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~ PHOTOS ~ (Click on any photo below to enlarge it) |
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(1941-1945) [Left] View of the original entrance to the new Fort Richardson Ski Bowl [Photo credit: Anchorage Museum of History and Art] (1945) [Right] View of buildings and the rope tow at the Arctic Valley Ski Bowl [Photo credit: Anchorage Museum of History and Art]
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(1950 - Feb. 26) Skiers and buildings at Arctic Valley (the 3 pictures below) |
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(1953-1954) Sign at ski area entrance says: "Arctic Valley Ski Bowl". |
(1940s) Greeters at an Anchorage Ski Club meeting / party. [Photo credit: Russell Dow Archives, University of Alaska Anchorage]
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(1941) [Right] Skiers were always safe at the Arctic Valley Ski Bowl - thanks to the well trained Denali Ski Patrol. [Photo credit: Russell Dow Archives, University of Alaska Anchorage] |
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Anchorage Ski Club patch |
Anchorage Ski Club patch |
Anchorage Ski Club patch |
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Spring 1945 |
Beulah Marrs Parisi, Spring 1945 |
Spring 1945 |
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(1941) Right - The base structures at the Arctic Valley Ski Bowl. [Photo credit: Jack Edward McIlrach / Barbara McIlrath] (1952) Far Right - An August view of the ski hill, lift and buildings. |
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Vintage (assumed WWII era) Military "Arctic Valley Ski Club" patch |
1963 Arctic Valley
Ski Club Winter Carnival "1st Place Sourdoughs" trophy [Photo credit: Bill Cooper] |
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Arctic Valley Ski Club patch, date unknown. |
Arctic Valley Ski
Bowl patch, 1971 [Photo credit: Jim Clavin] |
Arctic Valley Ski
Club patch, 1971 [Photo credit: Jim Clavin] |
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~ Maps ~ |
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This 1985 topo map shows the location of the Arctic Valley Ski Bowl relative to Fort Richardson and Anchorage. (click on this map to expand it) |
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This 1960 topo map shows the military side of the now merged Alpenglow ski area. Noted on this map is the location of the old Poma lift that served slopes below the lodge. (click on this map to expand it) |
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| Research Correspondence | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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[Excerpt from Elizabeth Tower's "Skiing in Alaska"] Back in 1941, Col. M. R. ("Muktuk") Marston arrived in the Anchorage area as a U.S. Air Force major with special services in charge of recreation. His mandate was to "do something for the morale of GIs in Alaska." Before Marston arrived, Russell Dow, a former Dartmouth College skier, had been training Army ski troops on the City Ski Bowl slopes. Muktuk and his staff - which included Bob Thompson, a member of the elite Alaska scouts known as "Castner's Cutthroats" - searched the country for a hundred miles around Anchorage for a better ski training area and selected the Arctic Valley site in the Chugach Mountains overlooking Anchorage. The new ski area was developed and operated jointly by the military and Anchorage Ski Club members until the late 1940s. When civilian skiers became so numerous that there wasn't enough room in the military warm-up building, the Anchorage Ski Club moved up the valley and built its own lodge and rope tows. Bob Thompson, who had settled in Anchorage and became a leader in the development of the ski facilities, was killed during a summer work party in 1954. The hill above the lodge has been named in his honor. |
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[Rodney Crews - excerpt from 14 November 2004 email] Army Arctic Valley lodge, poma and chair torn down in summer '02 or '03 (they could never get a contractor for a 3-yr. lease that allowed only military and civil service). |
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[Phillip Ruminski - 19 May 2005 email] Great to see your site! I was a 6th grader growing up on Ft. Rich and learned to ski at Artic Valley from 1969 to 1971. If I recall, the old slope below the lodge was called the B-29. I remember looking over the edge from the top of that slope and thinking "boy is that steep"! I also recall "the trail" which was a nice diversion from the treeless slopes. |
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[Jim Renkert - 01 November 2005 email excerpt] There's an old jump site at Arctic Valley just to the right of the base of the Thompson lift. The inrun, outrun and runout are all real visible although overgrown. Paul Crews Sr. designed it. I have no idea if it was ever used much. Probably built in the late 50s, early 60s. I don't remember them nordic jumping when I was a kid up there in the mid 60s. |
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[Peter Porco - 04 November 2005 email to him from Duane Ludke, excerpt] DUANE LUDKE, Anchorage ski club, read article with interest. I've been playing w/ some of those Nike site relics for many years. Jim Lavrakas photo in Saturday's paper [10.29.05], B section, Page 2, photo of Alpenglow and 2 of the Nike boosters in the lower center section of the paper. I discovered these on the back side of Arctic Valley in 1977 or '78 ... usually crushed ... when fell back to earth ... They delineate road that leads up to entrance to the lodge ... fine front door to the lodge! |
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[Owen Wozniak - 22 June 2006 email]
Hello,
it was a real pleasure to discover your website on lost ski areas! I
grew up in Anchorage in the 80s and skied and snowboarded for many
years at the military’s Arctic Valley ski area. I moved away from
Anchorage in 1993 and was sad to learn more recently that the
military has closed the area. I had been under the impression they
were going to give/sell it to the Anchorage Ski Club to make it part
of Alpenglow. I see from your website that instead they’ve torn
everything down.
