Environment

Construction to get Eaglecrest Ski Area’s controversial gondola up and running is finally underway. 

The ski area announced Wednesday that work has begun to develop the access road to one of the gondola’s stations on Douglas Island. That means that the mountain will be closed off to the public beyond the main lodges for the foreseeable future. 

The road construction comes more than three years after the city bought the used gondola from Austria. 

And now, the ski area’s future is riding on it. 

In the coming years, the ski area is slated to run into a multimillion-dollar deficit. That is intentional – it’s part of a plan to repair some broken and aging infrastructure while boosting pay to employees and preparing to operate year-round. The plan to dig out of the deficit relies heavily on revenue from the gondola.

Eaglecrest General Manager Craig Cimmons said the road construction marks a major step for the ski area.

“It’s really exciting,” he said. “Like I’ve been saying all along, the summer revenue is going to change the course of Eaglecrest forever, and having these crews here working on this really solidifies that this is happening. It’s really going to be a big deal.”

Cimmons said the goal is to have the gondola up and running by the summer of 2028. This January, the ski area will celebrate 50 years of operation. 

A local Alaska Native corporation, Goldbelt Incorporated, invested $10 million in the gondola in 2022 in exchange for a revenue-sharing agreement. Goldbelt announced last fall that it plans to develop a cruise ship port a few miles north of Eaglecrest on Douglas. 

Cimmons said the ski area will provide updates regularly about the status of the closure. 

Welcome back for Day 3 of Fat Bear Week! Did 909 wave her magic paw over the votes? They swam towards her yesterday ten times over. And it appears that ol’ man 856 is enjoying a bit of a retirement party; voters lined up to salute the elder. 

128jr and 901 have enjoyed easy wins so far, but today two big-bellied boars enter the chat.

Match 5: 128jr “Biggie” vs 602 “Flotato” 

128 Grazer’s girl is on a roll! She may be a toddler but she is waddling into this match having now defeated 609, 26’s girl cub, and both of 803s yearlings. The people love that Biggie baby. But can she strut the right stuff in a match with 602? 

602 is this year’s class clown. Holy fatman! He is large, he is sometimes in charge and he is often seen chilling out, maxing and relaxing, all cool. Here he is: on his back, in the river, floating like a potato. This is why they call him The Flotato. 

602 Flotato has perfected the art of eating a colossal amount of food and then doing absolutely nothing. He maximizes his net caloric intake by burning the least amount of energy possible. After gorging at the falls, some bears go on a walkabout, but 602 is like, what if I … didn’t. He’s got a beer belly dad bod – built for comfort, not speed. When he sheds at the end of summer, it looks like he’s not wearing pants. He, predictably, has a lot of nicknames. But secretly I call him The Dude. 

I admire the way The Dude / Flotato can go to The Office and still exude an unemployed attitude. A cute thing about 602 is that when faced with conflict, he does a funny little stompy dance (“The Mashed Potato”). Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man, I imagine him saying. 

The Dude will likely abide in today’s match. And, I can think of no bear who would care less. 

Match 6: 901 vs 32 Chunk 

Look, 901 is an actual boat. She’s so wide, I don’t know how she turns a corner. She is the Michelin man in a bear suit. She is a runaway parade blimp. What we love about 901 is that she has always had her priorities straight  – eat, mate, and sleep – and her prodigious peach is proof that she’s a very focused gorl. 901 gave us a historical upset several years ago: it was her first time on the bracket when she ousted King 480 Otis. She made it all the way to the finals, coming in 2nd to 747 Bear Force One.  

Apparently “Almost Champions” is the theme here, because 901 faces perpetual runner up 32 “Chunk.” 32 Chunk is a familiar face on the fat bear circuit, but he has yet to do a victory lap. Character sketch aside, this boar is borderline bursting. Chunk the Hunk, we call him. Even standing, his belly almost kisses the ground. 

