Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Monday, Sep 01, 2025

This Mountain Retreat in Alaska Offers a Stylish Escape from Extreme Conditions

This Mountain Retreat in Alaska Offers a Stylish Escape from Extreme Conditions

A remote, hexagonal lodge in the Alaskan wilderness invites adventurous guests to take refuge from the elements.

Set on a granite outcropping known as a nunatak, atop Ruth Glacier in the snowy landscape of Alaska’s Denali National Park, this five-room hotel-built by the descendants of bush pilot and original homesteader Don Sheldon-rests on the mountain at 6,000 feet, surrounded by nothing but sky and compressed ice. Animals are few, and there’s no internet-the nearest town is 50 miles away. Everyone who visits has to arrive by air transportation.



Located just 10 miles from the summit of Ruth Glacier, Sheldon Chalet is dwarfed by its mountainous setting. "I don’t get to spend enough time there, but when I do it leaves me with a full and content heart," says owner Marne Sheldon.

"The beauty exists outside and we didn’t want the interiors competing with the gorgeous landscape," says the hotel’s owner, Marne Sheldon, of the family’s approach to designing the hexagon-shaped lodge, which now attracts guests from around the world. "Loud, bold colors would have been out of place. Instead we chose a warm, inviting, and clean style that focuses attention on the grandeur outside," she says.



Hunter Douglas shades soften the natural light and prevent UV rays from damaging the furniture, flooring, and artwork at Sheldon Chalet.

For visitors, the chalet experience is a mix of austerity and comfort. Guests can hike on the glacier or dip into nearby hot springs before enjoying a glass of champagne back at the lodge. They can cast a line into icy water to catch salmon, and then indulge in artisan chocolates decorated to resemble the aurora borealis before tucking into a plush bed.

But amid all the natural beauty to take in, there’s one element that has the potential to eclipse everything-sunlight. In this environment, the sun is intense and in summer it shines well into the night. "The light becomes uncomfortably bright when it is bouncing off the snow and relentlessly reflecting back at you," says Marne, recalling how she often noticed guests and staff would wear sunglasses even when inside the chalet.



The chalet’s common areas feature windows that have been optimized with Hunter Douglas shades to shield guests from harsh light while allowing views.

To mitigate the glare, the Sheldon family decided to upgrade the lodge’s windows with state-of-the-art treatments by Hunter Douglas. In the living room, for instance, the S-shaped veins of the brand’s ​​Silhouette ClearView shades filter light without blocking views, making it possible to recline on an Eames chair in the library and comfortably read a good book.

In the bedrooms, Duette Honeycomb shades seamlessly blend with the window frames while providing insulation and total light blockage, so guests can get a good night’s rest. "The channels have a black, ridged interior that traps and absorbs the light from all angles, preventing it from entering the room around the perimeter of the shade," says Natalie Hatmaker, Senior Product Manager for Hunter Douglas, explaining how the system works.

The chalet’s new window coverings may seem like a small detail, but they’ve had an enormous impact. "The experience before had a survival element to it, along the lines of traditional mountaineering," says Marne. "Now guests can be immersed in all the wonder and awe of Denali in comfort-and enjoy it without sunglasses."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
×