I taught myself to snowboard at Arctic Valley, in 1987. I was probably one of the first half dozen or so people to take a snowboard up there; back then we had to get special permission from the manager to use our snowboards. The management was actually more open to snowboarders than were the people at Alyeska, Hilltop, or Alpenglow. I remember talking with the manager and asking him to build a halfpipe. The following winter (1988? 1989?) the guys who groomed the hill did a little work to build a halfpipe to the left of the chairlift (looking uphill). It wasn’t a very good halfpipe, but we were grateful for their efforts. I spent several afternoons out there in the early winter with a shovel, trying to improve on the groomers’ work! I’m fascinated to learn from your site that the location of our halfpipe was actually the old inrun and outrun of the Artic Valley ski jump. I always used to wonder why the ground had such a peculiar shape in that spot – it seemed like it had been partially hollowed out. That peculiar shape is what prompted me (and others, I assume) to ask the manager to build a halfpipe there. I never had any inkling that it had once been a ski jump. So…in case you didn’t already know, I can tell you that old ski jump had a brief afterlife as Anchorage’s first (I believe) attempt at a snowboard halfpipe, thanks to the good people who ran the Arctic Valley Ski Bowl. Thanks again for all your research. |
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[Fred Gray - 19 February 2007 email]
Hello, my happiest days of youth were 71-74,i was a 7th-9th
grader at fort rich.the military supplied duece and a quarters
(troop transport trucks) to artic valley,i can still here the
sound of the chains.we could buy season lift tickets for 15
dollars.living at the front gate where arctic valley rd. started
i often would hitch hike,people liked the added weight.they even
let us out of school on wednesdays for half days of skiing.we
had the bunny slope which ran parallel to the parking lot and
ski rental building.the intermediate tow was next to the
lodge,(the awful sight of someone being dragged up by their long
hair stuck to the rope)there was another tow rope that ran
pretty close to the poma lift,(cant remember what we called the
slope between the poma and the cilvillian chair lift) My friends
and i were early dare devils,anytime you made a jump the ski
patrol destroyed it.the ski jump in your pictures are most
memorable to me,they always had bamboo poles blocking the jump,
but close to closing time we would remove the poles hit the jump
ski to the right side of the bowl (big,deep,round hole)then over
the top of the bunny slope.
It was about a ten foot rise at the top of the bunny
slope.This made a nice smooth jump and landing. The 73/74 ski
season we spent most of our aerial jump adventures on the
FIVE MILE TRAIL which was pretty cool.Artic valley was one
cool place and i want to personally thank you for your time
and effort on your web site,i just wish you could understand
what artic valley meant to me.In the next two or three years
i will take my family up the alcan highway and to the arctic
valley site. thanks again.
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[Dawn Lowery - 20 December 2007 email]
I have been very excited to see all of the pictures. I
learned how to ski there in 1975. A season's pass was always
under the tree at Christmas. We took the deuce and 1/2 up
listening to the chains, we hitchhiked from the bottom, we
skied down five mile trail and picked up rides. I spent my
senior year of high school up there every day it was open.
I ended up as a pro-patrol for Fred Murdo in 1981 for a few
years. Fred's ski report always started with "skiing is
good" even if it was marginal. The space between the
chairs was referred to as "No man's land" at that time.
We used to sit at the top of the "new" double chair and
watch the sunset and the mirage of the mountains off the
water, we got to watch the Fur Rondy fireworks from up there
as well. The views were always awesome. Funny to see the
old buildings were the buildings we were in in the
80's. Sorry to hear it's gone but it looks like a lot of
memories were created with that space. It was a good time.
