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This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
Without visionary pioneers in business, Little Cottonwood Canyon's "greatest powder snow on earth" wouldn't be the worldwide attraction that it is today. This season, avid skiers and armchair Alpinists alike are celebrating the 70th anniversary of one of the Utah's flagship recreation businesses—Alta Ski Area.
It was 70 years ago that a group of local investors led by lawyer and skier S.J. Quinney formed the Salt Lake Winter Sports Association. Together they funded the creation of the first chairlift in Utah, which was built using equipment salvaged from silver mines that had made Alta a boom town in the late 19th century. These investors developed the resort with the intent to serve local residents through the generations, and maintained a business philosophy to keep lift passes relatively affordable so that Utah's families could enjoy the slopes.
Alta has had a number of successful business strategies over the decades. To introduce more people to the sport of skiing, famous ski jump champion and Alta pioneer Alf Engen built a partnership with the Deseret News to start a ski school that helped teach tens of thousands of young people to ski. To attract more late-season visitors in the 1960s and 70s, Alta hosted the Gelande jump competition that wowed audiences with big air and big thrills.
Today, it's hard to drive anywhere without seeing a car boasting an Alta snowflake bumper sticker. Officials maintain Alta's unique no-snowboarding policy is a business decision that sets it apart from hundreds of other resorts across the country.
To commemorate the 70th anniversary of Alta, a new documentary titled "The Alta Experience" will premiere tonight at 7 p.m. on KUED-Channel 7and will repeat at 8:30 p.m. The film features archival movies, early photographs, and stunning contemporary footage that chronicle the development of Alta as a successful business that continues to attract skiers from around the globe.
For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.
