Group seeks to restore Manitoba Mountain Ski Area

By Dave Scalan
Special to the Turnagain Times

All interested residents are invited to a presentation regarding the Manitoba Mountain Ski Area Restoration Project on Thursday, Feb. 24 at the Community Hall located in the Girdwood Library. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Project Development Manager Dave Scanlan will be giving a presentation to begin at 7 p.m. After the presentation, community feedback will be encouraged. Feel free to stop by before or after town league races to learn more. Restoration project representatives will be available until all discussion and brainstorming has come to a close.

The Manitoba Mountain Ski Area Restoration Project is located at Mile 49 on the Seward Highway at the site of the Historic Manitoba Ski Area and the Glacier Ski Lodge that operated from 1941 to 1959.

The Manitoba Ski Area is designed to bring outdoor education, physical activities, social camaraderie, and economic stability to the East district of the Kenai Peninsula through the development of downhill skiing, community based ecotourism, and outdoor recreation opportunities throughout the entire year. This will create a foundation to further private sector development throughout the East district of the Kenai Peninsula that is capable of supporting new small business development while bringing stability to existing businesses in the communities of Moose Pass, Cooper Landing, and Hope/Sunrise.

Assisting in the Restoration Project is the Mountain Rider’s Alliance (MRA), whose mission is the development of values-based, environmentally friendly, rider-owned-and-operated ski areas throughout the world that encourage minimal carbon footprint business practices, by combining alternative energy creation when possible, and making a positive impact in the local community.

MRA is an emerging group of like-minded global ski and outdoor enthusiasts dedicated to sustainable, low impact skiing centers that keep community, environment and skiing as the true focus, rather than real estate and base area development. Manitoba Ski Area is MRA’s pilot project designed to be small on infrastructure and big on mountain.

MRA will be offering reasonably priced investment shares to both the local and global ski communities to help fund the revival of Manitoba Mountain.

Mountain Rider’s Alliance has forged partnerships with many respected organizations that share the same values and have pledged to help attain the goal of bringing the mountains back to the people while being responsible stewards to the environment. Some of these partners include Protect Our Winters, Winter Wildlands Alliance, Global Environmental Adventures Research, Sustentator and Ski Duck.

All of the lifts currently slated in the Restoration Project will be surface tows designed to give riders supreme access to and from world class high angle backcountry terrain while at the same time providing an excellent beginner, intermediate, and advanced inbounds skiing experience. Surface lifts are, by far, the least impactful on the environment. There are also preliminary plans to create and maintain Nordic, Snow Shoe, Snow Machine, and Dogsled trail systems through the historic mining sites of the Summit Lake Recreation Corridor helping to support the year round operation of Summit Lake Lodge.

Please come to see detailed topographical maps of the lift alignments, look at some great aerial photos, and contribute ideas to help sculpt the Manitoba Restoration Project into something that will improve our communities.

Other meetings where you can learn more and give us your ideas are being scheduled in Cooper Landing, Moose Pass and Hope in early April.

Dave Scalan is the Project Development Manager of Mountian Rider’s Alliance.