All,

I know this has nothing to do with sailing, but....

has anyone skiied in Alaska ?

Got a mate going out there with his family and thinking of going to see him next year (or the year after) and wondering when the best time to go would be.

he'll be based in Anchorage.

If we went in the Spring, would we be able to find any Skiing for the the whole family - I know about the heli-skiing and would be tempted for myself, but is there anything for the wife and Kids ?

The biggest resort in Alaska is Alyeska. http://www.alyeskaresort.com/

I've never skiied there, but it looks like a pretty cool mountain and gets a TON of snow. Powder!!! It also looks really really cold if you go in the middle of winter. There are a few Heli operations, probably the two most popular are Chugach powder guides and Points North. No matter where you go, I think weather will play a big roll. I've heard stories of white out conditions lasting for periods of a week or longer. Either way, Sounds like it could be a pretty epic trip.

I've skied Alyeska although it was about 25 years ago.
The cold thing is probably relative, but the Anchorage area doesn't get the deep freezes like central Alaska because it is on the Cook inlet. I had more issues with freezing rain in the winter than with whiteout blizzards. Alyeska comes right down to sea level.

I was up there in April and considered skiing, but didn't. One of my co-workers has skied there before and told me, "we live in Utah, the snow there is more wet, you'll probably be disappointed" So.... i didn't ski. But then I came home and skied here ;-)

Too bad the sailing sucks though....