Name of Ski Area:	Harriet Hunt Ski Area
Location:	Lake Harriet Hunt, about 18 air miles north of Ketchikan, about 9 miles northeast of Ward Cove
Type of Area:	Ski Hill
Dates of Operation:	Late 1970's to Early 1980's ? (still researching)
Who Built It?:	US Forest Service
Base/Top/ Vertical Drop:	Base: ~600' / Top: ~????' / Vert: ~???' (still researching)
Lifts:	Rope Tow
Facilities:	Waxing shed, lights and rental skis
History:	The original rope tow at this site likely came from a small ski site nearer Ketchikan called Ski Corner (Rope Tow).
Sources of Information:	Bob Utterback; Erik Christianson; Gilbert Aegerter; Van Browne; Robert Gustafson
Photos:	Does anyone have old pictures of skiing at the Harriet Hunt Ski Area (or current pictures of the vicinity) that they would like to contribute to ALSAP ?

Good afternoon,

I read with great interest, Medred's article concerning you guys today. Thanks so much for your effort in this regard! I might have a minor contribution.

A resident of Anchorage since November of '77 and a military brat, I learned to ski on the military side of Arctic Valley. I fell in love with skiing and was heartbroken when at the tender age of 15, my parents moved us to Ketchikan in '86. Imagine my elation when I found there was an extinct ski area in the hills above K-Town. An ancient rope tow operated by the Forest Service, a waxing shed, lights, and (GASP) rental skis!! The area was an hour back along old logging roads, high enough to get to snow. By the time I got to Ketchikan, the place had been shut down for quite a while, but the runs were still clear and I used to hike for turns there every chance I got. Unfortunately, I have no idea of the years of operation. I do know that now the area is heavily used for snowmachining. Apparently Ketchikan has become kind of a snowmachining mecca. I left Ketchikan in '89 never to return and haven't heard of anyone skiing there. Perhaps Harriet Hunt Ski Area will see the operations again someday.

Thanks again for all your hard work!!

Bob Utterback

Erik said that the Harriet Hunt ski area started out as a rope tow, but it was upgraded to a T-bar.  A group of Ketchikan residents in the mid-1990s considered moving the lift to a place with more vertical, on Mahoney Mountain.  A weather station was placed in the area to help determine the feasibility.  Avalanche danger would have been a concern at the new site.  A reason for shutting down the lift was that parts were needed for the T-bar and the manufacturer had gone out of business.  The land the ski area was on was originally US Forest Service land.  But the property was transferred to the Cape Fox Tribal Corporation.  Erik also said that skiing was still done on Deer Mountain, by hiking or skinning up and skiing back down.
 

I grew up in Ketchikan and learned to ski there -- but not at the Harriet Hunt site.

The first skiing was done way, WAY back when on Deer Mountain above town.  When she was a girl my mom and her friends would go up there. There was a log cabin set on a shoulder of the mountain overlooking the town, and folks would go up there, ski and spend the night. Eventually the cabin burned down -- not sure exactly when, but it was well before the 60s. You can still see traces of the foundation, though, just off the Deer Mountain trail.

When I was in high school in the 70s, a group of dads led by a guy whose name I'll have to dredge up later, put together a rope tow at what became known as Ski Corner, which was at the last turnoff before the final road into Harriet Hunt Lake. I can't believe there was more than 50-60 feet of vertical, but man we thought we were in the big time! On a good weekend, there would be a couple hundred people there! so it was extremely crowded.  People would be sledding on the road -- there was a long hill just before Ski Corner -- and snowmobilers would tow skiers back into Harriet Hunt Lake on long tow ropes. You didn't want to fall off halfway in deep snow!

The best year at Ski Corner was probably 72-73 -- just perfect snow and weather that year. Unfortunately, I broke my leg that February there going off a jump.

After that there was considerable pressure to provide a little safer area. The Ketchikan Ski Club moved the tow engine all the way out to Harriet Hunt and tried to set up a tow rope out there. I never skied in Ketchikan again -- college intervened. I think the area operated extremely fitfully in the late 70s, and I'm not sure which year it finally went kaput.

You might get more info from the Tongass Historical Museum in Ketchikan.
 

Ed Browne, Mac Doiron: They were log scalers who had a hand in setting up the rope tow in the Harriet Hunt Lake ski area. I'm not sure if they were primary people, but they were involved.

Partway up the road to Harriet Hunt Lake you'll see a couple of ponds on the right. When the weather was right -- hard freeze without snow to cover the ponds -- we would skate up there. Also, when Harriet Hunt Lake itself was frozen over, the snowmobilers would pull us on skis across that huge expanse of ice. Those were the days.

In the winter of 1995 we took some of the last remaining grooming equipment to Juneau from Ketchikan on the USCGC Planetree to Eaglecrest Ski Area. I do believe the equipment was from Harriet Hunt and was in usable condition. The old Log Cabin at Harriet has since been demolished and a smaller cabin that was there had been remodeled for the people that are part of a Snowmobile club here.