Police protection in Girdwood dominates GBOS meeting

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T U R N A G A I N
VOL. 18, NO. 6
TIMES
Serving Indian, Bird, Girdwood, Portage, Whittier, Hope, Cooper Landing & South Anchorage
March 19, 2015
Police protection in Girdwood
dominates GBOS meeting
Authorities and residents discuss solutions
By Marc Donadieu
Turnagain Times
With the impending departure of Alaska
State Troopers from their Girdwood post on
January 1, 2016, nearly two hours of the March
16 Girdwood Board of Supervisors meeting
was dedicated to exploring the limited options
for maintaining police protection in Girdwood.
Residents packed the Girdwood Community
Hall to hear what the five supervisors and eight
guest speakers had to say about police presence
in Girdwood while contributing to the discussion with comments, concerns and questions.
The eight guests invited to discuss the
issue were George Vakalis, Anchorage City
Manager; Dennis Wheeler, Municipal Attorney; Myron Fanning, Anchorage Police Department Deputy Police Chief; Jennifer Johnston and Bill Evans, Anchorage Assembly
Members; and representatives for the Alaska
State Troopers: Sgt. Michael Zweifel of Girdwood Post; Captain Andrew Greenstreet, E
Detachment Commander based in Soldotna;
and Colonel James Cockrell, Director of the
Alaska State Troopers.
Beginning the discussion Vakalis reviewed
the issue, provided the highest cost estimates,
the number of calls and types of calls for
service, and summarized meetings he attended
in the afternoon to explore options.
“What we’ve been doing is looking at different possibilities as to what the needs may
be down here when the partial pullout of the
state troopers occurs,” Vakalis said. “In talking
to the state troopers today, there is still a good
possibility that there will still be coverage with
at least three troopers on the highway. But
there will be some times when that coverage
will not be available. The bottom line is whatever we’re going to do, it really depends on
what the community here wants to do and the
level of service you feel is appropriate for your
community.”
Municipal attorney Wheeler explained what
the Anchorage Municipal Code allows as far as
creating a police service area or the expansion of
a police service area. He said the first option is for
Girdwood to create a service area, which would
See Back Page,
GBOS Meeting
Alaska Board of Game rejects
proposals to limit trapping in
Cooper Landing
By Amy Newman
Turnagain Times Correspondent
The Alaska Board of Game
unanimously rejected two
proposals initiated by Cooper
Landing resident Ken Green
and the Committee for Safe
Public Lands and Trails to
limit trapping in the Cooper
Landing area, citing concerns
over the breadth of the proposed restrictions.
“I think their proposals
would almost prohibit trapping in most areas,” said
board member Pete Probasco.
“I don’t feel there were any
trails left.”
Board members also felt
that the Trappers Association
had made a good-faith effort
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to resolve the conflict, and
encouraged both sides to continue to work together to reach
a compromise. The Alaska
Board of Game took public
testimony last weekend on two
proposals that seek to prohibit
trapping near private property, roads and multi-use public
lands in Cooper Landing and
the surrounding area.
Proposals 180 and 181,
which are nearly identical, ask
the Game Board to prohibit
trapping on all private property and all public land within
250 feet of private property.
The proposal also asks the
Game Board to impose a 250foot setback requirement on
most public trails, trailheads
and campgrounds in Cooper
Inside this Issue
The Girdwood Scene .................2
Paddy Waggin’ ..........................3
Cooper Landing News ...............4
Powder Hound ..........................4
Hope Happenings .....................5
South Anchorage News .............6
Lively Arts .................................9
AK Skimeister .........................11
Marc Donadieu/Turnagain Times
Nic Petit inspects booties on his dogs at the
Manley Hot Springs checkpoint during the Iditarod
sled dog race. The temperature was -25º F.
Following the Lead:
A Mushing Season
with Nic Petit
By Marc Donadieu
Turnagain Times
This is the fifth article of a continuing
series on Girdwood musher Nic Petit.
His season is being covered through
the 2015 Iditarod.
Landing and the area from
Tern Lake to Seward.
The areas identified in the
proposals are all currently
open to trapping.
Green, author of proposal
180, said the prohibitions are
necessary to ensure the safety
of residents and their pets that
frequent these areas.
“Cooper Landing is not a
local-use bush community,”
he said in a written statement
that accompanied his public
testimony. “It is a year-round
trails and park destination
for visitors, and is frequented
by families and people who
deserve reasonably safe recreational areas.”
He said residents cannot
let their children and dogs
run freely along trails and on
other public lands for fear
they’ll get entangled in traps.
Even leashed dogs are not
safe, he said, because there is
no way of knowing if a trap is
set under the bush alongside
the trail. Two of Green’s dogs
On March 6, Girdwood’s Nic Petit was at his cabin in
Willow getting ready to start his fifth Iditarod. Due to a lack
of snow, this year’s Iditarod starting point was moved from
Willow to Fairbanks. This year’s trail is a 979-mile run to
Nome. Preparing gear and traveling to the starting lines and
first checkpoints was an epic experience of constant movement.
This reporter, who had no experience working with sled
dogs and had never been to the Iditarod, was asked to work
as a dog handler as part of Team Petit’s small crew. My job
was to quietly wait around and do whatever I was asked. It
was a fascinating 6-day learning experience that revealed so
many unexpected details.
On the afternoon before the ceremonial start in Anchorage, Petit asked me to drive to his cabin. Before my arrival, I
needed to go to three stores in Wasilla to pick up two bails of
straw (to keep sleeping dogs warm), two bags of Fast Track
(an animal probiotic), two ganglines (lines that connect the
dogs to the sled), and three tubs of freeze dried liver (for trail
snacks).
See Page 10,
Trapping Limits Rejected
See Page 8,
Nic Petit: Following the Lead
Part 5: Preparations for the Iditarod and then
the race to Nome.
Turnagain Times
March 19, 2015
Page 2
The Girdwood Scene
By Paddy Notar
Turnagain Times Correspondent
Spring was here and then
it disappeared, but something
tells me it will be back for
good over the next week or
two. It was definitely not a
good year to own a plowing
service. Such is life in Alaska
– unpredictable.
Speaking of predictions, be
sure to stop by the mayoral
debate that the Girdwood
Rotary is sponsoring on March
28 from 6:30-9 p.m. in the
Girdwood Community Room.
After the meet and greet from
6:30-7 p.m. the gloves come
off as candidates will be answering questions on why
they’d make a good mayor.
Ethan Berkowitz, Andrew
Halcro, Amy Dembowski,
as well as others will be attending. If you don’t see Dan
Coffey then you can assume he
feels he has a comfortable edge
over the others. Make sure to
drill them on fluoride and pot.
Dembowski will be terrified
as she would rather have you
smoking fluoride instead of
marijuana. This is your opportunity to have your voice heard
so don’t hold back.
Jeff Crosby and the Refugees are coming to the Sitzmark March 19-21 from 10
p.m. to 2 a.m. If you like the
sound of 90s rock and roll
with the kind of lyrics that
make you think about life just
a little bit more than usual
then this is the show for you.
It’s also free, which is always
nice, and the Alyeska marketing staff has done a great job
at getting quality shows at no
cost to the audience. Michael
Minert will be one of the few
shows where there will be
cover charge at the Sitz. He
comes in March 27-28 from
10 p.m. to 2 a.m. He was born
in Poland and now lives in
for
Anchorage Mayoral Candidates
Saturday, March 28th
6:30 - 9 pm
at
Girdwood Community Room
6:30 - 7 pm: “Meet & Greet” the candidates
7 – 9 pm:
Ask the candidates questions.
Learn about their Mayoral goals.
Become informed to vote.
Light refreshments served.
This evening is an informational community
service sponsored by the Girdwood Rotary.
Colorado. How’s that for a
mix of eastern and western?
His music has the same influences playing off one another.
The cover is only $15. That’s
a great deal for this musician.
When’s the last time a Republican became President
without Nixon or Bush on the
ticket? Answer to follow. The
Girdwood Center for Visual
Arts is having “The Painter
and the Potter” exhibit going
on throughout the month of
March. Ed Zegzdryn and his
daughter Marta Zegzdryn
have some incredible pieces
on display. Do stop by and
take a look and also check out
the GCVA website for details
regarding their “Artcycled”
project. Take your garbage
and make something beautiful
out of it. The GCVA is located
at 194 Olympic Mountain
Loop, next to the Bake Shop.
Always support your local
artists. The answer to the trivia
question is Calvin Coolidge in
1928. Yes, it’s been that long
without Nixon or Bush on the
ticket for Republicans. Even I
had to do a double-take.
Make sure you pop in
to Chair 5 for some NCAA
basketball action. There is
nothing better than a pizza,
a pitcher of beer, and hoops.
Anyone who loves basketball
is watching the tournament
and probably betting on their
favorite team. Vegas will see
a little over $2.5 billion in
action during the tournament,
according to the F.B.I., and
that’s what they report. Something tells me there’s more
money bet than that.
If you’re heading into
town there’s one last Friday
and Saturday (March 20 &
21) showing of “Little Shop
of Horrors” at Mad Myrna’s.
Tickets are available online
at $28, and I’ve heard it’s
great show. Micaela probably
knows the script from her high
school days. What plays have
you been in during your life? I
was Jacob in “Joseph and the
Amazing Technicolor Dream
coat” in eighth grade. My
voice had a higher pitch than
my sisters. It was a transition
year. Middle school is tough
on the male voice. You know
it’s bad when you picked up
a ringing phone, said hello,
and the person on the other
line said, “Hello Marianne.”
Nope. That’s my mom. Every
guy has been there.