Full disclosure, Chunk was my gateway bear; and I cheered for him in my first Fat Bear Week, even though I knew zero things about him. But you always remember your first. At that time, Chunk was sort of an enigmatic bear – he was huge but he didn’t throw his weight around. If anything, he acted like a subadult in an adult body, and as the years went on I thought he had this fight club anti-establishment energy. It seemed like he was consciously refusing to play the hierarchy game. 

All that changed in 2024. Chunk the Hunk woke up on the wrong side of the riverbed and he tore through the park, demanding dominance. He was cruisin’ for a bruin, and he was not there to make friends. He even killed a cub. On camera. It was not a good look. 

On a normal year, I would say fat chance to 32 Chunk taking home the title, but this summer he showed up with a broken jaw. Like, imagine a mouth. Now imagine half the mouth, dangling out of the mouth. Chunk was likely in pain, and we saw him resting his jaw in the cold river. It was a major injury, and it could be fatal for a bear if they can’t adapt their eating habits. 

Fat isn’t a number, it’s a lifestyle. We love to see a big boi but we want a big boi we can root for. Packing on the pounds this summer has taken a tremendous amount of strength, resilience, and restraint. Whether you’re a fan or a frenemy, you have to acknowledge 32 Chunk’s enormous achievements. 

May the fattest bear win. Voting is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. AKST at fatbearweek.org!

Welcome back to Fat Bear Week, Day 2! We’re off to a roaring start: the tiny but ginormous, glorious and notorious B.I.G.G.I.E 128jr took the dub in Match 1, and in Match 2 the crowds went wild for beach babe 901. Let’s take a look at today’s lineup: 

Match 3: 26 vs. 909 “Bella” 

This quadrant of the bracket is all about the sow power. In today’s match we welcome newcomer 26. While 26 is a Fat Bear Week rookie, her family is no skinny stranger to the competition. Her mother, 435 Holly was/still is the people’s sweetheart and 2019 Fat Bear Week champion. 26 arrived in July with two spring cubs, fresh out the den and ready to tumble. Even with COYs (cubs of the year), 26 maintains a chill, almost effortless vibe — honestly one of the most relaxed twin moms I’ve ever seen. And, she’s a provider. Through hard work (fishing) and patience, 26 has managed to not only plump her own rump, but transform her cubs into a couple of poofy patooties. A vote for her is a vote for family fatness. 

But 26 is not the only daughter of a dynasty in this match. 26 faces 909, who some call Bella, part of the 409 Beadnose (2015 and 2018 Fat Bear week champion) legacy. If this family’s beady and boopable noses didn’t give them away, their telltale fishing style would: they are all known for holding their “magic paw” out on the lip of Brooks Falls. 909 in particular is known for putting her hand on her heart, like she is pledging allegiance to her dinner. It works, too; the fish are solemnly sworn into her mouth. When 909 is not fishing, she is often seen yelling. She loves to yell at 164 Bucky, and also 384, and also birds or fish or the waterfall. 909 talks a big game, but she’s got the booty to back it up.  

Match 4: 99 vs. 856 

Some speculate that 99 and 856 could be related, but in this match they are truly on other ends of the spectrum. 99 is a fairly young, chocolate stud muffin of a bear. He is often seen sweetly greeting his brothers and known for playing bitey-face (very gentle, much fun) for literally hours. He’s gorgeous, and he has sort of a Ponyboy personality. As the summer progressed, we started to see 99 move his way up the hierarchy – hanging with the gang / fishing amongst the big boys. Still, I think he is ultimately a softie — did you see how he broke up the fight between 909 and 384? Time will tell how 99 arcs in this coming-of-age story.

Opposite 99 is 856: one of Katmai’s biggest boars and an outgoing boss bear. For over a decade, 856 maintained a hyper-dominant position at the top, largely through fear and fervent physical aggression. His movements had a ripple effect across the river, displacing bears in descending order. I have read, and regretted, reading his history of killing cubs. Yet, in recent years, his kingpin status has fluctuated, mostly with the takeoff of bear 747, but also as a result of an even larger wild threat: aging. 856 is in his mid-twenties, an old man for a bear. He is slowing down, choosing his battles, and conceding to bears he once beat up. The fall of his reign is imminent, if not already past. 

