Eaglecrest Ski Area General Manager Matt Lillard has resigned.
Lillard said his last day in Juneau will be March 2. He starts work as general manager at Mad River Glen in central Vermont two days later.
“I was not looking to leave Alaska and leave Eaglecrest,” Lillard said. “I love this area and the community. But it’s an opportunity that I’ve always had my eyes on.”
Lillard admits the timing — well before the end of the snow season — is not ideal. But he said that Eaglecrest’s senior management is able and well-equipped to take over in his absence.
Mad River Glen is a small, cooperatively-owned ski area with 2,200 shareholders.
It opened over 70 years ago, Lillard said, and is the only one listed on the National Historic Registry.
“It’s a very unique place. It actually reminds me a lot of Eaglecrest in the fact that it’s got a very passionate following,” Lillard said. “People really like what’s going on there and willing to help out, and pitch in, and preserve what they have. It’s got four chairlifts and a handle tow. It’s one of two areas left in the country that actually has a single chair. They have very little snowmaking, much like Eaglecrest. They feature natural snow and great natural, winding and twisting trails. A lot of character.”
During his five years at Eaglecrest, Lillard points to trail improvements and construction of the Porcupine Lodge as some of the major accomplishments.
Lillard said other projects still in progress include more trail improvements, working on beer and wine sales as an additional revenue-generating measure, and electrifying the Black Bear Chairlift. That chairlift is currently powered by a diesel generator that’s positioned at the bottom of the East Bowl.
The Eaglecrest board of directors will meet this Friday to develop a transition and initiate the search for a successor.
Lillard said his family will remain in Juneau through the end of the school year before leaving in June.
Before starting work at Eaglecrest, Lillard was the assistant general manager at Magic Mountain Ski Area in southern Vermont.