Also, Table 6 in mid-town
has some new items added
to their menu in Anchorage.
Matthew Bailey/Turnagain Times
Oso Loco’s pink caboose
will open soon to serve
up a variety of food
By Matthew Bailey
Turnagain Times Correspondent
A pink caboose kitchen on wheels will soon be serving
up an eclectic mix of food offerings including Mexican
themed dishes in Girdwood. Oso Loco expects to open
soon on Hightower Road next to The Grind, across from
the Post Office in the Town Square.
Some of the menu items that will be featured at Oso
Loco are flavorful combos that include tacos, breakfast
crepes, salad wraps, parfaits and veggie rice dishes.
The menu is being put together by local resident Eva
Weiss. She says her food truck looks to cater to people on
the go.
“Light and healthy is somewhat of the focus here,” says
Weiss, “but we’ll have a few gut-busters too for the notso-picky eaters. The idea is to provide easy to eat food
when you are having a stroll around town.”
Weiss will serve breakfast and lunch during mid-day,
but as the business develops, she hopes to stay open later
on weekends to serve the late night crowd.
“This is a quiet neighborhood and people live on either
side of the building, so if late night clientele are still in
party mode, it could compromise the late night option.
But we’re hopeful.”
In other Girdwood culinary news, Oso Loco may not be
the only new eatery to pop up this spring. Hungry townsfolk
wait in eager anticipation as construction continues in the
old World Cup building, where another restaurant is said to
be in the works by Double Musky co-owner Justin Persons.
Some local residents recall Casa Del Sol and Maxine’s
Glacier City Bistro as landmarks for great places to eat.
With those options long gone, a couple new restaurants in
Girdwood are certainly welcome.
It’s a good stop over if you’re
making the run to Fred Meyer
off of the Seward Highway.
You won’t find a better burger
and the new pulled pork sliders
and Southwestern Chicken
Salad are delicious. They have
specials every day from 3-6
p.m. Table 6 has turned into the
restaurant to hit when coming
into town or leaving. Also, try
their soups. They’re always
homemade and so are many
of their breads. We need more
places that start from scratch.
That’s it for me. I’m pretty
The Turnagain Times is
published the first and third
week of each month by
Midnight Sun Communications,
LLC, Girdwood, Alaska.
By Mail:
P.O. Box 1044
Girdwood, Alaska
99587-1044
tired from jet lag, but the sun
is about to stick around for a
little over 13 hours a day and
the spring skiing is upon us.
As always, watch the idiots
flip their cars on the road for
driving too fast and do make
sure that you get out to the
mayoral debate. It’s not just
your right to vote but your
civic duty and there is nothing
worse than people complaining about a bad a politician. A
simple vote can stop that from
happening. Drive safe and
take care.
Publisher & Editor
Ken Smith
Associate Editor
Marc Donadieu
Serving Indian, Bird, Girdwood, Portage, Whittier, Hope, Cooper Landing & South Anchorage
By Phone:
(907) 783-1135
By Email:
info@turnagaintimes.com
Production Artist
Matthew Bailey
© 2015 Midnight Sun
Communications, LLC
Turnagain Times
March 19, 2015
Opinion
Letter to the Editor
PADDY WAGGIN’
Life is always scariest
when we realize our own mortality. It happens when we fall
deathly ill, and it also happens
when we watch our loved
ones fade away. I’ve had both
occur in my life, but nothing
prepared me for losing my
mother on March 5.
As the baby of six, my
mother and I were always
close. She pampered me until
the day she passed away. I
remember her sending me
boxes of food and $20 bills
all through college. Mom
even sent me care packages
when I had a really good job
and wasn’t concerned about
money. That didn’t matter
to her, though. It made her
feel better to know that I
was getting what she thought
I needed – love and attention that only a mother could
provide.
Even my 56-year-old
brother, still received $20 on
his birthday and $10 on St.
Patrick’s Day. The latter was
her favorite day of the year,
besides Christmas, probably
because she was Irish and
loved decaf Irish coffees with
just a hint of Jameson and
Bailey’s. Marianne Elizabeth
Notar was one of the greatest
people you could ever meet.
My mom was the best.
She taught my brother Joe
how to hit a baseball as she
was once a pitcher for the
Willow Wonders in Lockport, N.Y. My mother also
taught my brother Mike how
to drive a car. She couldn’t
stand having to run errands
because Mikey would always
yell, “I’ll drive.” She just
wanted to drive herself and
not worry about some teenager crashing her into a mailbox
or a tree. It drove her nuts,
but you’d never know it by
the way she acted.
There was never a negative reaction to anything you
did. Sure, she’d be a little
angry, but mom was the one
that kept dad calm when you
really screwed things up. He
would want your head on a
platter, but mom was there
to keep things civil, and, in
a worst case scenario, she
would just cry. My father
could never do anything
about that. He’d fold under
the pressure and apologize,
followed by flowers and
dinner out without the kids.
They had a great life together and were married for 60
years.
My father would always
tell the story of their wedding
day and how the nasty people
of Lockport (my mother’s
home town) stole his brand
new windshield wipers from
his 1955 Buick. He couldn’t
believe that someone would
steal a set of windshield
wipers, and my mother defended her hometown by
PADDY
NOTAR
telling him that he probably
forgot to put them on the car.
She never gave him an inch
and, secretly, he loved that
about her.
They drove across the
country to San Diego where
my father had to report to
duty for the Marine Corps.
He talked about how the
motels were $5 a night. He
kept a ledger of all of their
expenses. I was amazed at
how little they spent – everything paid for in cash. He
also made a point to tell the
story of how my mother was
driving one day and missed a
turn. He mentioned it to her
by pointing to the missed
turn, and without hesitation,
my mother turned at 35 miles
per hour, thinking she could
make up for it. My father
screamed and the car ended
up in a ditch somewhere in
Nevada. I think that’s the
story I’ve heard the most
times from him, that and the
stolen windshield wipers.
Yet, they lasted 60 years
never leaving each other’s
side.
When I asked him how
their marriage lasted so long,
he said, “Your mother is my
best friend in the whole world.
She’s the first person I want
to talk to in the morning, and
she’s the last person I want to
spend time with before I go
to bed.”
It would only make sense
that after my mother was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s
disease, she insisted on being
placed in the same nursing
home as my father. He’s been
there for two years and my
mother had lunch with him
every day, before she became
ill, and did nothing but tell
the nurses how to handle him.
She also brushed his hair with
every visit. He couldn’t stand
where she parted it, but wives
usually do what they feel is
best for their husbands, even
when it comes to their hair.
I will always remember
how my mother put a cold
wash cloth on my neck when
I was sick, and how she read
me books before I went to
bed. She was always there for
us, and she loved life. If mom
was sick, the whole house fell
apart. Now she’s gone, and
it’s not just a house that feels
empty, but a big piece of my
Page 3
heart. I think you eventually
fill that void with all of the
great memories that you’ve
accumulated through your
life and the experiences you
have with your new family.
My mother loved all of us.
When I walked through my
parent’s house two weeks
ago there was nothing but
dozens of pictures of everyone except herself. She was
the definition of selfless.
In the end, I was lucky to
have known her and twice
blessed to have had her as my
mom. I think she said it best
when I had cat scratch fever at
the age of 16. I was throwing
up my guts and she consoled
me with the usual cold wash
cloth on my neck and said,
“Don’t worry, Patrick, everything will be fine. I’m always
here for you, no matter what.
That’s what mothers do.”
Thank you, mom.
Girdwood Health Clinic needs your help
To the Editor:
I am writing to you and asking for your help and support.
I met with Kerry Dorius our RN and Medical expert who has
operated the Girdwood Health Clinic for the last 16 years.
Kerry has done a great job providing health care for Girdwood and the Turnagain Arm communities, including Hope.
Kerry and the Girdwood Clinic are known to take patients
if they can afford healthcare or not. She has provided emergency health care service day and night and has made house
calls.
When my wife Nina was terminally ill with cancer, Kerry
helped me and the boys more than I can ever explain. Unfortunately, this winter season or lack thereof has caused the
Girdwood Health Clinic to lose over 50 percent of its business. She reduced her operating schedule, reduced staff and
cut expenses. She even had challenges to meet payroll. Kerry
asked me if I could help with fundraising for her nonprofit
clinic to get over this critical period.
May I please ask you as neighbors and friends to make a
generous contribution. A donation form can be picked up at
the Girdwood Health Clinic. We very much appreciate your
support and thank you in advance.
Chris von Imhof
Girdwood
Officials to test tsunami
warning system
Emergency Alert Activation is part of
“Tsunami Preparedness Week”
NOAA’s National Weather Service, the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and
Emergency Management and the Alaska Broadcasters Association plan to conduct a test of
the tsunami warning communications system on Wednesday, March 25 at approximately
10:15 a.m. Alaska Daylight Time.
The emergency test will be broadcast on NOAA Weather Radio, local television and
radio stations. Residents in some communities may hear warning sirens. To avoid any confusion with an actual alert, the test will be canceled if there is excessive seismic activity
within 24 hours prior to the test.
Many television systems are programmed to scroll a standard emergency alert text
message and in some cases, the message may not contain the word “TEST.” An audio
message will say that the message is only a test, but if the volume is turned down or otherwise unheard, viewers may not realize the message is a test. In addition, siren audio may
not contain the word “TEST.”
Officials are asking coastal Alaskans to provide feedback online at ready.alaska.gov.
