Girdwood is a tourist community that caters to winter events, with downhill skiing and snowboarding at the Alyeska Resort in a spectacularly scenic location. After a gondola ride 3,200 feet (975 meters) up Mount Alyeska, diners can view seven glaciers from the restaurant named for that view.

Alaska Wildlife Troopers said an avalanche buried three skiers under a blanket of snow between 40 and 100 feet deep in a small resort town.