Hilltop Ski Area is a

ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

established in 1984. Located in

Far North Bicentennial Park The Far North Bicentennial Park is the largest park in Anchorage, in U.S. state of Alaska, and has over 1 million annual visitors. The park contains the Hilltop Ski Area, the Alaska Botanical Garden, over 100 miles of multi-use trails, and acces ...

near

Chugach State Park Chugach State Park covers 495,204 acres (2,004 square kilometers) immediately east of the Anchorage Bowl in south-central Alaska. Though primarily in the Municipality of Anchorage, a small portion of the park north of the Eklutna Lake area in th ...

at the base of the

Chugach Mountains The Chugach Mountains of southern Alaska are the northernmost of the several mountain ranges that make up the Pacific Coast Ranges of the western edge of North America. The range is about long and wide, and extends from the Knik and Turnagain ...

, Hilltop Ski Area is owned and operated by Youth Exploring Adventure, Inc., an Anchorage

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

organization established in 1979Corporations Database
Youth Exploring Adventure, Inc.
Division of Corporations, Business & Professional Licensing, Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. Retrieved on 2007-04-08. to provide recreational programs for Anchorage youth.Hilltop Ski Area. (2003)

Retrieved on 2007-04-08.

Facilities

Hilltop has a triple

Riblet The Riblet Tramway Company of Spokane, Washington, which operated from 1908 to 2003, was once the largest ski chairlift manufacturer in the world. The company was founded by Byron Christian Riblet, who was born in Osage, Iowa, in 1865 and earned ...

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They ...

, a

rope tow A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-co ...

, a

platter lift A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-co ...

, and groomed ranging in difficulty level from easy (80%) to more difficult (10%) to most difficult (10%). Adjacent facilities include the Karl Eid Ski Jump Complex, with 15 meter, 40 meter, and 60 meter jumps (all lighted); Hillside Park with 7.5 miles (12 km) of trails suitable for Nordic skiing; and Bicentennial Park with 20 miles (32 km.) of trails suitable for Nordic skiing.

Programs

Hilltop offers a ski school with group and private lessons in skiing and

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

for all people of all ages and ability levels, the after-school Hot Dogger Program for children aged 16 to 14, and Alpine Alternatives, which offers skiing instruction to people with

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

. Additionally, the area is home to the Hilltop Alpine Racing Team (HART) which offers race training for ages 6-19. Hilltop's instructors are members of the

Professional Ski Instructors of America The Professional Ski Instructors of America and American Association of Snowboard Instructors (PSIA-AASI) is a nonprofit education association involved in ski instruction. PSIA-AASI establishes certification standards for snowsports instructor ...

.Hilltop Ski Area. (2003)
"Learn to Ski."
Retrieved on 2007-04-08. Hilltop offers ski and snowboard camps during

Anchorage School District The Anchorage School District (ASD) manages all public schools within the Municipality of Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the 107th largest school district in the United States, serving over 45,000 students in more than 90 schools. ...

in-service days (scheduled teacher/staff training days that students get as days off), the December

holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

season, and spring break.Hilltop Ski Area. (2003)
"Ski and Snowboard Camps."
Retrieved on 2007-04-08.

History

The nonprofit corporation Hilltop Youth, Inc. was established in Anchorage in the 1950s with a focus on providing recreational and educational opportunities for Anchorage-area youth. In 1962, Hilltop Youth installed a rope tow powered by a surplus military troop carrier motor in a gravel pit west of what is now known as Old Seward Highway. The rope tow was moved in 1967 to a new location near the intersection of the newly constructed roads Abbott Road and Hillside Drive. In the early 1980s a 10-meter jump for novices designed by Karl Eid was also built on this site. This site, the original Hilltop Ski area, was in operation from 1967 to 1983, when the Hilltop Ski area was moved to its current location about half a mile north of the original site.Alaska Lost Ski Areas Project. (ca. 2005)

Retrieved on 2007-04-08. Since its establishment in its current location in 1984, Hilltop Ski Area has been operated by Youth Exploring Adventure, Inc.Anchorage Assembly. (2000-02-01)
"Minutes for Regular Meeting of February 1, 2000 continued to February 8, 2000"
, p. 13. Anchorage, AK: Municipality of Anchorage. Retrieved on 2007-04-08. In the early 1980s, operators of the "old" Hilltop replaced the rope tow engine, rope, and motor shack through a grant from the State of Alaska. The current Hilltop Ski Area still uses this equipment on its beginners' slope.

References

External links

Hilltop Ski Area
(official site)
Alaska Lost Ski Areas Project
(ALSAP). Historical website which documents lost downhill, cross country and jump ski sites in Alaska. {{Alaska Ski areas navbox Sports venues in Anchorage, Alaska Ski areas and resorts in Alaska 1984 establishments in Alaska