On a late August afternoon this summer, I flew by seaplane from Anchorage across miles of Alaska’s recumbent taiga forest to reach one of earth’s most striking birthmarks. North America’s tallest peak, 20,310-foot Denali, rose abruptly from alpine tundra to bask in a mantle of clouds.
“You don’t see 90% of Alaska unless you fly,” said Monte Mabry, my pilot for the day with Rust’s Flying Service, a flightseeing operation based at Lake Hood, the seaplane base next door to Anchorage International Airport.
On this day, the 10% I most wanted to see — the top 2,000 feet of Denali — was not coming out for a bow. But the mountain’s imposing, craggy cliffs, riven by glaciers pouring from the upper valleys, were amply spectacular.
Before flying back to Anchorage, we landed on a lake in a glacier-carved valley below the summit. I hopped out of the seaplane onto a rocky beach and breathed deeply.
This is the Alaska I came for, I thought.
Alaska’s Operators Largely Adapt to an Unusual Pandemic Summer
In a typical year, the majority of Alaska’s visitors come by cruise ship. But following the shutdown of the cruise industry for the entire 2020 season, and with this year’s cruise season starting almost three months late — with only eight ships instead of the usual 30-plus — Alaska has experienced a summer like no other.
Alaskan destinations reliant on cruises for the majority of their tourism income found revenue sharply down. But locations that were already established bases for independent exploration experienced a deluge in bookings as Americans scrambled for escape, only to find there were no rental cars available and, often, no room at the inn.
Alaska Helicopter Tours stops above Knik Glacier.
Credit: 2021 David SwansonDuring my 15 days in the state, I spoke with various operators who told me about Alaska’s feast and famine summer. Companies such as Rust’s Flying Service shared that, overall, the season has been good, but that they “left money on the table” by not hiring enough pilots last spring.
As vaccinations spread, operators were largely unprepared for the sudden surge in bookings that materialized, particularly when it came to sourcing employees (many seasonal workers come from the Lower 48). Other operators, such as Alyeska, the 300-room ski resort located between Anchorage and the cruise ports of Seward and Whittier, had to adjust their business models for the pandemic.
"2018 and 2019 were record summers for us — we were rocking the cruise ship business,” said Ben Napolitano, director of marketing at Alyeska.
Even though there are no rental cars, they get here and figure it out.
This year, he said that although there has not been a single cruise passenger, nor the resort’s usual contingent of Canadian, European and Asian guests, the lodge has been full many nights.
“I’ve been talking to people who got $150 plane tickets from Atlanta,” he said. “Even though there are no rental cars, they get here and figure it out.”
With a smaller staff than usual, Alyeska’s management has taken a conservative approach to safe operations during COVID-19, with its popular aerial tram to the Roundhouse loading 25 passengers instead of the usual 35, Napolitano said.
For others, the timing helped launch businesses that had previously struggled for a piece of the pie. Matthew Worden is the owner of Go Hike Alaska, a guide service for exploring in Chugach State Park outside Anchorage. He said he’d laid the marketing and groundwork for his outfit during the last few years, and it paid off in 2021.
"At the beginning of May, the switch flipped,” Worden explained.
With people using Anchorage as a base for exploring the state park, the third largest in the U.S., Worden was able to staff up for small-group hikes, hiring guides from out-of-state and training them.
"I’ve been working seven days a week, but it’s been great,” he said.
Other small companies have struggled with the short notice independent travelers are venturing out with this year.
"This was the 16th season, and it’s our busiest year yet,” said Lars Larson, general manager of Knik River Lodge, a 22-cabin operation located 50 miles north of Anchorage.
Pre-pandemic, the lodge would see bookings six months out, but bookings this year have been coming with less than 24 hours’ notice, fueled by flights to the nearby Knik Glacier.
"It’s an awesome shift,” said Larson, who noted that bookings at Alaska Helicopter Tours, which uses the lodge as its base, are up 300% from 2019. “We’ve been working our way out of group business, so what a great way to come out of COVID-19.”
In 2019, I had 23 employees. This year I have nine. As owner, I am doing different roles than I would normally.
In the small town of Wrangell, Alaska Waters does tours by jet boat accessing LeConte Glacier and to the AnAn Bear and Wildlife Observatory. But pre-pandemic, Wrangell usually saw only smaller cruise ship visits, and some have been able to operate this summer. While owner James Leslie II said this year’s business is only about 25% of what it was in 2019, the season still “far exceeded” his expectations.
“I downsized quite a bit,” Leslie said. “In 2019, I had 23 employees. This year I have nine. As owner, I am doing different roles than I would normally.”
A bigger concern, Leslie said, is filling up the tank — the jet boat uses about 50 gallons for each half-day tour.
"We’re very impacted by fuel prices,” he said.
What to Know About Alaska’s 2022 Tourism Outlook
Others are already looking to what the future holds in 2022. The number of cruise ships planned for next summer in Southeast Alaska will hit an all-time high. According to Visit Sitka, the port town has a newly expanded cruise ship pier and is anticipating a significant increase of just over 400,000 cruise visitors in 2022, up from about 210,000 in 2019.
With all the wide-open spaces and fresh air, Alaska’s going to be busy next year.
The National Park Service is facing a major infrastructure issue at Denali, following a landslide on Aug. 24, halfway along the 92-mile Denali Park Road. The road, the only vehicular artery through the park, has been under close watch for years, but the event cut access to the Eielson Visitor Center, Wonder Lake and three backcountry lodges for the remainder of the 2021 season.
Howard Carbone of Talkeetna-based Alaska Nature Guides
Credit: 2021 David SwansonA long-term plan is under discussion, but the back half of the road could be out of commission for a year or more. Simon Hamm, owner (with wife Jenna) of the much-loved Camp Denali lodge, said operating as a fly-in camp is probably not feasible logistically.
"It’s not rosy,” Hamm said. “The repercussions of the park road being closed in the middle will have a big spillover effect on operators in the eastern part of the park. Our local government gets a lot of its funding through bed taxes, and the main thing it supports is the school system, so there’s a lot of potential hurt.”
On the other hand, Howard Carbone of Talkeetna-based Alaska Nature Guides, gave a nod to Denali State Park, which sits just east of the national park and spans almost half the breadth of Rhode Island. Inside the state park, he said, from some trails the views of the great mountain are as good or better than the ones inside the national park. Carbone suggested that the state park can provide relief to the overcrowded national park, especially if Denali’s famed guided bus tours are shortened.
“Alaska is such a natural destination for post-pandemic travel,” Carbone said. “Don’t wait until you’re too old to appreciate all the activities. People should come and do it while they’re mobile and can still travel independently. With all the wide-open spaces and fresh air, Alaska’s going to be busy next year.”
