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SALT LAKE CITY — After a record-setting 2022-2023 season, resort officials and the groups that boost the industry agree that there is plenty of excitement heading into this ski season, which is slowly getting underway with three more resorts resuming operations this weekend.
Friday marked the opening day for Brian Head, Park City Mountain and Woodward Park City resorts, while Solitude Mountain Resort, which opened last weekend to pass holders, welcomed more visitors. The remaining 11 resorts in Utah are currently scheduled to open on Nov. 30 or later, though many have no date listed as they wait for snow and colder temperatures to arrive.
While this winter may not replicate last season's successes in terms of snow, all of the state's resorts spent the offseason finding ways to improve visitor experiences in one way or another, according to Ski Utah officials, the nonprofit that promotes the state's skiing and snowboarding industries. This, they say, has helped carry on the enthusiasm created by the record snow.
"I don't think I've been more excited for a ski season than this one," said Nathan Rafferty, president and CEO of Ski Utah, during the organization's annual start-of-season press conference on Tuesday. "The best has yet to come for our industry."
The organization also compiled a list of changes and improvements that ski resorts implemented over the offseason.
Changes and upgrades reported at resorts
Rafferty says he knows snowmaking and avalanche prevention technology isn't as "sexy" as new terrain, but it is important to have and maintain. Improved snowmaking processes were reported at Alta, Brian Head, Brighton, Cherry Peak, Deer Valley and Powder Mountain resorts, according to Ski Utah.
The organization adds that Alta, Snowbird and Solitude resorts all installed new Wyssen towers this summer to help mitigate avalanches via remote control. In Alta's case, the towers will eventually replace the howitzer military guns that it and the U.S. Forest Service had used to mitigate avalanche danger for over seven decades, as they were phased out.
Meanwhile, Brian Head Resort added new gladed terrain, which officials say will increase ridable tree terrain at the resort in Iron County. Brighton, Eagle Mountain, Park City Mountain, Powder Mountain, Solitude, Snowbasin and Snowbird resorts all added new lifts or gondolas — or enhanced existing ones.
In Brighton's case, the resort added a new Crest 6 chairlift that it says has the capability and speed to lift 2,400 people up the slopes in an hour.
Many resorts added new amenities or introductory courses, too.
"I'm thrilled that resorts are investing these dollars because after a year like we had last year, it'd be really easy to rest on your laurels, but every resort, every industry — it's so important to upgrade infrastructure," Rafferty said.
As for getting there, Beaver Mountain, Nordic Valley, Snowbasin, Sundance and Woodward Park City resorts all reported making parking improvements, either through adding new spots or by resurfacing, according to Ski Utah.
Both Brighton and Solitude resorts in Big Cottonwood Canyon are implementing parking reservation systems this season as a possible solution to the ongoing traffic problems in the canyon. Those will go into effect on Dec. 1 and Dec. 15, respectively.
Utah Transit Authority says it will have "enhanced" bus service this season, as well, even though it will continue to operate fewer buses than it did two years ago amid driver shortages. Cottonwood Connect, an emergency transit service option created last year for the Cottonwood Canyons, will resume this season to help with the shortages.
UTA's ski bus service will begin on Nov. 26.
Long-term investments on the horizon
A pair of big long-term investments announced in recent months also have the industry buzzing. One of those was Deer Valley Resort's agreement with the Extell Development Company in August to add 3,700 acres of terrain, more than doubling its skiable area in the near future.
Resort officials said at the time that they believe they will be able to open 2,900 new acres of terrain along with nine chairlifts and 110 ski runs by as early as the 2025-2026 winter season.
The second is Netflix co-founder Reed Hasting's $100 million investment in Powder Mountain Resort announced in September, months after he purchased a stake in the resort. He said his goal is to transform the Eden, Weber County, resort into the "ultimate skier experience."
Katie Van Riper, Powder Mountain's spokeswoman, said Tuesday that the resort will unveil new lift infrastructure projects after this season wraps up. It's the first of many bigger plans expected in the near future.
"(It's) a big change for what has been kind of a more slow-growth ski resort in the past," she said. "I think we'll have some really fun stuff to talk about (next spring) as we look at what we're calling 'Powder Next' and Reed's infrastructure and development along with that."
