Ski Hill and Jump

1967 to 1980s

Name of Ski Area:	Alaska Methodist University Ski Hill and Paul Crews Jump
Location:	Anchorage, on the western side of the Alaska Pacific University, east of the Moseley Sports Center on the east facing hillside that slopes down from the presidents house.
Type of Area:	Ski Hill, Ski Jump
Dates of Operation:	Ski Hill: 1967 to 1980s ? (still researching) / Ski Jump: 1967 to mid 1970's
Who Built It?:	The Alaska Methodist University (Jim Mahaffey designed and helped build both the rope tow and the 30 meter jump - which had lots of scaffolding)
Elevation:	~400' / Vertical: ~80'
Lifts:	Rope tow
Facilities:	30 meter ski jump, lights for night skiing
History:	The ski hill and Paul Crews Jump was built in 1967. The Alaska Methodist University closed down in 1976. The Alaska Pacific University operates on the campus now and since 1999 it has been the home of the nationally renown APU Nordic Ski Center.
Sources of Information:	Jim Mahaffey, Colin Quinn-Hurst (October 2001 issue of "The APU Journal": "APU Nordic Ski History"); Tim Kelley; Benji and Shannon Uffenbeck
Photos:	Does anyone have pictures of jumping on the AMU jump or skiing on the AMU Ski Hill that they would like to contribute to ALSAP ?

~ PHOTOS ~

Photos from 1960's Alaska Methodist University Publications

(Click on images below to enlarge them)
[Photo credits: Alaska Methodist University]

[1968] Above: Coach Jim Mahaffey instructs student skiers on the University Ski Slope

1968 AMU Information Bulletin cover AMU standout skier Gene Morgan [1968] [1967-68] Building and skiing the Paul Crews Jump. Pages from the 1968 "Amulet" AMU yearbook.

Skiing pages from the 1967 "Amulet" AMU yearbook. Shots from the AMU Ski Hill.

~ ARTICLES ~

Colin Quinn-Hurst's October 2001 article: "APU Nordic Ski History"

(Click on images to expand to readable size)

~ AERIAL VIEWS ~

This 2002 aerial view of Anchorage shows where the AMU / APU campus is located.

(click on this view to expand it)

A zoomed in view shows the Alaska Pacific University campus and the location of the old AMU ski hill and jump.

(click on view to expand it)

Zooming in further, you can see the location of where the jump and outrun was located. And the estimated location of the rope tow.

(click on view to expand it)

These mid 1970's aerial views, provided by Benji and Shannon Uffenbeck, show the AMU ski hill and jump. A zoomed in shot of the ski hill and jump can be seen on the right.

Note in the picture that there is not yet the Moseley Sports Center or the President's House.

(click on view to expand it)

Research Correspondence

[Paul Wunnicke - 03 February 2005 email excerpt]

We were jumping off the APU jump in 1974/75 even though it was "closed". It got kind of scary as the boards were getting rotten and then i had a big wreck and quit doing it.

Do you have further information, stories or pictures that you would like to contribute about this ski area?



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