Girdwood

The holiday hustle and bustle is here, and blogger Erin Kirkland’s family recently headed south of Anchorage to beautiful Girdwood and its Alyeska Resort. Alyeska is famous for its alpine skiing, but that's not the only thing for families to do here. For some visitors skiing is an afterthought, according to Alyeska marketing manager Amy Quesenberry. “A lot of people think of Alyeska as downhill skiing, but there's so much more to do,” Quesenberry said. “We have Nordic skiing, great restaurants -- you can get a family package, get a movie, come down swim in the pool.

by Casey Grove Friday, January 22, 2010 GIRDWOOD, Alaska -- The Northwest Passage is Alyeska's first new run in more than a decade, and skiers and snowboarders alike agreed that its first two days didn't disappoint. While the mountain has become more family friendly in recent years, the new terrain is not for the faint of heart. On a recent weekday, snowboarders and skiers headed out from the top of Alyeska's tram to explore the unknown. It was sunny on the easier, groomed runs, but a few of us -- including expert snowboarder Morgan Hebert -- angled toward a more shadowy section: the North Face, home to the longest continuous expert-only runs in North America.

by Channel 2 News staff and The Associated Press Tuesday, March 9, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Two separate avalanches forced closures on the Seward Highway Tuesday morning, and the storm that loaded nearby mountains with snow was also creating dangerous driving conditions for Southcentral motorists. The first avalanche occurred near Mile 98, about a mile-and-a-half north of Bird Point, according to the Department of Transportation. The second happened near Mile 87, about three miles south of Girdwood, DOT said.

by Jill Burke Wednesday, October 15, 2008 WASHINGTON -- A Girdwood restaurant owner and good friend of Sen. Ted Stevens took the stand Wednesday on behalf of the senator. Bob Persons, owner of the Double Musky Inn, was brought up by the defense to refute strong statements made by the government's star witness, Bill Allen. On the stand, Persons explained how he first met Stevens 25 years ago. Stevens had come to Persons' restaurant for dinner, and that's where their friendship began.

by The Associated Press Thursday, July 22, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Alaska State Troopers are looking for a man who attacked a woman at a highway pullout. Troopers spokesperson Beth Ipsen says the 21-year-old woman had pulled off the Seward Highway for a smoke break Tuesday morning when the man tried to force her into his SUV at knifepoint. The woman fought back and dug her thumb in the man's left eye. She then drove to Anchorage, where she was treated for non-life-threatening knife wounds.

by Jill Burke Tuesday, October 14, 2008 WASHINGTON -- Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, took the stand briefly Tuesday afternoon on behalf of Sen. Ted Stevens in Stevens' trial for allegedly failing to disclose gifts and home renovations carried out by an oil field services company. Much like Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, and former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell, Hatch gave Stevens high accolades. Hatch said he first met Stevens in 1976 when Hatch first ran for Senate.

by Channel 2 News staff Saturday, October 18, 2008 WASHINGTON -- Attorneys for Sen. Ted Stevens asked the judge in his federal corruption case to once again to throw out the charges against their client. In their newest request filed Saturday, they argue that the FBI knowingly presented false evidence to the grand jury that indicted Stevens. It's the same evidence the judge threw out during the trial after VECO accounting records showed inflated time sheet entries on two employees that worked on the senator's Girdwood home.

All this week Channel 2 has shown you places across Alaska where gold fever has hit, but one of the places it has also struck is only a 40-minute drive from Anchorage. Managers at the Crow Creek Mine in Girdwood say they've seen an uptick in the number of tourists and Alaskans stopping by over the last few months, as the price of gold climbs worldwide. On an average summer day, you can find between 40 and 50 people at the mine, looking for gold. The mine attracts several tourists.

by The Associated Press Channel 2 News staff Monday, July 30, 2007 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Agents from the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service are searching the Girdwood home of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens.      Execution of a search warrant was confirmed this afternoon by Dave Heller, FBI assistant special agent in charge of the Alaska office, who said agents arrived shortly before 2:30 p.m. Heller says he can't comment on the nature of the investigation and referred inquiries to the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Calls placed to spokesmen for Stevens in the Capitol were not immediately returned.

by Jill Burke Thursday, October 9, 2008 WASHINGTON -- Sen. Ted Stevens' defense team will now have its turn to try to convince jurors he's an innocent man. Prosecutors say Stevens lied about hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of home renovations and other gifts he received. But now it will be Stevens' turn to cast things in a different light. The senator's defense team is calling in a cast of characters to testify, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye.