Indy Ski Pass, Alaska
Canada’s Redtail Lodge recently had a follow-up contest for last year’s Shave the Rocks contest, in which 18 year-olds were given free use of the two slope-side properties for an entire ski season. The rewards this time were more lavish: race tickets, hotel stays, and a chance to get two discounted lift tickets for each season. They even covered food and on-lift beverages. I picked up a 13-page document revealing all the rules and regulations. Like, everywhere.
The competition is going to require a little bit of logistics, since it has to include not only Redtail but also Alutiiq, a hotel and spa resort 50 minutes away in Unalakleet, and the three-star Kake Lodge, which sits right in the middle of them all.
The first rule is that only skiers over 21 are eligible. The maximum number of participants is 100. You can’t be a member of any ski team or the US or Canadian national ski programs, nor can you be a celebrity (well, unless you get a shout-out in next year’s headline). Shave the Rocks applicants go through a “Long Read” test, posing questions such as “which other sports have used alpine skis,” as well as jokes, trivia questions, and all-important step-by-step instructions to help them build up a solid knowledge of alpine skiing.
Unfortunately, Alaska’s North Slope is a season-pass-free zone, meaning I’ll only be able to get free lift tickets for the whole year. If I could get the pass for the entire season, though, that’d be awesome. Still, I’d like to be one of the first 100 people to get tickets to go skiing for free, so that’s my plan.
Indy Ski Pass, Alaska
I suppose this isn’t entirely unlike Vancouver’s Handmade Pass, where artisans who make the goods featured in the program (B.C. or Canadian Craft Week) get to put it on a brand-new annual pass, so you can use that as a ticket for your own non-season pass — as long as you’re over 21 and haven’t broken the rule.
I don’t know whether or not I’ll be making the trip up to Alaska. Until then, there’s no point in asking for it. Who knows? Maybe a couple of you will too, and that would be a great chance to learn how to ski. And, if you’re my age and never got on skis, it would be the perfect opportunity to start.