This ski and snowboard season looks like it is going to be one of the most fun and interesting that Alyeska has seen in many years. Between the two new terrain parks, new, wider trails and the Super Pipe, Dimond downhill skiers and snowboarders will have a hard time leaving the slopes. New features are the two new terrain parks. A longtime ski instructor at Alyeska and a Dimond Social Studies teacher, Derek Brewer, gave the scoop on the parks. Brewer said the terrain parks “were met with excitement.” One of the things that Brewer thinks made them such a fast success is that “they were transformed into two different ability levels.” This allowed for “advanced, experienced freestylers as well as families that are getting introduced to free styling”. Dimond Junior Alex Vu, an intense downhill skier, has a tip for those planning on doing the parks: “The second jump, second table requires speed. I fell. A tip for future skiers.” A major addition to Alyeska has been completed this weekend the super pipe, one of the few super half-pipes in the U.S. Brewer says that,“ John Byrne (owner of Alyeska Resort) wanted to get the kids excited and get into the pipe because its something really special.” A Dimond Freshman and skier, Kiel Kenning, gave the inside story saying, “it was very fun but the sides were really icy, really steep.” Apparently, the tough conditions didn’t diminish the extreme excitement of the pipe, “The thrill of going straight up then straight down was really thrilling,” said Kenning. Vu also enjoyed the new half pipe. “It’s a very good pipe.” he said, “There were lots of people.” As well as the new trick terrain, more runs on North Face have been opened. “Everybody likes the additional terrain, expert terrain,” says Brewer, when describing the new trails. “The problem is, there hasn’t been enough snow, so skiers are forced to ski to the bottom, and the trails have been scrapey lately.” He blames the lack of snow and high temperatures for this inconvenience. He is excited for when the snow will stick and he can ski through the trees and to chair seven after skiing a new run on North Face. “Lots of trail widening and maintenance basically, just need Mother Nature to accommodate,” he said. Kenning, it seems, went on a good day for North Face. “The snow was perfect, a wonderful day to be skiing,” said Kenning when describing the weekend of January 16. This was not the case for Vu. Unfortunately, when he tried to brave the new runs, “It wasn’t opened, bad conditions, not good.” Don’t tell the Alyeska staff, but after all their hard work, Kenning finds Alyeska no more appealing than before. “It remains the same, because if people want to do tricks they can just go to Hilltop. Alyeska is known for the mountain itself, not the extra features. The mountain itself is what I like so much,” said Kenning. Alyeska has also apparently been “putting time into the hotel itself, especially the restaurants, changing up the cuisine,” said Brewer. “Personally, I think the hamburgers at the Sitzmark are terrific, homemade and everything.” It looks as if there will be something for everyone at Alyeska this year, definitely a season you wouldn’t want to miss.