Because of Mt. Alyeska's natural topography—with its steep vertical and rocky slopes—the entire mountain becomes a natural terrain park under a blanket of snow.

Cat trails cut across several sections of the upper part of the mountain, creating a series of awesome cat-track jumps. You can catch great air coming off the cat track just above Gun Mount 2. Jumps in "The Fridays" on North Face are a snowboarder's dream, as are hits on Half Moon and Horseshoe off the Silvertip Run. Many aren't on the trail map, so ask the locals and they'll gladly share some secret spots. Heading down the mountain is Lolo's Leap, with 10- to 30-foot drops into the trees.

Keep your speed up going into Ego Flats in the bowl area and on the Prince Run heading back to the tram base and the Hotel Alyeska or you'll be walking.

In spring, wait until after noontime for the snow to soften for the best riding. The best-kept local's secret at Alyeska is anytime it's raining on the bottom, you can count on it dumping lots of fresh pow up top!

Parks and pipes
Alyeska's two machine-built terrain parks below Eagle Rock and at Tanaka have several tabletops, rails and quarterpipes. They're the best bets on icy days. Throughout the season, the resort builds one or two halfpipes near the base of Tanaka Hill that are well maintained with a halfpipe groomer.