The test is part of “Tsunami Preparedness Week” from March 22 to 28. During Tsunami
Preparedness Week, emergency managers urge coastal residents to review information on
what to do in the event of a tsunami. NOAA’s National Tsunami Warning Center Web site
offers complete information, including the current status of tsunami warnings, advisories
and watches. A list of frequently asked tsunami questions and answers as well as tsunami
safety rules can be found on the center’s site under “Education.”
Page 4
Turnagain Times
March 19, 2015
Cooper Landing News
By Susanna LaRock
Turnagain Times
Cooper Landing Correspondent
Sen. Micciche Talks to
Local Subsistence Users
and Business Owners
When Sen. Peter Micciche came to
Cooper Landing for a brief stopover on
his Kenai Peninsula Town l Meeting
Tour, he was expecting to be talking to
a handful of concerned locals. Much
to the senator’s surprise, there were
around 30 local subsistence users and
business owners waiting to talk with
him at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 7.
The Federal Board of Subsistence,
during a public meeting Jan. 21-23,
passed FP15-10, which will allow subsistence users to apply for a permit to
use a gillnet in the Lower Kenai and
the Kasilof Rivers.
Since news about this landmark decision came out, residents of Cooper
Landing have been buzzing about how
they can get this decision reversed.
Sen. Micciche’s Chief of Staff Larry
Semmens opened up the meeting by
explaining to attendees that he and
the senator are very concerned about
the federal action on gillnetting in the
Lower Kenai River.
Sen. Micciche explained that once
he heard about the action and immediately started hearing concerns from his
constituents, he got together with Sen.
Mike Dunleavy and wrote a letter to
the Federal Board of Subsistence.
The floor opened up the meeting
with attendees all voicing concerns
from the impact on the trout and Dolly
Varden population to the impact on the
king salmon run, which has dwindled
to the point of the fishery being shut
down for the last couple of years. Many
business owners in Cooper Landing
make their living off of the fishing that
happens in the Kenai River in one way
or another. They are concerned about
the impact on the Upper Kenai River
if a subsistence group is allowed to put
a gillnet in the lower river.
Subsistence users who dipnet at the
Russian River Falls through a federal
subsistence program also voiced their
concern, not about their subsistence
rights but about the greater concern for
the Kenai River and the impact on the
different species. Subsistence users
agreed that the subsistence fishery at
Russian River Falls was working well.
People are able to get their fish and
there are no problems with it.
It was expressed that the Ninilchik
subsistence users have the same opportunity, and there was a question
as to why they needed the right to put
a gillnet in the river. Sen. Micciche
listened to the concerns of the locals
and agreed, stating that the decision,
“Invites civil discourse and promotes
separation of user groups that is not
healthy.” He explained that once the
decision in published in the Federal
Register, there will be a thirty-day
period for people to submit requests
for reconsideration. He suggested that
Cooper Landing residents take that
time to write in to the Federal Board of
Subsistence about the personal effect
this decision will have on them.
Sen. Micciche expressed his disappointment that the state agencies were
not heard in the original decisionmaking. He said, “It doesn’t seem like
Alaskan state rights are taken into con-
sideration. We’re largely left out of the
conversation.”
The senator also expressed that he
is perfectly willing to sit down with
the Ninilchik Traditional Council and
talk about other options.
“I just don’t want to see another
significant impact on this river,” Sen.
Micciche said.
The meeting encouraged residents,
and there was a sense that a difference
could be made. A letter writing party is
being planned so that residents can get
together and make sure their voices
are heard.
Don’t Forget the Polar Winds
Concert
Cooper
Landing
Community
School will be presenting a classical music concert on March 19 in the
Cooper Landing School gym at 7 p.m.
The ensemble performing is called
Polar Winds. It is comprised of the
principal players of the woodwind and
horn section of the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra. Roxann Selland
Berry will be playing flute, Sharman
Piper will play oboe, Karl Pasch will
be playing the clarinet, Heather Williams will play the bassoon, and Darrel
Kincade will play the horn. Maria
Allison, pianist and teacher from the
Kenai Soldotna area, will be joining
Polar Winds for this concert. This
event is free and all ages are welcome.
Come and enjoy an evening of beautiful music.
Book Club Meeting at Library
The Friday Night Book Club will
be meeting at the Cooper Landing
Community Library on Friday, March
20 at 7 p.m. The discussion will be
about the novel We Are Water by
Wally Lamb. Bring a snack to share,
your favorite drink, and enjoy some
stimulating conversation in your local
library.
Community Club Meeting
A Cooper Landing Community Club meeting will be held at the
Cooper Landing Community Hall
on Thursday, March 26 at 7 p.m.
One need not be a Community Club
Member in order to attend a meeting;
it is a good way to stay informed on
what is going on in the community and
what the Community Club does.
Community School Hosts
Family Movie Night
Cooper Landing Community School
will be hosting another Family Movie
Night at Cooper Landing School on
Friday, March 27 at 7 p.m. The movie
that will be showing is The Boxtrolls.
This event is free with free popcorn for
all. Bring the whole family to enjoy a
rated PG movie and some theater-style
popcorn.
CLES Snowshoe Softball
Fundraiser
Cooper Landing Emergency Services will be holding its annual Snowshoe Softball Fundraiser on Saturday,
March 28 at the ball field next to the
Community Hall on Bean Creek Road.
The games start at noon with snow or
no snow; this is always a fun event for
the whole family and a good way to
support a great cause. Imagine everyone running bases in snowshoes with
grass on the field.
Powder Hound
Gaining knowledge in the Chugach – a backcountry experience
By Erin Kilbury
I grew up in Minneapolis,
Minn., where the only avalanches I had ever heard of
were roof avalanches. Snowmachining meant you were
going to be towed on a sled
around a flat, frozen lake and
skiing entailed 20-second
runs down Buck or Hyland
Hills. While roof avalanches
are a real concern that deserve
due respect and Buck Hill has
groomed top racers like Kristina Koznick and Lindsey
Vonn, its 310-foot vertical
rise and Minneapolis’ average
snowfall of 60 inches per
year does not compare to the
dynamic terrain and complex
snowpack in Alaska.
While living and skiing in
Colorado for six years significantly reduced my gaper
status, upon my arrival to
Girdwood the Chugach still
blew my mind. The dynamic
terrain, exceptional skiers and
the amount of snow that we
receive are unparalleled to
anything I’ve ever imagined.
Backcountry
skiing
became a love for which I fell
hard and fast. There is nothing
more satisfying than climbing
a mountain and skiing down
it – the sense of accomplish-
ment and thrill is enlivening
and contagious (insert human
factor). I’ve had the pleasure of skiing with partners
who, for better or worse, I’ve
felt safe with and trust my
life with. This is a blessing
and simultaneously a crutch
that I’ve abused and overused. My lack of experience
in the mountains and beginner’s understanding of snowpack is increasingly evident,
so I decided to do something
about it.
I recently participated in
the first Level One Avalanche
Course at the Manitoba Hut,
hosted by the Alaska Avalanche School (AAS). It was
an inspiring, humbling and
empowering experience that I
highly recommend to anyone
doing winter travel in the
mountains. Whether you are
new to Alaska’s terrain and
snow or have been playing
in the mountains your whole
life, this course delivers highvalue, essential information
for making safe and educated
decisions.
Over the weekend, a mix
of lecture and field sessions
bolstered my sense of competency, comfort and confidence
for mountain travel through
avalanche terrain and in-
creased my respect for its elements. The course covered the
basics of rescue skills, taught
students to identify avalanche
problems and signs of unstable snow, assess terrain, make
trip plans, consider human
factors and much more.
While these skills may all
be learned through a book, the
opportunity of putting it all
together and having the direction, feedback and life-long
experience of the professional team of AAS is invaluable.
They rightfully hold a reputation for having some of the
best avalanche training programs and instructors in the
nation.
I felt enlightened by the
team of leaders who displayed
an intense dedication and zeal
for their field. Additionally,
my curious and intelligent
cohort – a group of fifteen
strangers who all became
fast friends and will remain
dependable trip partners for
years to come – created an
optimal environment for experiential learning.
Being at the Manitoba
hut allowed for long days in
the field. We covered a lot
of ground and observed a
panoply of interesting snowpack and terrain situations.
Photo courtesy of Tracy Christopherson
A group of skiers celebrate on Manitoba peak.
Along with the tremendous
amount of learning that happened, my drive and commitment for spending time in
the mountains was turned on.
Every day I felt more comfortable and the skiing got better
and better. By the last day,
while there was no new snow,
near surface faceting made for
some great recycled powder
and we were skiing some of
the best turns of the year. I feel
empowered in the decisionmaking process and confident
knowing that when snowpack
is the question, terrain is the
answer.
With this idea in mind, I’ll
continue to seek the profound
satisfaction that accompanies
safe days climbing mountains
and skiing down them.
Happy touring!
Turnagain Times
Page 5
March 19, 2015
Hope Happenings
By Jeannine Jabaay
Turnagain Times
Hope Correspondent
Book Club Discussion
Calling all bookworms.
The Hope Library has announced its next book for
the Book Club. Put on your
reading glasses, sip a warm
mug of tea, and crack open
Fifty Miles from Tomorrow,
an Alaska memoir written by
William Hensley. The Book
Club is open to all and will
have the book discussion at
the library on Saturday, April
4 at 3 p.m. Don’t miss it.
Pizza! Pizza!
Piping hot (straight from
the oven), fresh ingredients
(only the finest for our locals),
and ooey gooey and cheesy.
The Foods Class at the Hope
School is offering mouthwatering pizzas made locally
for Hope and Sunrise residents. This gourmet specialty
will be made available on the
first Thursday in both April
and May. Order a cheese,
pepperoni, veggie, or Thai
chicken pizza, and have it delivered on Thursday, April 2.