Dawn Lowery
"The snow will fall, the sun will shine, the lifts
will run, and isn't that enough?" -Warren Miller
"Dream big and dare to fail." - Dr. Norman Vaughan |
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[Ernest Gollan - 26 January 2008 email]
Tim, I really got a kick
out of your site with Arctic Valley Ski Area! I was there
in 1974 and 1975 for the Skiing and found my passion of
Hot-Dogging on the slopes with my two Younger Cousins, Tom
and Scott. I used to take them with me every night that we
could go skiing and would hit the "Valley" or else ski "Hillburg
Ski area" that was in behind the Elmendorf A.F. Base. I had
my first ever REAL wipe-out going off the ski jump at Arctic
Valley, but being only 18 I was able to bounce back and go
at it the next day..admittedly with a bit more respect for
Gravity though! I used to drive as many as would fit into
my older Mercury Marauder and we would hit the slopes for
the best skiing around. I have found that Alyeska and
Arctic Valley to be the most fun areas I had ever...well
ever HAVE ever skied at. The free days that were sponsored
by the local Ski Shop...[Gary] KING'S I believe...were the
best times at the start of the season...everybody rode up
the second chair lift at Alyeska and would start in earnest
to "Boot Pack" the snow. Oh we had good intentions of
packing it down with our boots until finally somebody would
just say "Forget this, let's ski!" and everybody doing the
packing would snap in and go through the best and deepest
powder around! Nothing but great times are remembered from
there! Also. the fact that a Military Lift Pass was only
$10.00 really helped out!
Ernest Gollan, Now from
Burlington, NC
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[Bill Croke - 06 October 2008 email]
I was stationed at Fort
Richardson in 1955-56 assigned to the 53rd Inf.
Regiment, 71st Division. During the winter of 55-56, I
worked at Arctic Valley issuing ski equipment to service
personnel and their families. During breaks I skied as
much as I could. Recently I was going through some old
slides from that period and discovered these pictures
among others.
Out of curiosity, I did a
Google search of Arctic Valley and found the site Alaska
Lost Ski Areas Project. I thought these pics might be of
interest.
Bill Croke
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[Gordon Thompson - 30 January 2009 email excerpt] The barrels, we were told, were the cause of the accident. He and John Goetz were hauling fuel to the tow rope shack up top. John was driving and a rear wheel went into a bit of a hole. Goetz said Bob was out the passenger door in a flash and was hanging on to the uphill side of the truck, hanging on to the picket fence side thing trying to keep the truck from rolling….Goetz thinks the chain holding the barrels in place broke allowing them to shift and catapult Bob way down the hill. When it rolled Goetz thinks he flew out the passenger door, that’s where the big scar on his forehead came from. Goetz ran down the mountain to the lodge where he could make a call. Air Force helicopter picked them both up, but Bob was DOA at the Elmendorf hospital….broken back among other traumas. Small town in those days, his death was the headline. I was 11, my brother was just 4. |
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[Jim Clavin - 08 August 2009 email] I was stationed at Ft Richardson in 1971 and was ‘volunteered’ for duty at the ski bowl. Great experience with a great bunch of guys. The link below is to a temporary page I created on my website which has a lot of photos with descriptions. Pick and use as you wish for your site. Somewhere there was a question related to an old ski jump. You can see it in 2 of the photos, one of which I’ve added an arrow and note. 2 other photos look down into the valley at an old lift shack from when there used to be a lower slope which had been eliminated by 1971. There was a cross country trail that started just below the parking area and ended several miles down. The trucks used to pick up skiers at the bottom on their way up with guests. The little spaghetti eating Marmot became our mascot there and we always were feeding him everything we ate. He was not very fussy, just one of the guys and very tame. The Rope tow power plant laying in the Alpenglow parking lot looks very much like it came from one of the tow shacks on the hill. I helped with welding the frame on the one on the intermediate slope when I was there. The building below that set of pics may be the tow shack for the old obsolete lift that was already closed when I was there. We did hike down to explore it once. http://www.flicklives.com/arctic_valley/ Jim Clavin SP4
/ Co E 4th Bn 23rd Inf 172nd
Brigade |
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[Rasmus Erdal - 29 December 2009 email excerpt] I just came upon your website and enjoyed it immensely. I skied many times at the Arctic Valley Ski area outside of Anchorage during the winter of 1955 & 1956 While serving with the 71st Division, 53rd Inf, 1st Bn. as a Communications Officer. It was a most memorable experience. I am long retired and living in Colorado...and I still ski at age 78. I loved Alaska. I am attaching a photo of the two patches that I have sewn to my hiking hat. One is a patch that I did not see on the website that you may wish to include: This next one, of course, is a 71st Div. patch Even though I skied there in 55-56, I can't be certain if that patch existed then. My nephew skied there in the 70's when he was stationed up there, and I think he sent me the patch. If the ski patch will add to your documentation, please feel free to include it.
