Skiland
Encyclopedia
Skiland is a lift-served ski
and snowboard
area at Cleary Summit on the Steese Highway, 20 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska
. The area has one chairlift, North America's most-northern; it is 3300 feet long and serves 1057 feet of vertical rise. Road access and the lodge are on a barren ridgecrest at an elevation of 2470 feet, overlooking a wooded, north-facing bowl. Skiland is a mom-and-pop style ski area.
The ski season typically runs from November into late April, on weekends only. There is no snow-making, and a limited amount of grooming on many runs. Tree and glade skiing opportunities abound. On a least one occasion slopes were re-opened in May after a heavy snowfall. The slopes are patrolled by the National Ski Patrol.
For many years a pair of towropes (upper and lower) serving 900 vertical feet total, and generally operated by volunteers, were the only lift at Skiland. Another lift served ski area, named Cleary Summit, operated less than a mile away with three surface lifts. In the early 1990s the Cleary Summit ski area was closed and abandoned; near the same time the surface tows at Skiland were replaced with the current lift, a double chairlift originally installed at the Silver Star ski area in British Columbia.
Ski
A ski is a long, flat device worn on the foot, usually attached through a boot, designed to help the wearer slide smoothly over snow. Originally intended as an aid to travel in snowy regions, they are now mainly used for recreational and sporting purposes...
and snowboard
Snowboard
Snowboards are boards, usually with a width the length of one's foot, with the ability to glide on snow. Snowboards are differentiated from monoskis by the stance of the user...
area at Cleary Summit on the Steese Highway, 20 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. The area has one chairlift, North America's most-northern; it is 3300 feet long and serves 1057 feet of vertical rise. Road access and the lodge are on a barren ridgecrest at an elevation of 2470 feet, overlooking a wooded, north-facing bowl. Skiland is a mom-and-pop style ski area.
The ski season typically runs from November into late April, on weekends only. There is no snow-making, and a limited amount of grooming on many runs. Tree and glade skiing opportunities abound. On a least one occasion slopes were re-opened in May after a heavy snowfall. The slopes are patrolled by the National Ski Patrol.
For many years a pair of towropes (upper and lower) serving 900 vertical feet total, and generally operated by volunteers, were the only lift at Skiland. Another lift served ski area, named Cleary Summit, operated less than a mile away with three surface lifts. In the early 1990s the Cleary Summit ski area was closed and abandoned; near the same time the surface tows at Skiland were replaced with the current lift, a double chairlift originally installed at the Silver Star ski area in British Columbia.