Juneau’s Eaglecrest Ski Area is halting lift operations until it receives enough snow to open at least part of the upper mountain.
General Manager Matt Lillard announced the decision in blog post on the ski area’s website.
Director of Sales and Marketing Jeffra Clough says it was not an easy decision, but so far this winter Mother Nature has not delivered enough snow to Juneau. But she says the season isn’t over yet.
“For the past several years she’s been great and given us a lot of snow, and this year, unfortunately, she’s just slow to giving us that snow,” Clough says. “But we feel certain that there’s still a lot of winter to go.”
Clough says Eaglecrest will look at ways to add skiing opportunities should the snow arrive this year.
“This isn’t the first time this has happened. It’s just unfortunate that it’s the first time in recent years that it’s happened,” Clough says. “So we’re looking at, you know, being open on Friday nights, possibly extending our hours in the spring time, closing 5 o’ clock or 6 o’ clock in the evening on weekends or holidays.”
The city-owned ski area has a long-established no refunds policy for season pass holders. Fortunately, Clough says, they’ve rarely had to use it.
For now, the mountain will be staffed by a skeleton crew. The ticket office and equipment repair shop will be open Thursday through Monday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For the latest conditions on the mountain go to skijuneau.com.
Casey Kelly is a reporter at KTOO in Juneau.
