Snowbird, Utah
Encyclopedia
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
based in Little Cottonwood Canyon
Little Cottonwood Canyon
Little Cottonwood Canyon lies within the Wasatch-Cache National Forest along the eastern side of the Salt Lake Valley, roughly 15 miles from Salt Lake City, Utah. The canyon is part of Granite, a CDP and “Community Council” designated by Salt Lake County. The canyon is a glacial trough , carved by...
in the Wasatch Range
Wasatch Range
The Wasatch Range is a mountain range that stretches approximately from the Utah-Idaho border, south through central Utah in the western United States. It is generally considered the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the Great Basin region...
of the Rocky Mountains in Salt Lake County
Salt Lake County, Utah
Salt Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. It had a population of 1,029,655 at the 2010 census. Its county seat and largest city is Salt Lake City, the state capital. It occupies Salt Lake Valley, as well as parts of the surrounding mountains, the Oquirrh Mountains to the west...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, U.S. It is most famous for Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, an alpine skiing
Alpine skiing
Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...
and snowboarding
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
area, which opened in December 1971.
History
Snowbird is a multi-facility winter and summer resort located in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah. Primarily known for its challenging winter powder skiing and snowboarding, Snowbird also hosts hikers, mountain bikers, fishermen, sightseers, and mountain vacationers in other seasons. Set among spectacular crenelated granite mountain peaks, facilities include ski lifts, hotels, condominiums, spa facilities, restaurants, skiing and mountain-resort-related retail businesses, medical services and others.Snowbird was imagined, named, and developed by Ted Johnson. For nearly a decade, Johnson managed the Alta Lodge in the town of Alta at the head of Little Cottonwood Canyon. During that period he explored the terrain below Alta in the Peruvian Gulch and Emma Mine/Gad Valley watersheds that later became Snowbird. Vision, drive, and fortuitous acquaintances made at the Alta Lodge made it possible for Johnson to begin development of the Snowbird Resort. Johnson, who was well suited to managing rapid development cycles, was also fixated on the central theme of the project, having fun on the mountain. During the development cycle, he, together with a number of the area's more adventurous skiers including Junior Bounous, Eddie Morris, snow ranger Peter Lev and others scored first descents on pitches that were to become essential to the Snowbird legend.
Johnson met Dick Bass
Richard Bass
Richard "Dick" Bass is the owner of Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah and the first man to climb the "Seven Summits," the tallest mountain on each continent. There is no relation with the Bass Family of Fort Worth, Texas.-Early life:...
, a Texas oilman, in 1969, and the two of them opened Snowbird in 1971. In 1974, Johnson sold his interest in Snowbird to Bass. Bass's achievement is remarkable in that Snowbird, which operates almost entirely on National Forest Service land and has ownership rights to a very small holding, relies for revenue on skiers, snowboarders and other visitors, unlike so many ski resorts that are little more than real estate developments.
Before Little Cottonwood Canyon
Little Cottonwood Canyon
Little Cottonwood Canyon lies within the Wasatch-Cache National Forest along the eastern side of the Salt Lake Valley, roughly 15 miles from Salt Lake City, Utah. The canyon is part of Granite, a CDP and “Community Council” designated by Salt Lake County. The canyon is a glacial trough , carved by...
became popular with skiers, miners discovered deposits of silver ore within the glacial canyon. The history of Little Cottonwood Canyon and the town of Alta
Alta, Utah
Alta is a town in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 370 at the 2000 census, a slight decrease from the 1990 figure of 397....
dates back to the 19th Century, when a U.S. Army soldier first prospected for silver in 1869. The tiny minerals he stumbled upon soon supported a massive industry. Little Cottonwood Canyon became one of the largest producers of silver ore in the Wasatch Mountains. Known as the Emma Mine and the namesake for the Big Emma run in Snowbird’s Gad Valley, the soldier’s find eventually produced more than $3.8 million in silver.
At its peak, 8,000 people lived and worked in the narrow canyon, which held two smelters, 138 homes, hotels, boarding houses, stores and even a railroad. The entire town was later destroyed by a series of avalanches.
In February 2001, Snowbird served as meeting place for the authors of the Agile Manifesto, which sparked the agile software development
Agile software development
Agile software development is a group of software development methodologies based on iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams...
movement.
Ski resort
Snowbird resort is a year-round ski and summer resort located in the heart of the Wasatch National ForestWasatch-Cache National Forest
Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest is a United States National Forest located primarily in northern Utah , with smaller parts extending into southeastern Idaho and southwestern Wyoming . The name is from the Ute word Wasatch for a low place in high mountains, and the French word Cache meaning to...
on the eastern border of the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy
Sandy, Utah
Sandy is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is a suburb of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,461 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth-largest city in Utah....