For only $18, a freshly baked
pizza will be delivered to
your door. Support the school
in the most delicious of ways.
Call Sarah at 782-3202 or
Tahneta at 947-6961 to assure
your delivery.
Open Gym Night
Come in out of the cold and
get active. The Hope School
has changed the night of the
week for Open Gym to every
Wednesday from 6-7:30 p.m.,
and all are invited to participate. Open Gym Night has
seen events such as highly
competitive games of basketball, gourmet chefs in active
practice, bendy gymnasts flipping and twisting, and quiet
readers engrossed in books
from the school’s library. Stop
in and join the fun.
Church News
The Hope Christian Church
invites the community to join
them in weekly services on
Sundays at 3 p.m. This afternoon schedule is the perfect
start time to afford a leisure
morning, an early afternoon
nap, and then a time of corporate worship. Dig in deeper
with the weekly Bible studies
for women on Thursdays at 1
p.m. followed by a co-ed Bible
study at 3 p.m. And for those
in the Hope area with a financial need, the church opens its
doors with a food bank each
Thursday at noon (or by appointment). For more information, visit www.Facebook.
com/HopeChurchAlaska.
Tiny Tots Hour
Got a little one anxious to
run around, kick things, build
things, and run, run, run? Then
Thursdays from 10:30-11:30
a.m. will soon become your
favorite hour of the week.
The little guys are invited for
a school gym takeover. Bring
your child to the Hope School
for a time of learning, exploring, and creative activities in
a parent-supervised playtime.
Children ages 4 or younger
are encouraged to participate.
For more information, call
Shannon at 351-8063.
Photo courtesy of Pam May
A parasailer soars near Hope.
Serving the Girdwood Dental Clinic
Happy Skiing this Winter Season!
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the end of the year!
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continues to enjoy
seeing our Girdwood
patients!
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For reservations call 1-877-870-8787
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Phone: 472-2354 Fax: 472-2394
P.O. Box 750 • Whittier, AK 99693
email: info@anchorinnwhittier.com
Page 6
Turnagain Times
March 19, 2015
South Anchorage News
By Amy Newman
Turnagain Times
South Anchorage Correspondent
It has been another snowless few weeks in South Anchorage, and with the longer
daylight hours, it’s starting
to feel more like spring every
day. And that means more opportunities to get outdoors, an
increase in construction projects, and in April a new mayor
is in town.
Get out and vote
Following the onslaught of
robocalls and political mailers
for the November 2014 election, Anchorage’s municipal
election season has been so
quiet in comparison, it may
come as a surprise that Election Day is only three weeks
away. But South Anchorage voters will help choose a
new mayor, school board and
service area board members
on Tuesday, April 7.
If you don’t know your
polling place, visit http://gis.
opendata.muni.org/anchoragepolling. Click on the magnifying glass at the top right
hand corner of the page and
enter your home address; the
site will not only give you the
address of your polling place,
but directions as well. For a
list of candidates, visit aws.
state.ak.us/apocreports/campaign/AnchorageCandidates.
aspx.
New Retail/Office
Space in Huffman
Center
Construction on 1389
Huffman Park Drive, the
11,115 square foot, two story
retail/office building under
construction in the Huffman
Center should be completed
by August said Linda Boggs,
marketing director with Carr
Gottstein Properties.
Boggs said interest in the
building has been high, and
she has received many letters
of intent from both professional and retail businesses.
She also said a local restaurant plans to open a second location in the building but did
not want to divulge the name
until a lease has been signed.
Boggs said the building’s
location right off the Seward
Highway makes it more accessible than businesses located
near the Dimond Center, particularly when you factor in
Dimond traffic.
“We actually drove it, and
you can almost be off the
freeway and in the door in a
minute because it’s just so
easy to get in,” she said. “It’s
a little further south, but as far
as convenience and access, it
really is so quick.”
Earth Hour at the
Alaska Zoo
Zoo Lights ended earlier
this month, so now it’s time
to see the zoo with no lights.
The Alaska Zoo will join hun-
Photo courtesy of Carr Gottstein Properties/Image by ECI/Hyer, Inc.
A new retail/office building at 1389 Huffman Park Drive is scheduled to open in
August.
dreds of millions of people,
businesses and governments
worldwide and turn off the
lights for 60 minutes in celebration of Earth Hour, said
Stephanie Hartman, the Zoo’s
education director.
Started in 2007 to raise
awareness about climate
change, Earth Hour has grown
to include more than 160
countries, according to the official Earth Hour website. It is
held on Saturday, March 28
from 8-10 p.m.
A short presentation on
Earth Hour precedes a candlelit walk through the
grounds. Admission is free,
but participants are asked to
make a donation for Arctic
animal conservation education and capital projects like
the new Polar Bear exhibit.
Visitors should also bring a
100 percent beeswax or soy
candle for the candlelit walk.
Contact Education Director Stephanie Hartman at 3416463 for more information. To
read more about Earth Hour,
visit www.earthhour.org.
Get your kids outside
with Skedaddle
Want to get your children
more active, meet new parents
and enjoy the outdoors all at
the same time? Then Skedaddle, a free outdoor, all-weather playgroup, is for you.
Started in 2010 by Anchorage mom Lia Keller, Skedaddle’s mission is to provide
children with unstructured,
outdoor play while fostering
their love of nature. When
her boys were younger, Keller
said she realized that their behavior, as well as the behavior
of other children in her playgroups, changed when given a
chance to be outdoors.
“I soon saw that children
playing outside behaved very
differently with less bickering, no fighting over toys and
more cooperative play,” she
said.
Skedaddle meets every
Tuesday from 10 a.m. to noon
at different parks throughout Anchorage and Girdwood. And when Keller says
“all-weather,” she means it.
The group has met in subzero temperatures and in the
pouring rain, so parents are
encouraged to dress their children in appropriate clothing.
On Tuesday, March 24,
Skedaddle will meet at Oceanview Park, located at 13420
Jarvi Road. The park was renovated last summer to expand
the play structures – two zip
lines, a rock wall and platform
swing were added – and to increase accessibility.
To learn more, visit www.
akskedaddle.com.
FVCS News
By Briana Sullivan
Special to the Turnagain Times
Nordic Ski all smiles
The 35 kids participating
in FVCS Jr. Nordic Ski Club
and Kinder Ski program are
nearing the final practice of
the season, making the most
of the extreme lack of white
on the trails.
“Junior Nordic has had its
share of snow difficulties this
winter, but kids’ spirits have
remained strong,” said head
coach Ari Stiassny.
During one recent practice
he said he, “had an amazing
day of capture the flag with
over 20 kids in the deep forest
when our trails were gone.
Thanks to Alyeska Resort,
we have been able to ski the
magic carpet area, which has
been perfect for most ages.”
Last week the kids were
able to enjoy their own Girdwood Kid’s Nordic Day with
obstacle courses, ski games,
and a ton of fun on the magic
carpet. First grade skier Mia
said, “The obstacle courses
were great, and capture the
flag was so fun!” and Kinder
Ski student Sammy added,
“Kick the can was awesome.”
Older skiers took off trail
running before lacing up ski
boots and joining the obstacle course, eventually racing
each other and the clock
around the magic carpet loop.
Thank you to all the parent
volunteers who make practices meaningful, getting
kids outdoors, organized,
and ready for fun. There are
about 25 skiers in Jr. Nordic
and at least six years of age in
Kinder Ski.
Food, cultural, healthy,
and fun
Days are longer and the
FVCS has many classes to
offer everyone in the family.
Hit your body’s restart
button with health, education, action, lifestyle, and
support. Jump-start your
spring with this 5-week class
to end sugar and carb cravings. Materials and support
provided from Optimal
Health Nutritional Therapy
LLC with local Nutritional
Therapy Consultant.
On Tuesdays March 17 to
April 14 from 7-8:30 p.m.,
learn to whip up healthy meals
for your loved ones with the
Good Food Fast class. This
three-class series will focus
on a simple yet elegant meal
each meeting with prep time
under one hour.
On Tuesdays March 24
to April 7 from 7-8:30 p.m.,
develop flexibility, strength
and endurance for a longer,
leaner feel with this conditioning routine. Pilates with
Patty is here until May 6. As
the morning sun shines, open
up to this exercise program
while you can. What are you
waiting for?
Join cultural anthropologist Dorrie Dean with basket
weaving in this hands-on, fascinating class for ages 10 to
adult. Each participant will
use rattan reeds and learn to
weave their own functional
basket in the Tlingit, Haida,
and Aleut/Aluutiq traditional
technique. Additional information is provided to continue
your own practice. It happens
April 7, 6-7:30 p.m.
Graduates of 2015
Senior Service Scholarship
applications are due April 1 to
the FVCS office. This scholarship is made possible by the
Lions Club and FVCS partnership to honor our seniors
Photo courtesy of Catherine McDermott
The Junior Nordic group gathers before another
round of snow-free activities.
demonstrating
community
service, leadership, and academics.
Forest Fair T-shirt
Design Contest
Forest Fair 2015 T-shirt
submissions are also due April
1 at 5 p.m. to the Tourist Trap
or FVCS office. The winner
receives $50, 2 T-shirts and
years of fame.
Spring Fun
Pre-K has lots to do with
FVCS like DIY Bird Seed
Feeders, Pine Cone Owls, and
Pre-School Playgroup. Sign
up quickly.
Did you know that bats hibernate in the winter? Bats are
all around us. Attend special
classes with Alaska Fish and
Game for both K-2 and third
through fifth grades on April
21. Learn how you can help
monitor bat population in the
FVCS area. This class is part
of the Citizen Science Alaska
Bat Monitoring Program.
