Independence Mine Resort
Palmer, Alaska1960-late 1970s
Browse Independence Mine Resort tees, long sleeve tees, hoodies and crewnecks. The ski hill opened in the fall of 1960 in the empty buildings of a gold mine, 22 miles up the Fishhook Road from Palmer, and skiers ate in the old bunkhouse. In the 1960s the U.S. Army Biathlon Team trained here. Choose a style below, and the full Independence Mine history is further down. We are an American small business bringing back the signs and logos of places and teams that are long gone but remembered fondly.
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Independence Mine Resort History
Independence Mine Resort Ski Area at Hatcher Pass near Palmer, Alaska, grew up in the empty buildings of a gold mine. The Independence Mine stopped working during World War II, and skiers had been using the Hatcher Pass hills since at least 1939, when a photographer recorded ski tracks near the mine. A rope tow went in at the mine in September 1960, according to one skier's recollection, and the ski hill opened that fall about 22 miles up the Fishhook Road from Palmer.
The Alaska Lost Ski Areas Project names three operators in turn. Julius Moore leased the hill first, while his wife Kaye ran food service in the old bunkhouse. The Wattum and Hanks families followed, and Mark Mucha was the third. Over the years the hill had rope tows, a T-bar and, in its last seasons, a platter lift. A lift ticket from the period lists a 1,000-foot T-bar and an 800-foot rope tow. The vertical drop was about 500 feet from a base near 3,580 feet. Skiers could rent gear, eat in the bunkhouse, have a drink in the bar and call on a ski patrol. In the 1960s the U.S. Army Biathlon Team trained here, and in the 1970s the mine manager's house served as a bar and lodge for skiers and snowmobilers.
The hill ran until the late 1970s, with no exact closing date in the sources. The Alaska Lost Ski Areas Project gives three reasons: the state plowed the road only partway up the pass, so keeping the last stretch open was costly, new state lift safety rules were expensive to meet, and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline boom drew people toward other recreation in south-central Alaska. Mining resumed in the 1980s on the far side of the ridge. The mine buildings and surrounding land passed to the state, and the old manager's house is now the visitor center of Independence Mine State Historical Park.