| Name of Ski
Area: |
Sugarloaf Mountain Ski Area |
| Location: |
Valdez
area, south side of Port Valdez, 3 miles in the Valdez Marine
Terminal Highway on the north facing slope of Sugarloaf
Mountain. |
| Type of Area: |
Lift serviced ski area |
| Dates of
Operation: |
Proposed, never built |
| Who?: |
This ski area was proposed to the city of Valdez by Chet
Simmons, John McCune and other avid local skiers that called
their ranks the "Ski To Die Club". |
| Base/Vertical Drop: |
Base: Near sea level / Vertical: ~2500'
|
| Lifts: |
Proposed, never built |
| Facilities: |
Proposed, never built |
|
History: |
The history behind this once
proposed ski area is mentioned in the article "Can
Skiing Save Valdez, Alaska", by Devon O'Neil, which appeared
in the November 2011 issue of "Skiing" magazine.
Initially the City of Valdez
ordered a feasibility study of this ski area. Part of the
study included building a rope tow at
Thompson Pass,
which was later moved to
Salmonberry Ridge
to the east of Valdez. After serious consideration of this
ski area the city decided to instead spend millions in public
money on grain silos that they could rent out to farmers in the
Delta Junction area. The grain elevators were never used.
In 1986 a drunken 15 year
old girl crashed off of a jump at Salmonberry Hill and paralyzed
herself. Her family sued the City of Valdez which ended up
paying the family a large sum of money. This lawsuit ended
any remaining interest by the City of Valdez to invest funds in
a local ski area operation at Sugarloaf Mountain. |
| Sources of
Information: |
Devon O'Neil (article);
Peter Stahley |
|
