ALSAP Update Log 2004 (entries by Tim Kelley)

Dec 31, 2004

Added a web page for the Petersburg Ski Area.  There is a lot of history on this web page about this town's skiing past.

Dec 27, 2004

Added web pages for Cold War radar sites: Cold Bay AFS and Cape Romanzof AFS.

Dec 26, 2004

Added web pages for Anchorage lost skiing sites: the Rabbit Creek Rope Tow and the Wendler Jr. High School Ski Trails.

Also, added a page for the Tatalina AFS Rope Tow - a remote radar site west of McGrath where Air Force personnel were once into their skiing and sledding!

Dec 24, 2004

Added research info to the Seldovia Ski Tow web page.  This is proving to be a VERY lost ski area!  After the 1964 earthquake an Urban Renewal project resulted in much blasting and bulldozing to reclaim decent land for the central town site of Seldovia.  So - the "downtown" topology of this town has changed a lot.  Research is still being done to pinpoint the location of this old ski hill as best as can be done.

Updated the maps for the old Kjosen Hill and Richmond Hill ski jump sites in Anchorage.

Dec 23, 2004

Added a web page for the Campion AFS (Air Force Station) near Galena.  Thanks to Sam "Art" Nicholson for information about skiing here in the 1950's.

Dec 22, 2004

Research of the Karl Eid archive photos at the UAA Consortium Library revealed the correct names of the old 1930's jumps on the north and south side of Chester Creek in Anchorage.  The jump on the north side of the creek was Kjosen Hill.  The one on the south was Richmond Hill.

Added pictures to these sites and to the City Ski Bowl and the Divide Ski Area web pages.

Dec 21, 2004

Updated the Chena Hot Springs web page based on an email from Charlie Painter in Nome.  Charlie actually worked cutting the ski slope trails in the early 80's at the Chena Hot Springs resort and he set our facts straight on this ski area that never got much use.  Thanks Charlie !!

Dec 20, 2004

Added a web page for the Indian Mountain AFS (Air Force Station).  Go to the middle of nowhere.  And then go another 20 miles and you would have found this remote Cold War radar outpost.  And back in the day ... they skied here !!  Thanks to Mike Gantz and Ed Bertschy for info on skiing at Indian Mountain AFS.

Dec 19, 2004

Added several recent pictures sent in by Fred Trimble of the Independence Mine Ski Area first aid shack.  Thanks Fred !!

Dec 18, 2004

Made updates to the maps on the Lazy Mountain Rope Tow in Palmer web page, thanks to information from Curt Christiansen.

Added a new rope tow site to the lost ski area list - the Rabbit Creek Valley Rope Tow in Anchorage.  This rope tow was accessed from the pioneer road (now the Rabbit Lakes Trail) that leads from Canyon Road up to the Chugach State Park boundary.  The ski site utilized the persistent snowfield just before the park boundary.  This ski area info was given to ALSAP by Kathy Sarns-Irwin.  She has long lived near this old ski area and hiked and skied this valley more than most anyone.  We hope to find out more about this site and get a web page up for it.

JACKPOT!  The Fire Island web page now has a 1967 picture of Air Force skiers on the old ski hill.  Major 50's and 60's photo updates to this web page and the Ohlson Mountain AFS web page.  Thanks to Thomas Page and The Online Air-Defense Radar Museum, www.radomes.org/museum/ !!

Updated the Forest Park Golf Course web page.

Will the lost ski area list never end!  I just found a reference in the Tatalina Radar Station AFS "What to Expect" pamphlet ... for Air Force enlisted men that are off to a year at this remote outpost near McGrath.   The reference: "WE HAVE A TERRIFIC SKI SLOPE EQUIPPED WITH A ROPE TOW".  More on this later.

In reviewing remote Cold War Air Force radar and DEW station information, I found mention of skiing being done at the following sites: Indian Mountain AFS, Campion AFS, Cold Bay AFS and Cape Romanzof AFS.  Many early radar sites were well situated for skiing.  The "Top Camp", where the radars were placed, were high on a ridge.  And a road and/or tram led up to them from a lower base camp.  So skiing from the radar site back to the lower camp seems like it would have been a natural attraction.

Dec 14, 2004

Added the Lower Summit Lake Family Rope Tow web page.  Not much info on this ski area yet.  Also added a new site to the list, thanks to Bill Mielke ... the Eagle River Rope Tow.  It once ran just east of Tips bar.  Hope to get more info on this lost ski area.

