SAM Magazine—Juneau, Alaska, May 29, 2024—The Eaglecrest Ski Area board of directors asked general manager Dave Scanlan to resign last week from the position he’s held since being hired to run the community-owned ski area in 2017. Scanlan complied, effective June 3.  

According to a report from Alaska Public Media, Scanlan did not want to leave his job. “I want our people to know that this has been my passion,” he said. “I had no intent to walk away. But it’s clear that [the board] want to try a different pathway.”

The board held a special meeting on May 22 to evaluate Scanlan’s performance. He submitted his resignation that night and the news was announced the following day.

“The Eaglecrest Board would like to thank Dave Scanlan for his service as General Manager, particularly his vision of Eaglecrest providing year-round recreational opportunities for residents and visitors alike,” the board said in a statement. “However, we have asked for and accepted his resignation and we will immediately begin the search for his replacement …” 

Eaglecrest director of snowsports school, rental, retail, and repair Erin Lupro has been appointed as interim general manager.

In an interview with KTOO, Scanlan said when he was hired the board was looking for an operations-focused manager, but that appears to have changed. “The current board has a desire to find a more office, process, paper-oriented general manager to lead the mountain through this next period,” he said. “I don’t hold ill will against any board member or staff or city administration or anything. This has been my life’s passion, and I am honored to have had the opportunity.”

Scanlan has long championed summer operations opportunities at Eaglecrest, especially given the high volume of cruise-ship visitors that Juneau sees each year. One of his biggest efforts in this regard was gaining approval for the city to purchase a used pulse gondola from an Austrian ski area in 2022. The gondola, originally installed in 1990, was in service until it was disassembled and shipped to Eaglecrest during the summer of 2022. 

Despite the project becoming a more costly undertaking than originally planned, the board said in its statement about Scanlan’s resignation that it will “continue moving the gondola project forward.” Permits were approved to begin construction this summer. KTOO reported that the ski area hoped to have the gondola ready by the winter of 2025-26, and fully operational by the following summer.