In a place as wintery and snow-covered as Alaska, it should come as no surprise that skiing is tops. So, whether you’re hitting the trails Nordic style, bombing the backcountry, or boarding a big resort, you’re going to need the right gear and equipment. These are our favorite ski and snowboard shops in Alaska.
Powder Hound Ski Shop has a prime ski-in, ski-out location at the base of Alyeska Resort in Girdwood. A full-service ski and snowboard shop, Powder Hound has hall the gear and apparel—and will help make sure it fits—you’ll need to hit the slopes in Alaska.
SkiAK sells more than 50 brands of skis, as well as boots and bindings, for any sort of skiing you want to do, whether it’s a resort, in the backcountry, or heli skiing. They also do ski and board tuning and repair, and offer custom boot fitting so that you keep your feet tight to the slopes, no matter where you’re skiing.
Backcountry Bike & Ski has been the premier outfitter for folks in the Matanuska Valley for years. In addition to equipment sales and rentals, Backcountry Bike will also adjust bindings, as well as tune, wax, and repair your skis—Nordic or alpine—or snowboard.
When folks in the Interior need to rent Nordic ski equipment or need their own gear waxed, tuned, or repaired, they bring them to Trax Outdoor Center in Fairbanks. Conveniently located near the Birch Hill trail system, Trax will make sure you spend more time on the trail than on the bench.
If you’re a board rider in the Anchorage area, you know that Blue & Gold Board shop is the place to go for boards and boots. They’ve got a huge selection of snowboards—men’s, women’s, and youth—as well as splitboards, boots, bindings and accessories: Everything you need to shred.
If you lean more toward the backcountry, Alaska Mountaineering and Hiking likely has the gear you’re looking for. They’ve got alpine touring equipment, as well as Nordic skis. And, of course, they carry the boots, bindings, and poles you’ll need to get out on the snow—and the avalanche gear to keep you safe.
Skiers on the Kenai Peninsula rely on the Ski Loft at Beemuns Variety for everything they need. Even their Ski Loft evinces variety: Nordic skies and skates, race classic, and backcountry skis, as well as snowboards. Not to mention service for all of them. Beemuns is truly the place for everything on Kenai.
When it opened in 1974, Foggy Mountain Shop was the first full-service Nordic ski shop—as well as backpacking and mountaineering—in Southeast Alaska. These days, they also sell, service, and repair alpine, Telemark, and touring skis and equipment.
Skiing and snowboarding gear can get pricey, so why buy new gear when you can get steeply discounted, gently used equipment? At The Hoarding Marmot, you can do just that. They even sell discounted passes to Alyeska. The inventory does change pretty regularly, so be sure to check in often.