This is Alaska’s premier ski resort. Walked up Mount Alyeska to the top of the tram (aka cable car) – still snow on the upper third. Here in 2003 three Carnethys won team gold for Scotland in the World Mountain Running Trophy – Angela Mudge (individual silver), Tracey Brindley (individual bronze) and Lyn Wilson (18th). There was a blizzard at the time. Found a couple of web sites about it: http://www.wmra.ch/news/latest-news-from-the-wmra/113-report-on-the-19th-world-mountain-running-trophy-girdwood-alaska-usa-september-20th-21st-2003 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY8K9yCEXqE.
Also stayed in Seward, which was devastated by the Good Friday earthquake in 1964 (second largest ever recorded) and the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 (ditto). The Mount Marathon Race (http://mmr.seward.com/) is here every Fourth of July, over 900m of ascent and said to be “the toughest 5km on the planet”. Entries closed in March though.
Ian Nimmo