The Tram at Alyeska Resort won’t be running again for at least another month. One of the tram cars was damaged in an accident on New Year’s Eve when a wind gust blew it into the tram tower. One guest suffered a minor injury in the incident.
The repair is taking a long time because some of the necessary replacement parts for the tram need to be manufactured. Alyeska Director of Marketing Jessica Pezak says the resort has flown specialists in from as far away as Switzerland to make the repairs.
“We’re expecting it to be up and running by mid February but it all depends on how the repair process goes and when the parts arrive.”
Pezak says the investigation into the incident is complete. The resort blames the accident on a “rogue” wind gust and says no other factors were involved. She says no disciplinary action was taken.
Seven Glaciers Restaurant, at the top of the Tram, will remain closed. Pezak says most of those workers found jobs at other spots on the mountain, but couldn’t say if some had to be laid off.
She says the resort will open Chair One on the weekends to make up for the lost tram capacity. And she says as far as skiing goes, the mountain is in great shape.
“We’re doing really well…we had a tough start in December, but it’s definitely shaping up. We had sort of a Christmas miracle, we got a ton of snow and I think we are where we should be right now.”
Pezak says the resort is preparing for the busy Martin Luther King Holiday weekend coming up later this month.
Listen to the full story
Annie Feidt is the broadcast managing editor at Alaska Public Media. Reach her atafeidt@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Anniehere.
