North by Northwest
Travel
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FLY:
Register for Alaska Airlines’ e-mail newsletter (
), which sometimes offers round-trips between Seattle and Anchorage for as little as $199.
RIDE:
Rent a car (from $88 for four days;
) for the 40-mile drive from Anchorage International Airport to Alyeska—in between ski sessions you’ll want the wheels to escape Girdwood (population 1,883). Check out the 7,400-acre Portage Glacier, or catch part of the annual Iditarod dogsled race, which starts March 4.
STAY:
At the Alyeska Prince Hotel ($344 for three nights and three lift tickets;
). The hotel staff will gladly wake you up at any hour when the northern lights illuminate the sky — if you’re into that sort of thing.
SKI:
For a fraction of the cost of a heli-skiing trip — and with no risk of becoming lodge-bound by storms — you get mouthfuls of powder on Alyeska Resort’s North Face, the 45-degree Christmas and New Year’s chutes, and speed runs like the Bowl/Gelende racing trail. Want more? Sign up to stand by for a day of cat-skiing with Chugach Powder Guides on 1,000 acres of bowls adjacent to Alyeska for $145 (
).
THE TOTAL: $776
