Juneau’s bravest skiers and snowboarders finished off the 2022-2023 winter season at Eaglecrest Ski Area with a splash — and/or perhaps a crash.
On Saturday afternoon, hundreds of Juneau residents made their way to the municipal-owned ski area to watch and/or participate in the return of the Slush Cup after the pond-skimming event took a seven-year hiatus. The event coincided with a handful of festivities to celebrate the ski area’s last open weekend of the season.
The event has been a part of the ski area’s annual end-of-the-season festivities for many years, said Dave Scanlan, Eaglecrest general manager, but the pond skimming aspect of the event hasn’t happened in the past several years.
“We’re really excited to bring it back, we had some years where we didn’t have enough snow to build the big massive water pond,” he said. “So we’re really excited to bring it back — it’s always a great cap for the season festivities.”
Scanlan said it took staff around three days to prepare the 100-foot skim pond for the 100 people who partook in the event. He said the event was a huge success, and he hopes Eaglecrest can continue to host it annually in the coming years.
Now that the season is coming to an end, Scanlan said he was happy with how the season turned out and is excited about the summertime.
“It’s been a great season,” Scanlan said. “We’re very excited about it — it was just very successful.”
Sunday is the final day of the winter season.
• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807. Follow her on Twitter at @clariselarson.
See photos from the event below.
Slush Cup judge Corbin Hall, 7, gives his mom a perfect score as she glides over the pond Saturday afternoon. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
A skier makes a crash landing into the skim pond at Eaglecrest Ski Area as they partake in the return of the Slush Cup Saturday afternoon. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
A snowboarder leaps onto the skim pond at Eaglecrest Ski Area as they partake in the return of the Slush Cup Saturday afternoon. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
A snowboarder glides over the skim pond at Eaglecrest Ski Area as they partake in the return of the Slush Cup Saturday afternoon. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
