The Freeride World Tour will not return to Haines this winter, officials said this week. “For the moment, we do not have the finances to come back to Haines,” said general manager Julien Hess. The Freeride World Tour, an international skiing and snowboarding competition that has brought about 30 athletes to Haines for the last […]
Search results
Posted inNews
‘Wild and free’: Tourism video is a hit
The new promotional video for the Haines Borough’s Tourism Department is drawing raves – and more importantly, views. Released Thursday, July 6, the five-minute video was getting 1,000 views an hour during its first 24 hours online. “I got a message from Italy today,” said Rich Cooper, whose Anchorage-based Frostline Productions created the piece for […]
Posted inNews
Snow, athletes converge for ‘Freeride’
Eight inches of snow fell Sunday and Monday. Next come the skiers. Twenty-eight professional skiers and snowboarders will shred powder during the Haines stop of the 2017 Swatch Freeride World Tour, though rumors are swirling that the event here is near its end. Twelve male and six female skiiers, and six male and four female […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Hut group appreciated racers, volunteers
Haines Huts would like to thank everyone who helped make the first annual Koot to Kat alpine adventure race a great success. Leslie Ross at the Haines Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and Jessica Edwards at the Southeast Alaska State Fair provided encouragement and essential event-planning assistance; Andy Hedden shuttled racers in the Haines Rafting Company […]
Posted inNews
Parks and Rec panel discusses heliskiing
The other recreationists who populate the backcountry of Haines weighed in Monday on the controversial remapping of heliski site maps where helicopters drop off and retrieve clients. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee convened to hear public comment from hikers, cross-country skiers and others who might believe their outings would be compromised by the thump-thump of hovering […]
Posted inNews
Heliski debate centers on goat, bear impacts
The Haines heliskiing map committee convened Monday for another round of reviewing the backcountry site maps where ski-adventure companies drop off and retrieve clients. Committee members, state biologists and public observers debated – often with an edge to their voices – such topics as bear dens and estrogen cycles, sows, cubs, nannies and kids. In […]
Posted inNews
Groups seek delay in heli-skiing decisions
Hold off until mountain goat and bear preliminary studies are finished next spring. Tighter conflict-of-interest rules. That’s what two local advisory groups say is needed in dealing with expanding the areas available for heliskiing in the Haines Borough. Both recommendations are going to the assembly. On Wednesday, the Upper Lynn Canal Fish and Game Advisory Committee requested the […]
Posted inNews
Heliski committee hits halfway point
A review committee recommended opening seven areas to heliskiing Monday following a protest of the make-up of that group. A five-person committee has until Nov. 30 to recommend whether the Haines Borough should approve 14 requests by Southeast Alaska Backcountry Adventures and Alaska Heliskiing. Co-owners of the two companies making the requests – Sean Brownell of Alaska […]
Posted inNews
Questions remain for Heliski committee
Scott Sundberg should not vote on his own seven proposals to expand his company’s heliskiing area, according to a Haines Borough attorney’s recommendation. However, Sean Brownell can vote on his own proposals, according to the written opinion of attorney Patrick Munson of Anchorage, who provided legal advice to the borough on this matter. The nuance is that […]
Posted inNews
Borough to tackle glitch in heliskiing ordinance
Proposed legislation to cut back on conflicts of interest on the Haines Borough’s heliski review committee was sent to the Tourism Advisory Board. The borough assembly voted 6-0 Tuesday to do that because the tourism board is already reviewing the part of the borough’s code that addresses commercial tour permits. Borough manager Bill Seward recommended a change […]