We all get older. Even the most powerful of us and powerful parts of us will one day yield to the quiet. It can be done with dignity, if we are lucky. I used to be afraid of 856. This year, I feel tender to him. 856 is built like a tank. But somewhere in that tank is a little white flag, and it’s starting to wave. 

May the fattest bear win. Voting is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. AKST at fatbearweek.org!

Editor’s note: Due to a slow web editor, today’s installment was posted after Day 1 results were released. Here is the line up nevertheless. Tune in Wednesday morning for the Day 2 breakdown. 

It’s the most fattastic time of the year: Fat Bear Week! Welcome to Day 1. Let’s get the ball rolling! 

Match 1: 128jr “Biggie” vs 609 “Bean”

Two chubby junior champs go digitally head-to-head in the first match of Fat Bear Week! 128jr “Biggie” won this year’s Fat Bear Week Jr. contest, and 609 “Bean” is a former Fat Bear Week Jr. winner from 2022. 609 Bean is newly emancipated this summer, after spending not two, not three, but four summers under the care of her mother or auntie. Her upbringing alone is a unique story, but 609 in her subadulthood is here to show us that she is, in fact, no longer a Bean-ie baby. She caught the first fish on the lip this season (like her mother before her and her mother before her) awll by hershelf and she appears to be an expert snorkeler to boot. She was even seen being courted by and then mating with 151 Walker, a well-established beefcake of a bear. She may be freshly independent, but she’s massively mastering the bear necessities. 

Up against 609 is the notorious B.I.G.gie. 128jr Biggie shares a life experience with 609; they both lost a sibling in their first year as cubs. Biggie’s sibling (“Smalls”) tragically died on camera last summer, days after being attacked by a boar. Ugh, it was a whole family saga and it put members of the bear cam community (me) into a legit depression. But Biggie’s survival is a legend in the making, and the Biggie we see today is living large and in charge, at least as much as she can as a yearling. She may be little, but she’s gangsta. And if you don’t know, now you know. ?

Match 2: 503 “The Prince of Katmai” vs 901

These are not unbiased updates. It is pawsitively unfair that they stacked my boi 503 against the buxom babe that is 901. 901 is so fat she looks like an AI generated fat bear. Technology could literally not draw her fatter. A child could make a ball out of playdough and call it her portrait. When seated, there is approximately no space between her stomach and the ground. She spends all the time at the beach, like an actual Bearbie grrl. (Why yes that’s my bear cam username). A Nice Guy™ like 503 probably doesn’t stand a chance, so this might be my only opportunity this week to campaign for him. 

503: *Looks at clock, takes a breath* Okay, here’s the CliffsNotes. Abandoned as a cub, 503 was adopted by 435 Holly (“the Queen”), who raised her as one of her own. Because he was just a cub but given a number like a subadult, people call him Cubadult. Not me. I call him by his other name, The Prince of Katmai. Not just because he was adopted into royalty, but because of his charm, his benevolence. He got 32 Chunk (a literal scarface) to play. He displaced 856 (top bear for decades; speculated to be his dad) without violence. Even when attacked by others he pushes them back, and then he walks away. Most boars achieve dominance through brute strength and aggression, but The Prince is, by and large, far and wide – gentle. He has grown into his gigantic genes and in a matter of years I predict he will not only be a Fat Bear Week winner amongst the humans, but the King of Katmai amongst the bears.

May the fattest bear win. Voting is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. AKST at www.fatbearweek.org!

Ladies and Gentlebears, welcome to Fat Bear Week 2025! 

This annual, week-long competition from Katmai National Park is a celebration of a summer’s worth of hard work, a hat tip to a healthy ecosystem and a collection of survival stories. The bears have been busy feasting on salmon and stocking up on nutrients for their winter hibernation, and they’ve got the fall bods to prove it. 