Turnagain Times
March 19, 2015
Page 7
Mountain News
By Ben Napolitano
Special to the Turnagain Times
The Sitz Music
Calendar is Stacked
for the remainder
of March
The Sitzmark is off and
running in March with two
great national touring acts remaining in the month. Fans
of the Sitzmark concert venue
are going to be ecstatic to see
the performances of Michal
Menert and Jeff Crosby & the
Refugees, two acts who have
rocked the Sitzmark crowds
in past years.
Up first is a free show
featuring Idaho native, L.A.
based Jeff Crosby & the Refugees. Gifted with a gritty and
genuine voice that immediately feels familiar to fans of
rock and country music, Idaho-born songwriter, singer,
and guitarist Jeff Crosby has
been writing songs, grinding out shows, and sharing
his unique perspective of
Americana throughout the
United States and beyond for
the better part of 10 years.
Alongside him now to form
The Refugees, brother Andy
Crosby (bass) and Ben Brault
(drums) have created a force
of honest, provocative rock
and roll that is quickly gathering both a fervent fan base
and critical acclaim wherever
they go.
Closing out the month of
March is quite possibly one
of the most unique shows
to grace the Sitzmark stage.
Colorado
based
Michal
Menert was born in then
communist Kielce, Poland.
During his childhood, Michal’s father exposed him to
a wide variety of Eastern and
Western music, giving his son
fertile soil in which to plant
his musical visions early on.
Coming from a musical background of playing guitar,
keyboards, and dabbling in a
variety of other instruments
gave Michal Menert a unique
approach to composing his
own musical style.
He grew up in Colorado
with Derek Vincent Smith
of Pretty Lights. Together
they played in several bands
and challenged and inspired
each other as they developed
their own unique production
styles. He co-produced the
debut Pretty Lights album,
Taking Up Your Precious
Time, and has collaborated
with Derek Vincent Smith
on a handful of tracks since
then. He also performs with
Paul Basic under the name
Half Color.
Michal Menert was the
first artist signed to the record
label Pretty Lights Music,
with the release of his album
Dreaming of a Bigger Life in
the spring of 2010. His sound
combines obscure vintage
samples from both Eastern
European and Western vinyl
with rich analog synthesis and
organic hard hitting beats. It
is a fusion of yesterday’s elements and tomorrow’s ideas.
Tickets to this show are $15
and can be purchased at any
ticket office, at the Sitzmark
or at thesitzmark.com.
Spring Carnival is right
around the corner
April also brings every
Alaskan’s favorite spring
weekend at Alyeska Resort,
Spring Carnival! This year’s
Spring Carnival takes place
April 10-12, 2015 and promises to be one wild slope-side
party with new events added
to the classic schedule Alaskans have come to know and
love. The festivities kick off
Friday night at the Sitzmark
with the Slush Cup costume
contest. All Slush Cup hopefuls come dressed up and
ready to shake their money
makers for one of the highly
coveted, fifty spots for Saturday’s event.
Costumes need to be
PG-13 and semi-functional
as contestants still need to be
able to ski/snowboard across
the pond. The event starts at
6 p.m. and all winners must
register that night for the next
day’s Slush Cup.
Saturday afternoon brings
the big show: the annual
Slush Cup event in front of
the Sitzmark. For those of
you who haven’t heard of
Slush Cup before, here are
the basics. Fifty brave souls
dressed in ridiculous costumes ski or snowboard as
fast as they can towards a
slush filled pond and attempt
to skim across the top, most
fail in hilarious fashion. The
few who successfully make
it across are judged on air,
speed and style. The winner
gets a season pass to Alyeska
Resort for the following
season. The event starts at 4
p.m. but show up early for a
great viewing spot and preevent festivities including
product tossing, food venders
and the Idiot Swim.
On Sunday, an entertaining mix of events comes to
the Sitzmark base area and
kicks off with the Dummy
Downhill at noon. This event
incorporates backyard engineering with poor construction techniques.
Builders construct a skiing
crash-test-dummy and send
it down the hill through an
obstacle course where the
dummies will inevitably
crash, burn and die in that
order. Judges are looking
for originality, air, speed and
crash/destruction. For the
second year, Alyeska will be
adding a summer time favorite the winter flare with
the Snow Cup Downhill
Mountain Bike Race at 9
a.m. Riders will attack a DH
course on either their full suspension mountain bike or fat
tire snow bike.
Both styles of bike have
distinct advantages and disadvantages. Regardless of
which bike is used, the fastest
time wins the day. Sunday’s
most popular event is the
XtraTuf Tug-O-War at 3 p.m.
The rules are simple – pull
on a rope and don’t end up in
the pond. The winning team
gets free XtraTufs from event
sponsor Army/Navy.
No festival would be
complete without music
and Spring Carnival will be
rocking Friday – Sunday.
Taking the Sitzmark stage
starting at 10 p.m. will be
San Francisco based Mother
Hips with special guest Nicki
Bluhm for a $10 show. Both
Nicki Bluhm and The Mother
Photo courtesy of Ben Napolitano
The sun sets over Turnagain Arm as seen from the
top of Mt. Alyeska.
Hips have graced the Sitzmark stage before and performed to sell-out crowds.
The Slush Cup concert will be
no different. Advance concert
tickets and more information
on the bands can be found at
thesitzmark.com.
Come out to Alyeska and
enjoy a weekend of fun celebrating spring in Alaska, but
please keep the dogs at home.
FREE
MARCH 19, 20 & 21
Jeff Crosby
& the Refugees
FREE
MARCH 27 & 28
EDM Weekend with
Girdwood Trails Committee
introduces new logo
The Girdwood Trails
Committee announces the
creation of a new logo that
will be seen around town
and on local trails. There
will be flyers, patches,
signs, and stationery featuring the new logo. Conceptualized by Sarah Rink
and designed by Heather
Turning of Turning Heads
Designs, it celebrates the
Girdwood Hand Tram at
Four Corners. The logo
integrates boldly colored
images depicting mountains, trees, water and land
trails, and the hand tram. It
will help identify the Trails
Committee and project a
unique image of Girdwood.
Look for it!
Michal Menert
of Pretty Lights
$15
APRIL 3 & 4
Keller
Williams
$20
Stay & Play with the
ROCKSTAR PACKAGE
Overnight, Resort Credit, T-shirt & Concert tickets
BEERS ON TAP / 21 & OVER / FOOD ‘TIL LATE
full schedule online TheSitzmark.com : 907-754-2275
Page 8
Turnagain Times
March 19, 2015
Nic Petit: Following the Lead
Marc Donadieu/Turnagain Times
Girdwood musher Nic Petit leaves the Manley Hot Springs checkpoint for Tanana on Tuesday, March 10, early on in the Iditarod race.
Continued from page 1
Shortly after my arrival,
the relentless flurry of packing
began as a snowy, wet evening
descended. There is an incredible amount of gear and food
needed for 16 dogs and one
musher to compete in the Iditarod, which is known for its
unpredictable, bitter weather
across different regions of
Alaska. There is gear for the
dogs, the racing sled, and the
musher. Some gear is mandatory, some is necessary, and
some is optional.
At Petit’s cabin in Willow,
Team Petit consisted of Anais
Amouret, Petit’s French lead
dog handler, Isabelle Bouyeure, Petit’s mother who travelled from Normandy, France
to see her son compete, and
myself.
Before the Ceremonial
Start, Grayson Bruton joined
us. He’s a sharp, insightful,
and observant former Junior
Iditarod musher who has been
mushing since he was four. He
turned 20 years old on the trip.
Petit drew bib number 12 at
the Mushers Banquet. When
asked about his bib number,
Petit replied, “That’s good
for me.” The early start of the
race allowed Petit to take advantage of fresh trail conditions and take the early lead
going into the second checkpoint at Manley Hot Springs.
His young, fast team has eight
yearlings in their first Iditarod.
Leading Petit and his dog
team down 4th Avenue, with
its recently loaded-in snow
and sidewalk-lined crowds,
was a quick blur. As soon as
it was over, we hustled back
to the truck and dog box to
drive to Campbell Airstrip to
get Petit and his dogs on their
way to their Willow kennel
for a final load in and drive to
Fairbanks.
Moving the official start
from Willow to Fairbanks
dramatically changed planning dynamics. Petit’s lead
handler Amouret was unable
to continue past Willow due
to family obligations. That left
Bruton, Bouyeure, and myself
to support Petit at the restart in
Fairbanks and at the first two
checkpoints in Nenana and
Manley Hot Springs.
The trip north was an eyeopening experience for Bouyeure in many ways, which
was her first winter visit to
Alaska. She learned firsthand what her son does for a
living and saw him compete
in the world-renowned Iditarod.
“It’s a very long trip to
come over here,” Bouyeure
said, “and I’m in a brand new
world, so I’m learning everything as I go. Everything is a
big surprise to me.”
When Petit was young,
Bouyeure saw how he had
a strong resolve to do what
he wanted on his terms. She
knew he would not choose an
ordinary career.
“He always had determi-
nation in whatever he does,”
said Bouyeure. “Saying that
I knew he was going to be a
musher – no! There’s no way,
but I knew it was going to be
unconventional compared to
what we do in France, which
is basically the organized
way before you hit 21.”
Bouyeure made a couple
of observations about her
35-year old son and what she
has learned about him on the
trip. She was impressed with
Petit’s dedication and his
ability to lead people easily
to get them to do what needs
to be done. She was also
struck by his strong sense of
individuality.
