A new face for Girdwood: already named one of the best places to live, much more is in store for this four-star adventure town.

• Author: Bohi, Heidi
• Position: TOURISM

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Best for ski bums, as described by National Geographic Adventure in "The 50 Best Places to Live" article published this fall, Girdwood was chosen by the magazine's staff as one of the next great adventure towns. It shares company with places like Hood River, Ore.; Seattle, Wash.; Malibu, Calif.; and Islamorada, Fla.

"This year we selected 50 innovative towns that aren't just prime relocation spots now, but smart choices for the future," the article reads. "Not only do they have the action. They've got a plan."

TIME TO SHINE

In this case, Girdwood ranks for the two-year, $20 million revamp of Alyeska Resort that is putting the community on the list of the four-star skier set, along with Chugach State Park, countless glaciers, epic rafting, mountaineering, salmon fishing and windsurfing on Turn-again Arm. This "bump-in-the-road town" of 2,500 is no secret to adventurers who know where to find unparalleled, undiscovered adventure, as well as a decadent resort. And if developments to both the resort and the community continue to go as planned, Girdwood won't be on the list--it will be the list.

THE ORIGINS

Originally named Glacier City, a supply camp for placer gold miners in the 1800s, it was renamed when Colonel James Girdwood, a Belfast, Ireland-born entrepreneur, staked the first four gold claims along Crow Creek in 1896. When the mines closed, Girdwood was all but a ghost town until construction of the Seward Highway started. In 1954, 11 local men formed the Alyeska Ski Corp., taking the first steps toward making a first-class ski resort in Alaska a reality. When Francoise de Gunzburg imported a used chair lift from France in 1960 and had it rebuilt at Mount Alyeska, along with the day lodge, history was set in stone.

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Within a few years, Girdwood's transition to a recreation-based economy attracted seasonal and weekend-use visitors from Anchorage and the community whose livelihood had been founded on resource extraction but now became one dependent on natural resource preservation. Tourism is the third-largest and fastest-growing industry in Girdwood and statewide. And if the last two years are any indication, this source of employment has the potential to be the No. 1 employer here.

THE NEW RENAISSANCE

By all accounts, Girdwood entered the beginning of its current renaissance period when John Byrne, a 49-year-old Mta, Utah, developer, entrepreneur and extreme-ski buff, purchased the resort from Japan's Seibu Corp. in December 2006. Although the exact purchase price is a secret, he says the property was on the clearance shelf and in danger of being foreclosed on when he paid cash in the eight-figure purchase.

Today, Alyeska is ranked sixth...