Photo courtesy of Alaska Airlines
Chair One, the Sitzmark and the Nugget Inn, 1969.
By Kerry Dorius
Special to the Turnagain Times
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Photo courtesy of Alaska Airlines Chair One, the Sitzmark and the Nugget Inn, 1969. |
A little miracle has quietly been taking place at the top of Mt. Alyeska. For the past 10 plus years, the little old building at the top of the mountain has been alternating between quietly slumbering, and masquerading as a Ski Patrol hut. Now it is ready to wake up to a new life as a storyteller for the history of Girdwood and Glacier Valley.
The Roundhouse at the Alyeska museum is nearing its finishing stages. The building interior and exterior will be finished this summer, and an August opening celebration is the planning stages. One very important artifact, a chairlift seat from the original Chair One lift remains to be found to help tell the story of Alyeska and the Girdwood Valley.
The original Chair One lift was acquired second hand from France by Francois De Gunzburg. When it was set up at Alyeska, the seats were spaced further apart to make the lift stretch the mile to the top of the mountain where the Roundhouse was built as its upper terminus. When finished in 1960, this lift with 114 chairs was the longest lift in the world. The legend is that the more numerous metal chairs were passed over while the locals waited for one of the 10 “warmer” wooden chairs to ride on the cold 25 minute ride to the top of the mountain.
By now, the 10 original wooden chairs have all probably been destroyed by man or nature. However, there are probably still a few of the old metal chairs still around. All the original chairs were replaced in 1979. After first being passed over, then being replaced, any of the original Chair One seats would be deserving of a new life telling the history of Girdwood and early skiing at Alyeska resort.
If you know of a lonely Chair One seat with hidden French roots please contact Girdwood Inc., and they will return it to its original home at the top of Mt Alyeska, and provide it with the attention and honor it deserves. We will also credit the donors by attaching a plaque to the seat and possibly exchanging it for a later model. Other worthy relics of Girdwood’s past are also being sought. If you think that you might have a piece of the story that that you would like to share with the world please contact Kerry Dorius at 227-4571 and leave a message. You may also contact any of the following Girdwood Inc. board members: Chris von Imhof, Lana Johnson, Jim Barnett, Kate Sandberg, Diana Livingston, Ron Burson, Larry Cash and Rosey Fletcher.