Authentic Alaska for Groups

Upon arrival in Anchorage, transfers will be provided for your group to your hotel, your ‘home’ for the rest of the week.  Located approximately 40 miles south of Anchorage in the year-round resort town of Girdwood, the Resort and Hotel at Alyeska is Alaska’s premier hotel, situated amidst dramatic mountains and glaciers.  This elegant Alaska resort is detailed with solid cherry wood throughout and offers guests a full-size indoor swimming pool (with views of mountain slopes), a wonderful workout center, full spa, and boutique shopping for regional arts and crafts.

This evening, your group will enjoy a welcome reception in the hotel’s Ballroom.  Your keynote speaker for the evening is Dallas Seavey, four-time champion of Alaska’s Last Great Race, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.  Listen as Dallas relates how his extreme lifestyle and experience on the Iditarod Trail and across Alaska have taught him the value of teamwork. Learn how a young, successful entrepreneur and small business owner learned to think outside the box, and values self-sufficiency and hard work. Dallas understands how to tap into your personal potential, and recognize when excuses are limiting your success. He believes you make your own luck, and highlights ways to tap into your personal ambition.

Today, begin your morning with a breakfast buffet in the hotel’s Columbia Ballroom, followed by the start of your agenda of corporate meetings.  Following a lunch buffet, enjoy a leisurely afternoon and let your group enjoy the resort’s many amenities and get outdoors for a hike, mountain bike ride, or helicopter adventure.

This evening, transportation for your group will be provided to nearby Crow Creek Mine.  With an estimated production rate of 700 ounces per month, Crow Creek Mine is one of the largest producer of placer gold deposits in the state of Alaska.

The Mine provides a unique opportunity to relive the Historic Gold Rush of Alaska. Established in 1896, the mine is one of Alaska’s most renowned hydraulic gold mining operations. Crow Creek Mine offers a unique blend of historical buildings, antiques, rare mining equipment, beautiful gardens, amazing mountain scenery, hiking trails (including the Historic Iditarod Trail), and access to explore and prospect on the mines’ original claims.

After your visit to Crow Creek, a catered dinner will be provided for your group while you enjoy the sounds and songs of a local Alaskan band.  Your guests can dress up as a prospector or pose with an Alaskan dog sled for photos printed right on the spot.  There will even be some Iditarod puppies provided by another Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race veteran and four-time champion Martin Buser.  Throughout the evening your guests will have the opportunity to pan for gold and strike it rich!  Guides will be onsite to teach them how to be a successful prospector!

After a morning of meetings, your group will explore the educational displays at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.  The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is a non-profit wildlife sanctuary dedicated to preserving Alaska’s wildlife through conservation, education, research, and quality animal care.  The ultimate goal is to return these magnificent creatures to the wild but those that would not survive are provided a permanent home at the Center.

Upon arrival at the Wildlife Center you will be broken into smaller groups and assigned to various volunteer projects around the grounds such as building or painting animal structures, repairing enclosures, or a myriad of other teambuilding activities that help improve the property for animals and visitors alike.

After completing their projects, your group will gather back together in Bison Hall, located on the grounds of the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. The Hall is a beautiful, barn-like building with a high vaulted ceiling that showcases wood beams, a moose antler chandelier, and large windows allowing natural light to flow in. The Hall will be decorated with a Native Alaskan theme while your group relaxes and spends time together. An Alaskan Native dance group will provide a special live performance and afterwards, outside the Center, there will be opportunities to meet some of the Center’s most popular residents such as Kit Kat the Porcupine and Chuckles the Reindeer.

Today begins with a breakfast buffet in the hotel’s Columbia Ballroom, followed by more of your group’s meetings.  A lunch buffet will immediately follow your meetings and your guests will have some time to relax and enjoy the hotel’s amenities.

Later that afternoon, your group will travel by motor coach to the nearby port of Whittier. Your journey will take you through a unique mountain tunnel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel – the longest in North America at 2.5 miles and the only way to access to Whittier.

Upon arrival in Whittier, climb aboard your private high-speed catamaran for a spectacular cruise through pristine Prince William Sound with breathtaking scenery and abundant marine wildlife.  This cruise will travel over 135-miles throughout the Sound, where your group will be able to see 26 officially named glaciers. Several of the glaciers are active, and team members may need to cover their ears as they watch ice calving into the sea in enormous sheets with near-deafening crashes.

Your group will enjoy a catered dinner on board and there will be plenty of photo opportunities on the outer decks or from the comfort of the indoor lounge.  Celebrate your group’s special time in Alaska with a champagne toast in front of a glacier. At the end of your celebrations, return to Girdwood for your final night in Alaska.

Enjoy a final breakfast buffet together in the Columbia Ballroom.  Transfers will be provided to the Anchorage Airport for your guests to meet their departing flights.