The standard hiking route to the top of Mount Alyeska, the North Face Trail climbs 2,000 vertical feet in just over two miles from the Hotel Alyeska base to the upper tram terminal. The grade is relentless — switchback after switchback through dense forest, then steep alpine meadow toward the top — but the views from the summit are the same as from the tram.
Most hikers go up the North Face and ride the tram down for free (with a hike-up ticket from the resort). In late summer the upper slopes are full of blueberries; in early summer the wildflowers are extraordinary. Don't underestimate the climb in wet weather, when the trail can be slick mud for long sections.