“He is faithful to himself,”
said Bouyeure. “That’s what
I learned. That he keeps on
going in his own direction
and it makes sense because
that’s his personality. Nico
is himself as I have known
him forever. He has a mind
of his own. He does things
his own way, and it works for
him. I’m very happy for him
because he’s doing exactly
what he wants. What else
could a mother wish for?”
Joining us in the Fairbanks mushers’ lot the night
before the restart were
Connie Larose and Connie
Cooley, both from Girdwood.
These women, along with
Bouyeure, were responsible
for sewing sled straps and
sponsor patches as well as teat
warmers and penis warmers
lined with fox fur. These
wonderful women also supplied plenty of good cheer to
keep our tired minds engaged
inside the RV filled with six
people and five female sled
dogs. Bruton and I were there
to do anything Petit requested to help prepare him for his
journey to Nome, and we ran
around until 4 a.m.
There were endless tasks to
be completed, such as filling
clear plastic bags with frozen
meat snacks such as 14-inch
long beef/tripe meat sticks,
chicken legs, chicken drumsticks, and beef/tripe patties.
All of Petit’s gear had to be
organized and ready to load.
Then there were last minute
sled preparations and adjustments that were all performed
inside the 30-foot long, rented
RV. When I wasn’t doing
something, I was patiently
waiting to be assigned my
next task.
During these slow times,
I overheard Bruton and Petit
discussing sled designs, dogs,
competitive mushers, and
other mushers, sometimes
with humorous comments and
observations. There are so
many details and nuances to
competitive sled dog racing,
especially during the biggest
event of the season.
I quietly absorbed as much
as I could. For a novice like
me, working with Petit and
Bruton was a fascinating
learning experience about
the subtleties and realities of
competitive mushing.
We caught three hours of
rest before preparing Nic, the
dogs and sled for the restart.
It was a chaotic scramble
to hook up the dogs and load
the sled before getting in line
for the restart. Nic was calm
and focused through it all,
even when he was assigning me tasks with the dogs
and gangline that I had never
performed before yet were
routine for a dog handler. Not
wanting to screw up, I asked
questions when I wasn’t sure
about something. Somehow
everything worked out, and
we started on time.
Dog teams pulling sleds
and mushers were running out
of the lot, sometimes in a dis-
orderly fashion. One team’s
handlers couldn’t keep up
with the energetic pace of the
dogs, leaving humans diving
and rolling for cover from
charging dogs eager to run.
Nic was finally in the starting chute making last minute
checks on his sled and dogs as
the countdown ticked down to
zero. There was the soft thump
of lunging dog paws and the
hiss of sled runners on snow
as Petit and his team moved
by while gaining speed. Then
he turned the corner and was
gone.
Nic and the dogs were off
to Nome. We were driving
south to meet him in Nenana,
the first checkpoint, to give
him his drop bag of dog food.
Then we went back up to Fairbanks again and on to Manley
Hot Springs, 156 miles away
in the middle of the night with
icy road conditions.
Nic was tired and didn’t
say too much on Tuesday
morning at the Manley Hot
Springs checkpoint, where he
and his young dog team were
surprisingly in first place.
The -25 degree F. temperature was made bearable by
the setting half moon and the
rising sun on a memorable,
clear morning. He joked about
having to change his sock
as he exposed his bare foot
because he stepped in water
inside the community hall.
Minutes later he was disappearing into the distance on
a steady trot to Tanana and
moving closer to Nome.
As of Wednesday, March
18, Petit still had 14 dogs in
the race at the White Mountain checkpoint. His team was
running in 10th place, only 77
miles from the finish line.
Nic has a Facebook page and
a website, so if you wish to
follow him as a fan or make
a contribution to his team,
please visit https://www.facebook.com/Girdwood2Nome
or http://www.teampetit.com.
Mushing and competing in
the Iditarod are expensive
endeavors, and Nic relies on
the generosity of sponsors to
help him through a season of
competition.
Turnagain Times
March 19, 2015
Page 9
Lively Arts
By Ron Holmstrom
Turnagain Times Correspondent
Although the details are
sketchy at this time, Hunter
Killer, the big-budget feature
film that was set to shoot in
Whittier this spring, is apparently moving to Louisiana. Rumors are that there
may still be some second unit
filming to be done in the fall
in the Alaska coastal town. We
hope to have much more information about this sad news
for the next edition.
Also, on the Alaska film
front, there is, once again, a
bill before the Alaska Legislature to end our film program
altogether. SB39, introduced
by Sen. Bill Stoltze is an act
repealing the film production
tax credit. This move should
come as little surprise since
then-Rep. Stoltze has been
crusading to drive the film
industry out of Alaska since
nearly it’s very inception. I
penned an opinion piece in
the Turnagain Times’ March
6, 2014 edition concerning
this situation.
There has been a challenge
to the film business in nearly
every legislative session, led
by Stoltze, but there has never
been much support from
his fellow legislators. This
time, though, he has gained
co-sponsorship for SB39
from Sen. Bishop, Huggins,
Meyer, Micciche, MacKinnon, Coghill, Giessel and
Dunleavy. Unless the citizens
of Alaska rally to defend this
potential boost to our troubled
Alaska economy, this multibillion dollar global industry
will certainly take Alaska out
of consideration as a location
for movie making.
I will have in-depth coverage of this situation in the
next issue, but the time is now
to contact your legislators to
encourage them to keep this
program in place. As it stands,
it is certain that there will be
no more major motion pictures filmed in Alaska, since
other states, such as New
Mexico, Louisiana, Georgia,
etc, are enthusiastically welcoming this huge industry into
their states.
The latest word from
Juneau is that SB39 has
moved out of the Senate Labor
and Commerce Committee
and will now be considered in
the Senate Finance Committee. If ever there was a time
to diversify our economy and
work to attract a huge industry to our troubled state, it is
now. One $6 million Alaska
ski movie has already relocated to Canada, with rumors of
several others to do so as well.
The budget for Hunter Killer
was said to be between $50
and $80 million, so the losses
to our state economy are
already beginning. Contact
your legislators and let them
know your feelings on this
matter.
On a much brighter side,
there is good news in local
theater.
Out North Contemporary
Art House will be presenting the West Coast Premiere
of Perfect Arrangement by
Topher Payne and directed by
Krista Schwarting. The play
was inspired by the “lavender scare” of the early 1950s
in which hundreds of Americans were fired from government jobs amid accusations
of “moral corruption”– an official euphemism for homosexuality. Perfect Arrangement introduces us to the U.S.
Department of State employees assigned to develop the
criteria for identifying and
removing these security risks:
Director of Personnel Bob
Martindale and his secretary,
Norma Baxter.
Unbeknownst to the department, Bob and Norma are
themselves closeted – they’re
married to each other’s partners, Jim and Millie, as a
cover. In order to maintain the
façade for visitors, the Martindales and the Baxters have
created lives as perfect as a
50s sitcom right down to the
corny jokes and occasional
product placements. But when
an employee discovers their
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secret and threatens exposure,
the group discovers how difficult maintaining the illusion
can be. The show will run
from March 19 through April
4, Thursdays, Fridays and
Saturdays at 7 p.m. For tickets
and more information, go to
their website at outnorth.org
Downtown at Cyrano’s,
the team of actress Elizabeth Ware and director David
Edgecombe will be presenting
two plays running on alternative days, Red Hot Patriot,
a reprise of Ware’s hit onewoman show as outspoken
columnist Molly Ivens from
two years ago and a new play,
A Woman by Design by Edgecombe and Ware, about Mary
Elizabeth Jane Colter, the
pioneer female architect who
designed many of the destination structures around the
Grand Canyon and is credited with helping develop the
Southwest architectural style.
Researched and created by
David Edgecombe and Elizabeth Ware when they were on
their sabbatical in Arizona last
year, this play was created in
the tradition of Libby, another
one-woman show about a
pioneering Alaskan woman,
which also starred Ware. Libby
won the “Five-Star Award” at
the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
and toured Alaska, including
St. Paul Island, where Libby
wrote her journals. Tickets
may be had at centertix.net or
by calling 263-ARTS. Cyrano’s website is cyranos.org.
Also, March 21-29, TBA
Theatre Company is presenting A Midsummer Nights
Dream,
William
Shakespeare’s
classic
comedy
of fairies, lovers and asses
brought to life with the ragtime
feel of the 1920s, by the same
artistic team that brought you
Macbeth, A Comedy of Errors
and Romeo & Juliet. TBA’s
productions of the Bard’s
work are always raucous and
fun, and this one promises
to be a great chance to take
in the antics of Puck and the
misguided exploits of nobles,
peasants and even a guy that
somehow finds his head replaced with that of a donkey.
So what’s not to like? Show
times are Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays
at 3 p.m. in the Wendy Williamson Theatre on the UAA
campus. Tickets and more information about this show and
all of TBA’s doings are at their
website tbatheatre.org or call
them at 907-677-PLAY.
That wraps it up for this installment of Lively Arts, but
be sure to check future editions for all the news about
what is happening around
town and especially next
edition for breaking news
about Alaska’s troubled film
industry. Lastly, check out
my weekly Your Entertainment Link every Thursday on
FOX-4’s 9 p.m. news.
Now get out there and have
some fun with your local
lively artists!
Page 10
Turnagain Times
March 19, 2015
TROOPER REPORT
The Alaska State Troopers
reported the following incidents. Any charges reported
are merely allegations and the
defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven
guilty.