Rasmus Erdal |
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[Michael Robbins - 02 March 2010 email]
Starting my days on
the mountain, I can remember day passes issued
by the MWR office on Elm AFB. |
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[Dan Lane - 14 November 2010 email]
I came across your
website and it brought back some old memories.
This year I am getting back into skiing almost
full time after being away from it for 20 years.
I grew up in Anchorage and lived there from
1967-1989. I skied from 1971 -1990. My dad was
retired Air Force so we had base privileges and
that's how I got to ski on the military side of
Arctic Valley. |
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[James Miller - 12 November 2011 email]
I worked at Arctic
Valley Ski Bowl for Fred Murdough from
1978-1988, and those were the best times of my
life. It was great! Old Fred taught me about
skiing and running a ski area, he was a terrific
mentor and I am forever grateful to him. |
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[Bill Wood - 14 December 2011 email]
In May of 1953 I arrived at Elmendorf AFB.
Having done a little skiing here in the East I
soon learned of Arctic Valley ski bowl. I Drove
up there a few times during the summer, did a
little climbing and enjoyed the views. That
winter I joined the Anchorage Ski Club and took
the first aid courses required for ski patrol.
After taking a test which included skiing while
towing a toboggan and stopping before running
into the first aid hut I became a member of the
Ski Patrol and was issued my maroon parka with a
yellow cross on the back. I was able to ski a
couple of days a week and signed out of the
squadron and signed in to special services i.e.
ski patrol. Just recently I was going through
postings on your site and realized that in spite
of all the information no one discussed the rope
tows in use at that time. They effectively
covered the whole mountain and were maintained
by the ski club and the military. Most of the
operators' were G.I.s. One I remember in
particular was from Arkansas or Oklahoma. He
would have nothing to do with skis, each morning
he would climb to the power house of which ever
tow he was running that day, carrying a big
shovel over his shoulder. When he was ready to
come down at the end of the day he put on quite
a show astride that shovel, pulling up on the
handle when he wanted to slow down and lowering
it to pick up speed. Who needs skis? A few of
the tows were so long, with such heavy rope that
they had mounted car wheels, without the tires,
on posts every few hundred feet. The rope was
held off the snow as it rolled over these
wheels. Of course this presented a problem when
a skier's hands reached the wheel. Some cleaver
fellow had solved the problem by designing a
steel clip which gripped the rope when tensions
was applied and would fall off when the tension
was released. The clip had a short piece of
heavy nylon string attached to a steel pin on
the other end. All of the skiers wore military
ammo belts with a heavy "D" ring attached. The
pin was inserted through the "D" ring and
doubled back against the string. You would clamp
the pin to the string with your hand and low and
behold it worked. Sort of like a "T" bar without
the "T". The clips were available at the two ski
shops in Town and had to be used for all but the
Bunny tow. The attached photo show skiers
wearing the belt and the clip. It was short
enough that it didn't use the wheels to hold the
rope up. One of the most common injuries we
treated were dislocated shoulders. Some from
falls, but many from careless skiers having
loose sweaters or parkas which would get wound
around the rope, it was constantly twisting as
it went over the pulleys. At the top of each
tow, just a few feet before the power house
there was a metal bar about a foot above the
snow held loosely on each end by a clip. It
completed the electric circuitry to keep the
tows engines running. If a skiers clothing got
caught in the rope or he didn’t let go, his legs
would knock the bar loose, shutting down the
tow. But some skiers who didn't realize the bar
would come out would lift their skis above it,
hanging on the rope, and slam into the power
house with arm extended into the slot where the
rope entered. Thus the dislocated shoulders. In
some cases when the skier's clothing didn't tear
soon enough it was up to an alert tow operator
to shut down the tow. The worst injury I
sustained while at Artic Valley happened one
morning when I was straddling the rope on the
bunny tow to pull the rope out of the ice that
had formed over it during the night. My left ski
got caught in a rut and slid under the rope. I
laid there with the rope sawing away at my ankle
for some time until the operator shut the tow
down. I skied the rest of the morning but when
I took my lunch break I loosened my boot and my
ankle blew up like a balloon. It was a few weeks
before I skied again. The most beautiful memory
I have of Artic Valley were the occasional times
at the end of the day, when the sky, snow and
every thing else turned pink, alpenglow, truly a
sight to remember. Some of the best powder
skiing I ever experienced was in the Rendezvous
bowl (so named for the fur rendezvous) It was
located above the Anchorage ski club lodge. I
skied both Arctic Valley and what would
eventually become Alyeska (see photos I
submitted earlier) until 1955 when my military
service ended, and enjoyed every minute of it.
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Do you have further information, stories or pictures that you would like to contribute about this ski area? |
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