Dec 13, 2004

Added the Hatcher Pass Snowcat Operation web page.  Also, added an aerial photo to the UAF Ski Hill web page.

Dec 12, 2004

Added Haines lost ski areas Young Road Rope Tow and Mosquito Lake Ski Hill web pages.  More research is needed on this sites.  Also, added a 1929 aerial view of another Haines site:  Chilkoot Barracks Parade Grounds.

Added a link to all Juneau lost ski area web pages to Bob Janes' Juneau Ski Club history articles.  Thanks Bob !!

Also added the Cordova lost ski sites: Golden Stairs Ski Slopes, Sheridan Ski Club First Rope Tow and Sheridan Ski Club Jump.  More research is needed to pinpoint the locations of these sites in the Cordova area.

Dec 11, 2004

Added web pages for what may have been Anchorage's first two nordic-style ski jumps: South Chester Creek Jump and North Chester Creek Jump.  Thanks to Albert Bailey, Jim "Bones" Reekie and John Bagoy for all their help in preserving the history of these old ski jumping sites!

Also, added a web page for the Newton Peak Rope Tow.  Still more information needed on this site north of Nome.

Dec 10, 2004

Added old aerial photos to Forest Park Golf Course, City Ski Bowl and  Romig Hill web pages.

Dec 09, 2004

Added pictures of Anchorage's FIRST high school ski team - training, racing (and goofing off!) at the City Ski Bowl.  These photos are from Anchorage High School ski team member Jim Reekie's 1939 and 1949 yearbooks.  Thanks a lot Jim !! 

Dec 08, 2004

Added a web page for the Kennecott Mill Town Ski Slope.  Though this can't be counted as a true lost ski area, this old mill town has some interesting skiing history.  And thanks to Geoff Bleakley and Megan Brokaw of the Wrangell-St. Elias Park and Preserve - we now have some great skiing info and old photos.  Thanks for your help!

Dec 07, 2004

Added a picture of an old ski in a hotel lobby in Nome that I took this summer to the Dry Creek web page.  After doing research for the Dry Creek web page, I realized that this 100 year old looking ski could possibly have been made in Nome by Asle Seppala.  Who knows !?!

Dec 06, 2004

Made significant updates to the  Mount McKinley Army Recreation Camp web page, thanks again to Mark Moderow.

Thanks to a former Vermont cross country ski racer that now lives in Nome, we now know there was once a military rope tow on Newton Peak north of Nome.  Thanks a lot to Charlie Painter !!

Realized that the lost ski areas list was missing another site ... so I put Cordova's Sheridan Ski Club First Rope Tow on the list.  Eventually we will have web pages for this and the Newton Peak site.

Finally, added a web page for the Cooper Landing Snowcat Operation.

Dec 05, 2004

Added a web page for the granddaddy of all Alaskan ski areas for downhill, jump and cross country skiing - Nome's Dry Creek.  Check out the great old ski jumping pictures on this page.

Also - added a web page for the downhill ski area that almost popped up near Kincaid Park in Anchorage - the Country Lanes Estates Ski Hill.

Dec 04, 2004

Updated the Little Susitna Roadhouse Ski Hill web page.

Dec 03, 2004

Added the Mount McKinley Army Recreation Camp web page.  Mark Moderow scanned a 1949 brochure he had for this camp, and its old ski area.  Thanks Mark !!

Dec 02, 2004

Added the Grandview Rope Tow to the lost ski areas list.  Both Dave Hamre and Linda Yarborough mentioned hearing of this old rope tow.  At present we are searching for more information on this site.

Added the Mount Susitna 'sort of' lost ski area web page.

Dec 01, 2004

Mark Moderow sent in a scan of his old Matanuska Ski Club patch.  See it on the Independence Mine Ski Area web page.  Thanks Mark!

Also, added the Soldotna Ski Hill web page.

Haines strikes again ... Heather Lende of Haines tells alsap of an old ski area that used to be at Mosquito Lake.  A web page will be on its way for this site.  Thanks Heather!

Updated the Curry Ski Hill web page after a phone conversation with Albert Bailey.  Albert mentioned a jump that was not on our list.  It was in Anchorage north of Chester Creek between Minnesota and I streets (on the hill between 15th and 16th). 

Nov 30, 2004

Added the Russian Jack Ski Hill in Anchorage and updated Forest Park Golf Course and Romig Hill.  All of these sites have great new historical information thanks to the efforts of John McCleary of the Municipality of Anchorage, Department of Parks and Recreation.  Thanks a lot John !!