Thefts From
Roadside Mailboxes
INDIAN,
COPPER
CENTER, KASILOF, SOLDOTNA—March 2 while
conducting a search warrant
service on a vehicle in
impound on a separate case,
troopers located numerous
stolen access devices including IRS W-2 forms, line of
credit checks, paychecks, personal checks, and club membership cards. An investigation revealed these items were
stolen over the course of the
last 2-3 weeks from roadside
mailboxes in the area of mile
94 of the Richardson Highway
in Copper Center; roadside
mailboxes near the intersection of Rainbow Valley Road
and the Seward Highway in
Indian; roadside mailboxes
on Keystone Drive in Soldotna; and roadside mailboxes near the intersection of
Cardwell Road and the Sterling Highway in Kasilof. The
owners of the all of the recovered mail have been identified
and contacted by troopers.
Individuals who receive mail
in at the above locations are
encouraged to contact their
banks, credit card companies,
and the three major credit reporting agencies to alert them
that their personal information
may have been compromised
by theft. Suspects in this case
are in custody on unrelated
charges. Charges pertaining to
the thefts are pending.
Subsistence Fishing
By Proxy, Failure To
Record Proxy Form
WHITTIER—March
3
Larry Gilman, 54 of Whittier,
was cited by Girdwood Alaska
Wildlife Troopers for possessing three Alaska golden king
crab without possessing the
required completed proxy
beneficiary forms. Arraignment for this offense is scheduled on April 7, 2015, in the
Anchorage District Court.
Driving While License
Suspended
MILE
90
SEWARD
HWY—March 11 around
8:13 p.m., troopers stopped a
yellow Ford van for a moving
violation near milepost 90
of the Seward Highway. The
driver was identified as Bonita
Capwell, 44 of Kenai. An investigation revealed Capwell’s
driver’s license was in sus-
Road
Problems
hotline
343-8374
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Tel: 783-1135 • Fax: 907-783-1136
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VISA or MasterCard. Please mail, email or fax your order
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pended status. Capwell was
issued a Misdemeanor Citation for Driving While License
Suspended and released from
the scene of the stop. The
vehicle was released to a licensed person who arrived on
scene a short time later.
Search and Rescue
MILE
76
SEWARD
HWY—March 11 at about
1:07 a.m., troopers received
a call requesting a welfare
check on two people in a
vehicle near mile 76 of the
Seward Highway. The people
in the vehicle were identified as Frank Standifer, 41 of
Anchorage, and Brenda Cunningham, 39 of Anchorage.
An investigation revealed that
Standifer had a $10,000 felony
warrant for Failure to Appear
out for his arrest. Troopers responded to the area and found
the suspect vehicle empty
and began patrolling the area.
Weather conditions included single digit temperatures
and wind gusts. At 3:11 a.m.
troopers received a phone
call from Standifer requesting medical assistance due
to cold weather exposure. He
was located at mile 97 of the
Seward Highway. Standifer
was transported to an Anchorage hospital for treatment and
was arrested on his warrant
following his release from the
hospital. He reported to troopers that he last saw Cunningham in the area of Bird Creek.
Girdwood Fire Department
and troopers patrolled the
area and were unable to locate
Cunningham. An Alaska
State Trooper Helo helicopter was launched at daylight
to search for Cunningham
and located her walking along
the highway. Troopers made
contact with her at approximately 9:30 a.m. near mile 96
of the Seward Highway. Cunningham did not report any injuries and troopers transported
her to her residence.
Driving While
License Cancelled
MILE
97
SEWARD
HWY—March 11 at approximately 10:32 p.m., troopers stopped a gray Chevrolet pickup near milepost 97
of the Seward Highway for
an equipment violation. The
driver was identified as Justice
Elson, 23 of Girdwood. An
investigation revealed Elson
was driving with a cancelled
driver’s license. Elson was
issued a Minor Offense citation for a violation and a Misdemeanor Citation for Driving
While License Cancelled and
released. The vehicle was released to a licensed driver who
responded for the vehicle.
Operating Vehicle Under Influence of Drugs
MILE
54
SEWARD
HWY—March 14 at about
7:50 a.m., troopers received a
REDDI report about a silver
Ford Focus driving erratically northbound on the Sterling Highway near mile 54.
At about 9:20 a.m., troopers in Girdwood located the
vehicle near mile 99 of the
Seward Highway where they
contacted and identified the
driver as Shelly Saling, 44 of
Kodiak. An investigation revealed Saling was operating
the vehicle under the influence of drugs and that she was
in violation of her court-ordered conditions of release for
a pending felony case. Saling
was arrested and remanded at
the Anchorage Jail in lieu of
$2,500 bond.
Driving While License
Revoked, Driving in
Violation of Limited
License
MILE
93
SEWARD
HWY—March 15 at approximately 12:51 p.m., troopers received the report of a
REDDI vehicle described as
a dark colored Jeep traveling
south on the Seward Highway
near milepost 102. The vehicle
was located and stopped
near milepost 93. The driver
was identified as Kenneth
Thynes, 25 of Eagle River.
An investigation revealed
Thynes’ driver’s license was
in revoked status. Additionally Thynes had a limitation
placed on his driver’s license
requiring an ignition interlock
device. There was no ignition interlock device installed
on the vehicle. Thynes was
issued Misdemeanor Citations
for Driving While License
Revoked and Driving in Violation of a Limited License
and released. The vehicle was
released to a licensed driver
who responded to the scene of
the stop.
Trapping Limits Rejected
Continued from page 1
have been caught in traps, though they sustained no injuries.
Green and the Committee for Safe Public
Lands and Trails had numerous meetings with
the Alaska Trappers Association in an attempt
to reach a mutually agreeable solution, he testified. Negotiations broke down earlier this year
when the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement.
Green said only State Board of Game
imposed regulations can adequately address
his group’s concerns.
“The ATA has offered informal verbal
agreements, but it’s very questionable whether
that would work,” he testified. “They are not
binding or enforceable.” Without legally enforceable regulations, trappers and residents
are left with no legal recourse if the terms of
the agreement were violated, he said.
Opponents of the proposal argued that it is
overreaching.
“These proposals do not focus on the populated areas of Cooper Landing and Moose
Pass,” said Dianne MacLean with the Kenai
Peninsula Chapter of the Alaska Trappers Association. She said the proposal’s language
prohibiting trapping on “any roads leading to
public or private property pretty much takes in
all property, even remote little trails.”
The requested 250-foot setbacks would also
curtail water trapping and restrict the number
of people who could participate in trapping,
she said.
“Along with some of the other restrictions
we already have on the Kenai, it limits trapping
to people who have the optimal level of mobility,” MacLean said.
Tom Lessard, who divides his time between
Chugiak and Cooper Landing, agreed.
“Kenai Peninsula trappers have been getting
squeezed for decades,” he said. “Large areas
have already been designated no-trapping
areas, and others are restricted to only smaller
traps.”
He further stated that the restrictions set out
in Proposal 180 and 181 would make trapping
even more difficult. “Two hundred fifty feet off
the roadway looks like you’re starting to hit the
hillside,” he said. “A lot of that is inaccessible,
rough country.”
Lessard also questioned whether the board
has authority to issue regulations designed to
protect public safety. He said such questions
have been brought before the Game Board in
the past, and that “the legal advice was the
Board can’t act in regard to public safety.”
Opponents also voiced concern that, if
passed, private property owners would no
longer have the right to trap on their own property or deal with nuisance animals causing
damage to the property.
As part of the negotiations, the ATA purchased and erected signs along popular trails
recommending that trappers not set traps “near
trails, turnouts, populated areas or other high
public-use settings.”
Turnagain Times
March 19, 2015
Page 11
The 2015 AK Skimeister Challenge kicks off April 4
By Jeremy Anderson
Special to the Turnagain Times
With spring on the horizon
and winter nearing its end,
the 3rd annual AK Skimeister
Challenge is getting closer. In
under a month, on Saturday,
April 4, upwards of 200 competitors will compete for the
AK Skimeister title at Alyeska
Resort. At the event, you can
enjoy some food, music and
comradery. If legs of the race
need to be adjusted due to snow
conditions, there are several
back up plans in the mix.
Race administrators Jeremy
Anderson and Aaron Stiassny
reported that the alpine leg is
solid and crews are working
out the fine details of the
course. The fat bike conditions and trails are riding great
right now, and there are many
course options for this leg. The
Nordic leg has two backup
plans to ensure that there is
a quality leg, and hopefully
the Girdwood Nordic 5k loop
will be open. The first backup
Nordic plan will be setting a
course that loops on the lower
mountain of Alyeska Resort
that runs from the day lodge
to the hotel. There should be
sufficient snow in early April
on the resort beginner runs
to make this a great second
option. The third option is
switching it to a running leg if
there’s not enough snow.
The race is a triathlon that
starts out with an alpine downhill from the top of the tram
at Alyeska Resort to the base
of the Hotel Alyeska. There
is an exchange point where
the alpine switches to Nordic.
The Nordic course starts at the
Hotel Alyeska and connects
with the new 5k Nordic ski
trail that the Girdwood Nordic
Ski Club built a few years ago.
Once Nordic skiers make
it back to the same exchange
point, a fat bike leg follows
the Nordic. The fat bike leg
is roughly 10k as it winds to
Winner Creek and back past the
hotel to the Challenge Alaska
building for the finish. Skiers
can compete as individuals
and do all three legs of the race
or have a team of three people
in which one person does each
leg. This year Skinny Raven
Timing will time the race, and
electronic chips will be used
for accurate timing of all competitors.
This race is for everyone.
Whether you are last year’s
female AK Skimeister winner
Kikkan Randall, a family
looking for a good time, or you
are a team of three who just
love recreating outside, this
event is for you. There are different classes for the event that
allow each person to enjoy or
compete to your desired level.
