A group of Haines residents is pursuing the idea of developing a ski area in the Chilkat Valley. Although a budget for such a project is still a ways off, the group held their third meeting last Sunday to continue discussions on how to proceed.
Haines has a lot of two things: mountains and snow. So the idea for a ski area has been around for decades.
Ely: “The idea has been talked about since I moved to Haines in 1987.”
Thom Ely was one of about 20 residents who attended a meeting to plan for a future ski area. A couple locations had been considered. Attendees agreed that Four Winds Ridge, upland from the Mosquito Lake Community Center, would be the best choice.
Ely says the group was looking for several features in a ski hill.
Ely: “For a ski area you want to have the right aspect, so it faces generally the east and the south, so it doesn’t get direct sun that would melt the snow quickly, the advantage of having it up the valley is it’s colder there, generally better weather, and can be more snow, versus rain in the winter, and then you want a good vertical drop from the top of the lift to the bottom so you don’t have a lot of flat area, and this area all seems like it has those qualities.”
Ely says the area is also protected from the wind and doesn’t appear to have much of an avalanche risk. The area around the community center belongs to the Haines Borough. No borough representative was present at the meeting, but they will have to be included in future discussions.
The area being considered – uphill of the community center – has a forest that belongs to the state. State forester Greg Palmieri was at the meeting and says the location has potential.
Palmieri: “That hillside was logged from the late 50s to the mid 70s, and there is a network of old harvest trails and roads on that hillside that could be taken advantage of to facilitate small timber sales that would then leave a series of trails open for use in the wintertime.”
Palmieri says he is willing to work with the group to set up small timber sales to clear the land for ski runs.
Palmieri: “The harvest plan I believe is flexible enough that we could accommodate runs for example as opposed to just trails, if that was something that the community wanted to do down the line. I think that the forest plan allows for that activity to occur in that area.”
The impact on wildlife has to be weighed. Derek Poinsette is director of the Takshanuk Watershed Council.
Poinsette: “There ‘s lots of bears and wolves and coyotes and foxes and lynx that all live in that area, so you know development like that is not impact free but if you are looking for a place to minimize impact that’s a pretty good place to pick.”
He referenced the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s winter habitat models for mountain goats.
Poinsette: “The winter goat modeled habitat is not as high density as it is in other places on the mountain, so it seems like if the impacts of a ski area development stayed lower down on the slopes, that the impact to those species could be minimized. There would still be impacts by providing access to snowmachiners and skiers and recreationalists to get up there farther up the mountain, but the impact from the ski area itself could be minimized. Looking at the Chilkat watershed as a whole, that’s not a bad area to do a development like that.”
The first step would be to clear enough slope for a sledding run. Thom Ely hopes that within three to five years, a ski lift can be installed. He says he can find a used one.
Ely: “Like any other item you go on craigslist or ebay, and see what’s out there. I’ve seen used double chair lifts for around a hundred thousand dollars.”
He says there should be plenty to choose from.
Ely: “There’s many on the market now because a lot of the ski resorts have upgraded to high speed quad chairs so there are a lot of double chair lifts sitting in backyards of ski resorts all over North America.”
The ski area supporters don’t want a huge development. The hill they are considering would make it about the size of the Eaglecrest ski area in Juneau. Fully developed, the project could employ a few people as ski lift operators. The Mosquito Lake Community Center could be used as a cafeteria, with changing rooms and other amenities. A wind turbine placed on the ridge could power the lift and provide electricity throughout the valley.
Ely is optimistic that the project can happen.
Ely: “People seem really excited, and it seems like an idea that most of the residents of Haines seem to be behind which is unique because there is usually 50% for and 50% against, so it seems like it would be a good cohesive economic endeavor that would bring the community together.”
The group plans to meet again and welcomes all residents to join.