. It is 29 miles (46 km) from Salt Lake International Airport, 24 miles (38 km) from downtown Salt Lake City
Downtown Salt Lake City
Downtown is the oldest district in Salt Lake City. The grid from which the entire city is laid out originates at Temple Square, the location of the Salt Lake Temple.-Location:...
and 4 miles (7 km) east of the suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Sandy
Sandy, Utah
Sandy is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is a suburb of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,461 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth-largest city in Utah....
. The resort first opened in December 1971.
Snowbird shares the canyon with Alta Ski Area
Alta Ski Area
Alta is a ski area located in the Wasatch Mountains, just east of Salt Lake City, Utah. With a skiable area of 2200 acres , beginning at a base elevation of 8530 ft and rising to 10,550 ft for a vertical gain of 2020 ft . Alta is one of the oldest ski resorts in the country,...
to the east. Beginning winter 2002, both resorts offer a joint day pass and a joint season ticket allowing full access all of the terrain on both mountains: 26 ski lifts and tows and a skiable area of 4700 acres (19 km²). The collaboration coincided with the opening of a new lift in Mineral Basin, a large bowl owned by Snowbird on the back of Snowbird's Hidden Peak and Alta's Sugarloaf mountains that had been skiable within the resort since 1999. The installation of Baldy Express in 2002 allowed access to Alta from the Basin. Other access points between the two resorts exist as well. The offer is open to skiers only, as a result of Alta's skiers-only policy.
Both areas receive more than 500 inches (1270 cm) of snowfall per year, with a single storm capable of producing over 100 inches (254 cm) due to lake effect enhancement from the Great Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates substantially due to its...
, making it the second greatest area of snowfall in the mainland United States (next to the Cascades). Unlike the humid and wet snow of the Cascades near the Pacific Ocean, arid Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
conditions produces very dry and powdery snow.
Snowbird usually closes on Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
in late May while the occasional ski year can last as long as the Fourth of July. The Little Cottonwood Canyon resort perennially offers the longest ski season in Utah. Snowbird has a skiable area of 2,500 acres (10 km²) with a vertical drop of 3240 ft (988 m) from the summit of Hidden Peak, which has an elevation of above 11,000 ft (3353 m). Hidden Peak is serviced by an aerial tram from the base area.
The resort covers three drainage areas: Peruvian Gulch, Gad Valley, and Mineral Basin. Snowbird is perennially celebrated by industry magazines for its exceptional snowfall, vast and wide-ranging terrain and easy accessibility from the Salt Lake City International Airport.
Snowbird set a resort record of 776 inch of cumulative snow (mid-mountain measurement) in May 2011.
Facilities
Snowbird currently has 11 ski lifts (4 High-Speed Quads, 6 Doubles, and a surface lift), an aerial tram, and a 600 feet (182.9 m) tunnel enclosing a one-way conveyor lift connecting Peruvian Gulch to Mineral Basin allowing easier access for beginners and intermediates to new terrain. The tunnel, the first of its kind in North America, also allows for skier transport when winds require the closing of the aerial tram.The Little Cottonwood Canyon resort has a total of four lodges, including the Iron Blosam, the Inn, the Lodge at Snowbird, and the Cliff Lodge. The resort also has many gift shops, restaurants, arcades, a popular fine-dining Sunday brunch, hiking trails, several pools and a full-service rooftop spa.
Snowbird also offers one of the most accessible mountain meeting destinations in North America. The resort has 50000 square feet (4,645.2 m²) of meeting space along with 31 meeting rooms and a 15000 square feet (1,393.5 m²) Event Center available in the summer.
Awards
Skiing Magazine ranked the Alta-Snowbird ski area second in North America overall and first in the United States for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons.According to SKI Magazine (October 2002) Snowbird ranked 20th in North America with Gold Medals in snow, access, challenge, terrain, scenery, weather, and lifts. In specific categories it was ranked third in North America for snow, fourth in North America for challenge, and fifth in North America for terrain. Snowbird ranks as the second best resort in North America, runner-up to Whistler Blackcomb resort in Canada, according to Skiing Magazine. More recently, Outside named Alta-Snowbird the number one ski destination in North America for the 2008-09 season.
The ski school at Snowbird is well regarded, and two of Snowbird’s mountain school instructors, Rob Sogard and Nancy Thoreson, made SKI Magazines Top 100 list.
Chairlifts and Tram
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- Peruvian Express
- Gadzoom Express
- Mineral-Basin Express
- Baldy Express
- Wilbere Double
- Little Cloud Double
- Mid-Gad Double
- Baby Thunder Double
- Gad 2 Double
- Chickadee Double
- Aerial Tram