There are prizes for each class
as well. Prizes range from
Alaska Airline Miles to gift
cards from local shops to overnight cabin rentals for team
winners. If you want to enjoy
the recreation opportunities
that Girdwood has to offer,
have a great after party, and
support a few local ski programs, then come on down for
the day.
The alpine part of the event
starts at the top of the tram.
Everyone lines up and when
the start horn blows, it is a mad
dash to the first gate, which
is uphill from the tram about
half way up the mighty might
run. At the first gate, competitors click into skis or a snowboard and traverse across to
the second gate, which is in
the guts of the famous run Trapline. From there, it is a race
to the base of chair 6, where
racers will have to slow down
and navigate a little maze to
the top of Von Imhoff corner.
From there the race continues
down race trail and then connects to chair 7. It will wrap
up at the backside of the tram
at the base of the mountain,
which is the exchange point
for the Nordic to start.
The Nordic part of the
event starts at the exchange
point by the base of the tram
and connects with the new 5k
Nordic trail that the Girdwood
Nordic Ski Club maintains.
The course for Nordic is actually about 6k when adding
in the part of the course that
takes participants to the 5k
loop.
Ari Stiassny has competed
in the race the last two years
and said, “The Nordic leg of
the Skimeister was a blast last
year. The transitions in any
multi-sport competition for an
individual are always a little
bit of a panic mode. Some
folks had it dialed with chairs
and Nordic boots in skis
already, where as, others and I
were franticly trying to switch
from clunky alpine boots to
Nordic gear.
“The 5 kilometer race on
Girdwood’s New Nordic Trail
was an intense heart throbbing sprint. I got passed by
Kikkan Randall too early on
and wanted to try and keep
up with the Olympian, but
she sped off within seconds
and left me wondering, ‘How
do you go so fast?’ I guess I
didn’t train hard enough. This
year we are fortunate that
Alyeska Resort has offered to
allow the Nordic leg to be on
their snowmaking alpine runs.
So, if winter doesn’t blanket
us this March, we still will
have a Nordic ski leg for the
AK Skimeister. It’ll be nice to
ski some new terrain and get
back on the Nordic skis for the
Read the Turnagain Times online:
www.turnagaintimes.com
Skimeister.”
This leg starts at the exchange point and ventures
off into the meadows behind
the resort. After about 3k of a
slight uphill pedal, it connects
with the Winner Creek trails
and then the Winner Creek Extension Trail. This extension
trail is a really fun part of the
course because it is more of a
narrow single track that winds
back and forth for about 2k.
It has some uphill and some
downhill and returns to the
Hotel Alyeska. At the hotel,
bikers connect with one final
extension trail, which parallels the road that connects the
hotel to the rest of Girdwood.
This final part of the trail is
about 2k and ends at the finish
line at the Challenge Alaska
building. Last year bikers finished this leg of the race in
30-55 minutes.
Once you have crossed the
finish line it is time to enjoy
some good food, music, and
friends. There will also be
free demos from 907 Bikes
and Alpine Gear from Powder
Hound Ski Shop from noon to
4 p.m.
Melissa Mitchell, Spiff, and
Tony Restivo will be jamming
for the afternoon along with
a few other musicians from
noon to 4 p.m. There will be
a bonfire rocking to share
stories of the day’s race. The
whole idea of the afternoon
after the race is to sit back,
relax, have a good time, and
toast to recreating outside.
Photo courtesy of Eric Teela
Last year’s AK Skimeister participants gather at the
top of Mt. Alyeska.
A silent auction will take
up the entire main floor of
the Challenge Alaska chalet
with a huge variety of items
to bid on. There will be local
artist’s jewelry, photography,
oil paintings, and glasswork.
There will be adventure packages for different parts of the
state that you can enjoy this
summer. Desserts, premade
baskets, ski and snowboard
gear, and many other things
will also be showcased at the
auction. You can get a bidder
number when you arrive to the
event and the auction is open
from noon to 5 p.m. for the
day.
At 4 p.m., we will do
awards for the first, second
and third place winners of
each category. A new and
exciting complement to the
awards ceremony is a drawing
for two unrestricted Alaska
Airline tickets. Raffle tickets
for this drawing are $20 per
ticket and we are only selling
500 tickets. If you want raffle
tickets please email ski@challengealaska.org or call 907783-2925 because tickets will
go fast!
Even though this winter
has been a low snow year with
unseasonably warm temperatures, there is still time for
you to win and beat this abnormal winter. All you have to
do is be part of this fun event.
You can be an athlete in the
race (individual or team of
3), come get food and listen
to music, or get a bid number
and find your favorite items
in the silent auction. Life is
short, live it large, and get out
recreating.
Visit www.akskimeister.com
for more information.
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Page 12
Turnagain Times
March 19, 2015
GBOS Meeting
Continued from page 1
containing the estimates was
only made available to the
GBOS and guest speakers.
Supervisor
Tommy
O’Malley expressed shock at
the estimates and their impact
upon Girdwood residents.
With the high estimates, the
mill rate for taxes would nearly
double to pay for police service
in Girdwood after the troopers
leave.
“It’s asking people to pay as
much for nine police as they
are paying for all of the roads,
programs, all of the parks and
our whole fire department,”
O’Malley said.
O’Malley expressed concerns about staffing levels
from an understaffed APD and
response priorities for different types of calls for police
service, especially with the
distance between Girdwood
and Anchorage.
He also showed frustration
about being asked to make a
momentous decision with little
time for public deliberation
and few firm facts.
More than anything else,
the overriding theme expressed by the GBOS and
community members was the
need for police presence on
the Seward Highway to maintain safety. The point was dramatically driven home when
a woman said she has known
12 people who died in motor
vehicle crashes on the Seward
Ski HOME
Highway over the years.
In other business, Gerald
Fox declared himself as a
write-in candidate for GBOS
Seat A. Michelle Gregersen
declared herself as a write-in
candidate for GBOS Seat B.
The Municipal Election is on
April 7, and there are currently
no other candidates.
Jen Weits spoke out against
adding fluoride to Girdwood’s water during the
public comment portion of the
meeting. She announced that a
coalition of local constituents
has been formed to oppose fluoridation throughout Anchorage. The group is named “Pure
Water Alaska” and has a Facebook page.
since 1953
Jack White
Real Estate
For All Your Real Estate Needs Contact Erin at the
Girdwood Branch of Jack White Real Estate
Erin Eker
Girdwood/AlyeskA speciAlist
Broker in Charge
(907)783-3493
Your Local Realtor® Since 2001
©HagePhoto
be paid for by increasing the
mill rate of property taxes. The
second option is to expand the
Anchorage Police service area,
which would also lead to an increase in the mill rate.
Both options require a
public vote to approve them.
To create an Anchorage Police
service area in Girdwood, an
affirmative vote by only Girdwood residents is required. To
expand the Anchorage Police
service area, affirmative votes
are required by both Girdwood
and Anchorage residents. None
of the GBOS or Assembly
Members was optimistic about
Anchorage residents voting to
expand the APD service area,
which ends at McHugh Creek.
Wheeler stressed the importance of acting quickly to
prevent a gap in police coverage. To keep Girdwood’s
options open and allow more
time for residents to discuss
the level of police service
wanted, it was recommended
to place the issue on a potential
mayoral runoff ballot in May
with the choice to discard it
being left open.
“The trick here is timing
because obviously we can’t put
it on the April ballot,” Wheeler
said. “There is a possibility if
there is a mayoral runoff in the
first week of May, we could
have this issue on the ballot.
The conversation is ‘do we put
out a placeholder now because
the Assembly has to initiate
this process by ordinance.’ It
has to have an introduction in
an assembly meeting. There
has to be a public hearing later.
Then we implement the decision. That takes time.”
He added that if the issue is
not placed on the potential May
ballot and approved, it will
take much longer to implement
any decision regarding policing in Girdwood. The scenario
leaves open the possibility that
Girdwood would face a gap
or reduction in police coverage after the troopers leave in
January 2016. The gap would
remain until a final decision is
made and enacted.
At that point, Deputy Chief
Fanning gave some admittedly upper end, rough estimates
based on what an average
officer costs. For three officers
in Girdwood and three officers
on the highway at 40 hours a
week – not 24/7 coverage –
the annual cost is estimated at
$876,000. For 24/7 coverage
(three 10-hour shifts, nine officers a day plus a sergeant for
supervising), the annual estimate is $1.5 million.
These high-end estimates
are expected to decrease if a
lower level of coverage is used.
The estimates did not include
one-time costs such as staffing
and equipment. The handout
Seven Glaciers
Easter at Alyeska
Sakura
Asian Bistro
Thursday: 5 pm - 10 pm
Friday - Sunday: 12 pm - 10 pm
Sunday, April 5
Sunrise Service at top of the Tram
Egg Hunt in the Hotel Pond Courtyard
Open Friday - Monday
Easter Brunch Buffet
Wine Cellar Dinner
Seatings at 8 am, 10 am, 12 pm, 1 pm & 2 pm
Adults $46, Kids (6-12) $23, 5 & under Free
Reserve online or 907-754-2237
April 3, 4 & 5
Chef 's Tasting Menu & Paired Wines
Reserve online or 907-754-2237
MARCH 19, 20 & 21
MARCH 27 & 28
APRIL 3 & 4
Stay & Play with the
Jeff Crosby
& the Refugees
Michal Menert
of Pretty Lights
Keller
Williams
RoCkStAR PACkAgE
FREE
overnight, Resort Credit, t-shirt & Concert tickets
$15
$20