Day 46 - Alyeska Tram

The Alyeska Aerial Tram is located in the town of Girdwood, just north of our campground. The tram starts at the Hotel Alyeska and travels to the upper tram terminal where there’s an observation deck with breathtaking panoramic views. The view includes Turnagain Arm, glaciers, streams, and the Chugach Mountain range. We weren’t so lucky, the guy running the tram said he sees moose and bear every day. The lower tram terminal(Hotel Alyeska) has an elevation of 306 feet or 93 meters. The elevation at the upper tram terminal is 2,334 feet or 711 meters.

The tram takes seven minutes to reach the top during the summer which allows visitors to soak in the views. In the winter when everyone just wants to ski it takes 4 minutes. The maximum speed is 26 mph or 42 kph. The tram operates two cars on a counterweight system, as one goes up the other comes down. Each of the two cars holds a maximum of 60 people. In the winter the maximum is 800 people per hour.
There are several pathways that lead to the upper tram terminal if you want to hike…all 2,334 feet or 711 meters. If you make it to the top you get a free ride down. If you hike up with your dog you still get a free ride down and so does the dog. However, the dog had to be in a large dog crate which they supply.

Susan and I had our supper up there. Just to sit and look at the mountains was so relaxing. We watched a wedding. What a beautiful place for pictures. Time went by so fast. There is no set time of how long you’re allowed to be up there. We left after 1.5 hours.

Awe...reminiscing about my skiing days

Very, very, very noisy raven