Updated the Harbor Mountain Ski Hill.  Recent information from Sandy Russell, the Recreation Manager of the Tongass National Forest - Sitka Ranger District showed that a rope tow existed on Harbor Mountain from 1948 to 1955.  Thanks Sandy!

Nov 29, 2004

Add one more to the Alaska lost ski areas count.  Cynthia Jones the Director/Curator of the Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center in Haines, Alaska informed alsap of a rope tow that once existed on Young Road in Haines in the 1960's.  We'll have a web page for this lost ski site soon.  Thanks Cynthia !!

Nov 28, 2004

Added Salmonberry Ski Hill, a ski area that was once run by the City of Valdez.  Also, a web page for possibly the strangest lost ski area in Alaska was added - Mt. Pingo Ski Hill at Prudhoe Bay.

Nov 27, 2004

Added Turnagain Pass.  The last cross country ski race at Turnagain Pass was in 1986.  And we have pictures from this race !!

Also - added the Lazy Mountain Rope Tow in Palmer and the Chilkoot Barracks Parade Grounds in Haines.

Nov 26, 2004

Added Chugiak's Ptarmigan Valley Resort and the Seldovia Ski Tow web pages.

Nov 25, 2004

Added 8 pictures of skiing at the Independence Mine Ski Area that were taken by Carol Christiansen and submitted to alsap by his son Curt Christiansen.  These pictures are a MUST SEE for enthusiasts of Hatcher Pass skiing.  An immense thanks to Carol and Curt !!

Nov 24, 2004

Added the Divide Ski Area (12 miles north of Seward) web page.  Not much info on this site yet.  Also added the Harbor Mountain Ski Hill in Sitka, though this site may be taken off the list if no confirmation can be made that a rope tow actually existed.

Nov 23, 2004

Added the Independence Mine Ski Area web page.

Nov 22, 2004

Updated the Harriet Hunt Ski Area web page with 1999 site photos by John Tribuzio of Reno, NV.  Thanks John!

Note: The lost ski area count went up by one today!  We were notified of a private rope tow that was once in operation across the Seward Highway from Lower Summit Lake on the Kenai Peninsula (on the other side of the valley from the Manitoba ski area).  We're calling this the Lower Summit Lake Rope Tow for now.  We're still collecting some more info on this ski area.  Will post more later.  New finds are exciting !

Nov 21, 2004

Added the Little Susitna Roadhouse Ski Hill web page.  Updated the Romig Hill web page.

Nov 17, 2004

Joyce Robinette allowed alsap to have a scan of a rare Adak Ski Club patch.  You can see it on the Adak Ski Hill web page.   Thanks Joyce !!  Also, Milt Radford sent in a great, humorous recollection of skiing at the "dreaded" Pt. Woronzof Ski Trails.  Read his account for a chuckle.

Nov 16, 2004

Added a new "Trip Back Home" picture to the Curry Ski Hill web page.  Updated the Ohlson Mountain Trails and Ullrhaven web pages. 

Nov 15, 2004

Updated the Fire Island  web page with new info from Dave Hanneman.  Added the Ohlson Mountain Trails system - lost in Homer.  Check out the aerial view trail map on this web page.

Nov 14, 2004

Thanks to info from a great email from Bob Utterback, we now have a web page for the Lake Harriet Hunt Ski Area north of Ketchikan.  Thanks Bob!  Added the More About ALSAP and the ALSAP in the News web pages.

Nov 13, 2004

Added the Curry Ski Hill web page (with LOTS of pictures) and a web page for the CCC Ski Road Ski Hill in Peters Creek.  Also added the oldest of the Hatcher Pass lost ski areas - the Fishhook Creek Ski Hill.

Nov 11, 2004

Added the Arctic Valley Ski Bowl web page, the predecessor of Alpenglow.

Nov 10, 2004

Added the Adak Ski Hill web page, Alaska's southernmost lost ski area.

Nov 9, 2004

Added the Attu Ski Hill web page - the westernmost lost ski area in the United States!  Check out the MUST READ account of skiing on Attu, and the finding of this lost ski area, by Bob French.

Nov 8, 2004

Updated Dutch Harbor / Unalaska's Pan Alaska Ski Hill web page with a recent site photo from Jim Dickson.