What started as a one-day event in 2014 conjuring the attention of a few thousand nature conservancy social media followers has grown into a week-long event boasting 1.2 million votes last year. There are fat bear fans in every part of the country, fat bear curriculums in classrooms, fat bear campaign posters, fat bear Spotify playlists and, of course, fat bear bets on who will be crowned the champion. 

Similar to March Madness, Fat Bear Week is a bracket-style, single elimination tournament. New to the scene? I’m here to break it down for you: 

Who’s in the bracket? 

Not all the bears at Katmai are contenders. Rangers refill the roster largely based on the availability of spring and fall comparison photos, the bear being fat, and other unknown-to-us but reasonable reasons. The much-anticipated 2025 bracket was released bear-by-bear Monday live and on Youtube. You can find the complete list of all twelve competitors, before-and-after photos as well as short biographies at FatBearWeek.org. 

How does it work / How do I vote?

Fat Bear Week is Tuesday, Sept. 23 through Tuesday, Sept. 30. Each day, one or two matches will be posted on FatBearWeek.org. Between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. AKST, you may vote for one bear in each match. The winner of each match is announced that evening and advances to the next round.

Which fat bear do I vote for?

The voting rubric is different for different people. Some folks believe you should only vote for the physically, empirically, literally, fattest bear. Some believe it’s a matter of weight gain. That is, you should determine which bear was most successful in becoming a fat bear between spring and fall. Others believe that fatness is a symbol of overall survival and that one should vote on a fat bear’s skills, success and story arc. Who here is giving off main character vibes? Vote for them! 

Personally, I love Fat Bear Week for the poetry: the 230 Ben dancer in us. The 128 Grazer fierce mama in us. I love Fat Bear Week for the stories: 32 Chunk eating with a broken jaw; 503, the adoptee, who befriends all. Above all, I love Fat Bear Week for the kinship between bears, and between us and the bears. 

Whether you’re a Fat Bear Week superfan or a newcomer to the scene, I hope you find a bear to throw your weight behind. We’re zooming in on a robust ecosystem that nourishes larger-than-life bears. Surviving was yesterday; today we’re thriving. Let’s celebrate!

It’s officially autumn, and with the season comes more stormy weather. The National Weather Service issued a high wind warning and flood watch for Juneau Monday.

Meteorologists say wind gusts could reach 60 miles per hour. Gales are forecast to peak between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and then subside around 4 p.m. The National Weather Service advises residents to secure vessels and loose objects that could be blown around or damaged by the wind. 

Forecasters expect one to three inches of rainfall in Juneau Monday. That could cause minor flooding in low-lying areas near creeks and rivers following heavy rain over the weekend. The flood watch will last overnight, until 4 a.m. Tuesday.

Andrew Park, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Juneau, said people should pay attention to the weather and plan accordingly. 

“The weather today will impact your life, especially if you’re trying to get on the water,” he said. “We’re starting to see 50 to 60 mile an hour gusts.”

Park also explained how the air flows into the steep terrain to create persistent rainfall.

“You have this moist southwest flow, and that just continues to feed against the mountains,” he said. “So the mountains act as a source of like a lifting mechanism, and just drives showers.”

On Saturday, the City & Borough of Juneau closed Auke Lake Trail. The city reported that heavy rainfall triggered landslides in the area. City staff urge residents to stay off the trail and out of the lake until it reopens. 

Ryan O’Shaughnessy is the city’s emergency program manager. He encourages those living in landslide-prone areas to be mindful of the weather forecast. 

“If anyone who lives on a steep slope does observe any downslope movement of soils or trees — definitely the best thing to do is to get out of the area — then, once you’re safe, to call 911.”

The National Weather Service will issue updates on its website. If there is a weather-related emergency, O’Shaughnessy said the city will send text notifications through its voluntary alert system.