On the top of Mount Gordon Lyon, overlooking Anchorage and the Arctic Valley Ski Area, is a set of buildings holding an important piece of Alaska's History. Nike Site Summit is one of three Nike Hercules missile sites in Southcentral Alaska.
Operating from 1959 to 1979, Site Summit's Nike Hercules missiles were designed to intercept Soviet Union bombers with high explosive or even nuclear warheads. It was decommissioned in 1979 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. The development of the site helped access to Chugach State Park and the Arctic Valley Ski Area. In 2009 the U.S. Army agreed to preserve and allow interpretation of the site as a testament to those who served there during the cold war.
Friends of Nike Site Summit have diligently been restoring the site and offering regular tours to the general public. Outdoor Explorer host Paul Twardock went on a tour and interviewed the volunteers and veterans about their experiences, including stories of operating a live nuclear weapons site in the brutally windy and cold environment of the Chugach Mountains.
HOST: Paul Twardock
GUESTS:
Greg Durocher
Jim Renkerht
LINKS:
Friends of Nike Summit
National Park Service: Nike Site Summit