Nov 7, 2004

Updated trail layout for Dimond High School Ski Trails.  Added Anchorage's Alaska Methodist University Ski Hill and Jump and the Pt. Woronzof Ski Trails.  Also added the Manitoba Rope Tow on the Kenai Peninsula.

Nov 6, 2004

Added Dutch Harbor / Unalaska lost ski areas: Ski Bowl and Pan Alaska Ski Hill.  Also added the predecessors of Anchorage's Hilltop Ski Area: the Hilltop Youth Rope Tow and the Old Hilltop Ski Area.

Nov 5, 2004

Updates to Stuckagain Heights Rope Tow, Ski Boot Hill and Chena Hot Springs.

Nov 3, 2004

Added Anchorage lost ski hills: Forest Park Golf Course and the Paradise Valley Rope Tow.

Nov 2, 2004

Added a great email story from Ken Odsather about life on Fire Island and time spent at the ski hill (story is near bottom of this web page).  Added the Stuckagain Heights Rope Tow page, though more information will be added later this week after a research meeting.

Nov 1, 2004

Added the Dimond High School Ski Trails page (still researching the exact location of the trails).

Oct 31, 2004

Added the Kodiak Island Anton Larsen Pass Ski Area page.  Also added Murphy Dome Ski Trails, Chena Hot Springs Ski Run,  Circle Hot Springs Rope Tow and the Chiniak Ski Road.

Oct 30, 2004

Added the rest of the Homer sites:  Elementary School Practice Hill, Fred Anderson Tow, First Rope Tow, Second Rope Tow and Svedland-McLay Hill.  Made updates to Summit Lake Ski Hill, Cleary Summit and Fire Island.  Added pictures to the historical Photos page.

Oct 28, 2004

Added the Ohlson Mountain Air Force Rope Tow in Homer.

Oct 27, 2004

Updated with recent information: Centennial Park and Moose Run Golf Course.

Oct 26, 2004

Added Moose Run Golf Course on Fort Richardson, Anchorage.

Oct 25, 2004

Added Summit Lake Ski Hill on the Kenai Peninsula.

Oct 24, 2004

Added Anchorage's Centennial Park, and Fort Richardson's Biathlon Training Center.  Both of these sites have pictures from recent site visits.

Oct 23, 2004

Added Anchorage's Romig Hill.  Updated City Ski Bowl page with a recent picture of the site.

Oct 22, 2004

Russel W. Dow pictures were added to the Photos page and the City Ski Bowl page.  More Roger Evans updates to Ullrhaven.  Put up the ALSAPPERs page.

Oct 21, 2004

Roger Evans of Fairbanks put me to work today ... with lots of input and some corrections on Fairbanks sites.  Thanks Roger!  I updated: Cleary Summit, UAF Ski Hill,  Ski Boot Hill and Ullrhaven.

Oct 20, 2004

Added Photos page.  Updated Anchorage's City Ski-Bowl with photos.

Oct 19, 2004

Added Cleary Summit.

Oct 18, 2004

Updated Ski Boot Hill and Ullrhaven in Fairbanks based on input from John Estle.  Thanks John!  Fixed broken links to UAF Ski Hill.  Stopped on my way home from work to take pictures at the old Romig Ski Hill in Anchorage.  The Romig page will be going up soon.

Oct 17, 2004

Added Ski Boot Hill and the UAF Ski Hill in Fairbanks.

Oct 16, 2004

More updates to  Ullrhaven. Added Dan Moller Trail, 1st and 2nd Meadows , Douglas Ski Bowl, Kaw-wah-ee Ski Area and West Juneau Ski Jump Hill - all lost ski areas in the Juneau area.

Oct 15, 2004

Updated  Ullrhaven. Added Perseverance Rope Tow in Juneau.

Oct 13, 2004

Added the Fairbanks lost ski area Ullrhaven (my vote for the coolest name of a ski area in Alaska).

Oct 12, 2004

Added map to Red Dog Mine Ski Hill web page.  Added the Anchorage City Ski Bowl.

Oct 11, 2004

I talked to Jean Corbin today, so I added the Red Dog Mine Ski Hill web page.  This is not truly a lost ski area, but it's interesting that folks are skiing out there.  Also added the Gunsight Mountain Ski Hill page.

Oct 10, 2004

Alsap web pages - first day on the web!  This site is still very much a work in progress.  A lot of Alaskan lost ski area information that we have has yet to be put on web pages.  This will be happening, albeit slowly.  But there is one extensive web page completed on the lost ski area of Fire Island.