Select Page

Mat-Su Ski Club News

Tentative Grooming Plans May 1 to 6

May 1, 2022 |

Hatcher Pass: road open. Crust skiing is on. Archangel Road: will groom Friday night if possible.  Independence: our PB is down for repairs, we are looking at the possibility of grooming Independence without it. GPRA: grooming over for season, lots of bare spots and water, basically its over. Moose Range: pretty much over.

Tentative Grooming Plans for April 23 to 29

Apr 21, 2022 |

GPRA: Tentative grooming early AM on  Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. If it gets cold enough overnight.

Archangel Rd: No grooming until DOT opens road past Skeetawk. MSSC will groom when the road opens. Snow depth maybe 5 feet.

Independence: will evaluate when road opens.

Moose range: trails still snow covered, grooming is over, overnight freezing diminishing.

Tentative Grooming Plans for April 16 to 22

Apr 16, 2022 |

GPRA: Tentative grooming schedule: Early AM Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.

Archangel Rd: DOT plans to clear avalanche debris off the Hatcher Pass Rd next week. The road will be closed just past Skeetawk until the work is done. We will assess and groom Archangel after the road opens. Five feet of snow still.

Independence Mine: No grooming, road still closed. Over six feet of snow still.

Moose Range: Last groomed Wednesday 13 April. The grooming season for the Moose Range may be over, still hard trails in the morning, bare spots and water appearing.

Tentative Grooming Plans for April 9 to 15.

Apr 8, 2022 |

Archangel Rd: No grooming April 9th or 10th due to snowmobile races. Hatcher Pass Road closed at Gold Mint lot. Tentative plans to groom Monday April 11th and Friday April 15th.
GRPA:  We will groom on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and on some weekdays, weather allowing. 18 inches of packed snow on the trails.
Independence Mine: No grooming possible. The road is closed. The road may not be opened up till late May or June. 90 inches of snow.
Moose Range: 12-16 inches of packed snow on the trails.  Trails are getting soft or rock hard, depending.  Grooming is becoming difficult.
Be aware – access to Archangel Road requires skiing 1 somewhat steep mile uphill on the un-groomed Hatcher Pass Road or skiing 1/2 mile on a steeper snowmachine trail. Either way it is a 400 vertical foot climb from the parking to the groomed trail. For comparison, the downhill ski area at Skeetawk has a 300 vertical foot lift.

Tentative Grooming and Trail Info for the week of March 31st

Mar 31, 2022 |

Independence Mine:
27 degrees.  89 inches of settled snow at the visitor center weather station.  Not groomed.  Road closed.  Palmer DOT office said clearing the road is a low priority project.  The road may not be opened up till late May or June.
Archangel Rd:
29 degrees.  Estimate 72 inches of packed snow on the groomed trail.  The Hatcher Pass Rd is still closed above the Gold Mint parking lot.  Mat-Su Ski Club is accessing the road from the snowmachine corridor and grooming the non-motorized section periodically.  It was last groomed Friday night 25 March.  It will be groomed the evenings of  Friday, 1 April and then again on Sunday night 3 April.
GPRA:
37 degrees.  18 inches of packed powder on the groomed trails.  Mat-Su Ski Club regularly “scarifies”, the skate lanes on most trails.  Last grooming was early AM 31 March.  Most grooming now occurs in the early AM to take advantage of colder temperatures.  On Friday,1 April The Mat-Su ski club will scarify the Mat-Su, Pioneer, and Eska loops.  We will also attempt to groom on both Saturday and Sunday 2-3 April.
Moose Range:
38 degrees.  16 inches of packed snow on the groomed trails.  Volunteer groomers have been scarifying the trails on a regular basis.  Hard packed snow, some overflow on the swamp.  Lots of moose prints and nuggets.  May be better for fat tire biking than skiing.

Tentative Grooming and Trail Info for the week of March 28th

Mar 28, 2022 |

Archangel Rd:
Temp 28 degrees, est. 75 inches of packed snow on the road.  Hatcher Pass Rd is still closed above the Gold Mint parking lot.   While the road is closed above the Gold Mint parking lot, our groomers have been able to use the snowmachine corridor from the Gold Mint lot to access Archangel Rd.
Skiers: To access Archangel road, park at the Gold Mint lot and ski up and down the snowmachine trail.  Skiers that have visited this area report good access to Archangel.  The snowmachine trail is steep in areas. It is suggested to go early morning or late evening in an attempt to avoid heavy snowmachine traffic.
Independence Mine:
Temp 27 degrees, est. 100 inches of snow (unpacked) on the mine trails.  Not groomed , road still closed.
GPRA:
Temp 37 degrees, 22 inches of packed snow on the trails,  Early last Saturday and Sunday, all trails were re-groomed.  Grooming is planned for all of GPRA tomorrow, Tuesday March 29th.
Moose Range:
Temp 37 degrees, 22 inches of packed snow on the trails.  Volunteer groomers report hard packed trails with some icy sections.  Good for hiking and Fat Tire Biking.

SKI-101 clinic at GPRA on Saturday, February 26th at 1:30pm.

Feb 21, 2022 |

Do you want to learn to cross country ski but don’t know how to start? SKI -101 is for you.

This clinic is designed for absolute beginners who have never had skis on the feet before.

If you are an absolute beginner in need of learning how to put on ski gear and need some basic instruction on how to get started skiing, then this class is for you. Join us at GPRA on Saturday the 26th of February at 1:30pm. The class is free and we hope to see you there!

We have a few sets of ski gear to rent for a minimal fee. Reach out to info@matsuski.org for more information.

Backcountry Bike & Ski also has skis available for rent.

Latest News

All News
Junior Nordic News
Trails & Grooming News
Volunteer News
Biathlon News
Events News

Join Our Newsletter

Sign up for our Newsletter!

Don't forget to find and click the confirmation email from us!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Archive of MooseTrax Newsletters

Mat-Su Ski Club Calendar

December 23, 2022

  • Holiday Tree Tour of Lighted Trees on Pioneer Loop
    December 23, 2022

    Come and go between 4pm and 7pm and tour the lighted trees on the Pioneer Loop at Government Peak Recreational Area (GPRA). Suitable for all levels of skiers and walkers are welcome. This is a free event. Please join us and let us light up your night and brighten your holiday!

December 31, 2022

  • Icicle Double
    December 31, 2022 - January 1, 2023  

January 1, 2023

  • Icicle Double
    December 31, 2022 - January 1, 2023  

January 8, 2023

  • Northern Lights Series Race #1
    January 8, 2023  1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

January 14, 2023

  • Besh Cup 3-4
    January 14, 2023 - January 15, 2023  
    Government Peak Recreation Area, N Mountain Trails Dr, Palmer, AK 99645, USA

January 15, 2023

  • Besh Cup 3-4
    January 14, 2023 - January 15, 2023  
    Government Peak Recreation Area, N Mountain Trails Dr, Palmer, AK 99645, USA

January 29, 2023

  • Northern Lights Series Race #2
    January 29, 2023  1:00 pm - 2:00 pm