We were greeted the next morning by much clearer skies. We could see the tops of the mountains from our B & B room. So - off to Alyeska Resort! We got an early start, because we had a 3 PM glacier "cruise" down in Portage the same day.
A tram ride is available get to the top of Mount Alyeska. There's plenty of free parking, and the ticket window is at the back of the hotel (mountain-side.) The Alyeska Resort tram ride is $20, and the tram/lunch combo is $30. We decided to buy the combo, and eat on top of the mountain. You can see the lunch menu online. We had a coupon for $10 off two ride lunch combos. There were 3 of us, and the ticket clerk extended the offer, making our tram ride/lunch $75 - a real bargain. (We also had a Northern Lights coupon, which we did not use.)
Here's a video of part of the ride to the top. Sorry for the shaky camera work -- someone saw a moose, and I was hoping for a picture. Didn't see it, myself :)
The tram ride was smooth and picturesque, and the views from the top were breathtaking. We hiked around for about an hour on the well-marked trails, and took pictures standing in the snow. We talked to a member of the ski patrol, who was very friendly and gave us some info about the winter activities. We had a nice lunch - well worth the price - which include fresh fish and our first taste of reindeer sausage. We definitely saved money by buying the combo. There was plenty of hot coffee. The restaurant is cafeteria-style, and reminded me of a college dining hall. But, it fits-in the ski resort atmosphere, and table-service would have seemed out of place. (There is a fancy restaurant on top of the mountain as well -- didn't seem to be doing much business.)
Overall, it was a great morning. We probably could have stayed longer, but we had a boat to catch and a glacier to see!
We had a 30-minute drive back to the boat dock in Portage for our Portage Glacier Cruise. The cruise is operated by Gray Line, and we made reservations several weeks in advance. We had a Northern Lights coupon (buy-one-get-one.) I believe we had to mail-in the coupon in advance.
In order to see the Portage Glacier, you have to take the boat ride. When the visitors center was built, Portage Glacier extended out into the lake. But it has receded "around the corner" of the mountain, and is not visible from the visitor's center. (Yesterday, we thought we were looking at Portage Glacier, but we weren't.)
The tour lasted about an hour. We went around Portage Lake, then on toward the glacier. The captain said he wasn't allowed to get too close, but we got pretty close to the glacier. We also saw several glacier-melt waterfalls on the opposite side of the lake.
Overall, the trip was very nice. There were about 50 passengers on our ride. There's an open-air observation deck above, and a glassed-in viewing area with chairs below. A naturalist makes comments over the PA system, and answers questions. A real nice operation overall.
We did get to see the glacier "calve" - that's when part of the glacier tumbles into the lake. We heard it first - like a thunderclap. Then we saw the ice break-off right before us. Quite the sight - and the boat rocked for several minutes.
So - a real good day in the Girdwood-Portage area. We saw things we'd never seen before!
A tram ride is available get to the top of Mount Alyeska. There's plenty of free parking, and the ticket window is at the back of the hotel (mountain-side.) The Alyeska Resort tram ride is $20, and the tram/lunch combo is $30. We decided to buy the combo, and eat on top of the mountain. You can see the lunch menu online. We had a coupon for $10 off two ride lunch combos. There were 3 of us, and the ticket clerk extended the offer, making our tram ride/lunch $75 - a real bargain. (We also had a Northern Lights coupon, which we did not use.)
Here's a video of part of the ride to the top. Sorry for the shaky camera work -- someone saw a moose, and I was hoping for a picture. Didn't see it, myself :)
The tram ride was smooth and picturesque, and the views from the top were breathtaking. We hiked around for about an hour on the well-marked trails, and took pictures standing in the snow. We talked to a member of the ski patrol, who was very friendly and gave us some info about the winter activities. We had a nice lunch - well worth the price - which include fresh fish and our first taste of reindeer sausage. We definitely saved money by buying the combo. There was plenty of hot coffee. The restaurant is cafeteria-style, and reminded me of a college dining hall. But, it fits-in the ski resort atmosphere, and table-service would have seemed out of place. (There is a fancy restaurant on top of the mountain as well -- didn't seem to be doing much business.)
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| View from the tram ride. |
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| ...as the tram pulled-in to the station. |
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| The view from the top. That's Turnagain Arm (a bay) in the distance. |
Overall, it was a great morning. We probably could have stayed longer, but we had a boat to catch and a glacier to see!
We had a 30-minute drive back to the boat dock in Portage for our Portage Glacier Cruise. The cruise is operated by Gray Line, and we made reservations several weeks in advance. We had a Northern Lights coupon (buy-one-get-one.) I believe we had to mail-in the coupon in advance.
In order to see the Portage Glacier, you have to take the boat ride. When the visitors center was built, Portage Glacier extended out into the lake. But it has receded "around the corner" of the mountain, and is not visible from the visitor's center. (Yesterday, we thought we were looking at Portage Glacier, but we weren't.)
The tour lasted about an hour. We went around Portage Lake, then on toward the glacier. The captain said he wasn't allowed to get too close, but we got pretty close to the glacier. We also saw several glacier-melt waterfalls on the opposite side of the lake.
 |
| Portage Glacier - from the boat |
Overall, the trip was very nice. There were about 50 passengers on our ride. There's an open-air observation deck above, and a glassed-in viewing area with chairs below. A naturalist makes comments over the PA system, and answers questions. A real nice operation overall.
We did get to see the glacier "calve" - that's when part of the glacier tumbles into the lake. We heard it first - like a thunderclap. Then we saw the ice break-off right before us. Quite the sight - and the boat rocked for several minutes.
 |
| Calving of Portage Glacier |
So - a real good day in the Girdwood-Portage area. We saw things we'd never seen before!
