Ask a tour salesperson: “What’s it like here during the winter?”

Dog sledding is a popular wintertime sport in Alaska, but not in Skagway.

You’re on a cruise to Alaska and you’re just full of questions. After visiting a few ports you start to wonder if anyone actually lives in Alaska year round because there are so many seasonal workers everywhere you go. Meeting a local is more difficult than spotting a bear riding a humpback whale, or so it seems.

When you finally arrive in Skagway and wander into the M&M Tours sales booth, you will meet honest-to-god year-round locals. This is because every single employee is a full-time resident of Skagway. They are here when the cruise ships are in port during the summer, and in the dead of winter when the sun is little more than a puny little lamp.

When people discover that their tour salesperson lives in Alaska year round, boy howdy do they have questions. Lot’s of them. One of the first questions we hear from a tourist that discovers we are year-round residents is, “What’s it like here during the winter?”

The purpose of today’s blog is to answer this question once and for all.

What’s it like here during the winter? Quiet. So very very quiet.

Let’s first dissect this question. Many tourists believe that Alaska has two seasons, summer and winter. We know this because nobody ever asks, “What’s spring like in Skagway,” or “What’s it like here during the fall?”

Winter actually starts on Dec. 21 during an event called winter solstice. This is the shortest day of the year. Winter ends and spring begins around March 21. However, tourists believe that summer starts when the first cruise ship arrives and ends when the last ship leaves.

Sometimes you can sense the pity in their voice when they phrase this question more like, “What do you DO here in the winter?” This is a rude way to ask this question because it implies there is nothing to do in Skagway. While there is no mall or Wal Mart, there are many activities and adventures to enjoy.

The things we do during the winter.

So, what do we locals do during the winter in Skagway? We like to go to parties, celebrate the holidays, and go for hikes in the snowy mountains. We like to ski, go ice fishing, and stare up toward the heavens and watch the blazing northern lights. We enjoy going down to the bar for a beer with friends, sharing a dinner with close acquaintances, and getting down with our bad selves during an impromptu dance party at our local Elks lodge.

Much of winter is spent in quiet solitude. There is no traffic. No ambient noise. No heavy machinery. You can hear the beating wings of a raven as it flies by, and hear the distant call of a magpie as it flutters to and fro.

From December to April, every Skagway resident dedicates their life to one all-important activity – Bigfoot spotting. Bigfoot and his family have lived in the mountains around Skagway for many years, and every year round local is lucky to have such a close relationship with these gentle creatures. We bring them gift offerings of Kentucky Fried Chicken from Whitehorse and grape soda from our local grocer. Bigfoots travel north during the summer because they don’t like crowds, but if you’re fortunate to visit Skagway in the winter, be sure to take some time out of your day to go Bigfoot spotting with a friendly local.

Here at M&M Tours, we want to wish you a happy holiday season.