2024–25 Improvements & Upgrades At Utah's Ski Resorts
What's almost as exciting as the first snow or Opening Day? Learning about what's new and improved at Utah's 15 ski resorts for the 2024–25 season!
Alta Ski Area Upgrades
Having completed a massive multi-year effort to retire its avalanche howitzers and install cutting edge Wyssen Towers for avalanche mitigation, Alta Ski Area has turned its focus to on-slope improvements for the upcoming winter. Beginners can rejoice at the installation of two new Sunkid conveyor belts along the gentle slopes of the Albion Base Area. These covered tunnels offer protection from the elements and provide entertainment to kids learning the art of skiing.
Ski Patrol will enjoy better facilities at the top of the Sugarloaf Chairlift. The small shack has been upgraded to provide them with more room and a cozier environment to warm up between laps and keeping Alta's skiers safe.
Terrain improvements will be notable for skiers near the top of Collins where the Hi Mambo run has been regraded to better shape the easiest way down. The crew was also busy this summer sculpting better paths to Alta's famous pow turns on the Ballroom and High Traverses.
Beaver Mountain Upgrades
Everything has been hustling and bustling at The Beav this summer!
Last year Beaver Mountain embarked on their biggest capital improvement in years with a two-year project to construct Marge's Cabin. This new 25,000-square-foot lodge will house a much larger rental shop, the Snowsports School, Skier Services, retail space and a new cafe. The new lodge won't be open for the 2024–25 season as construction continues, but guests will notice parking lot improvements for the upcoming season.
Brian Head Resort Upgrades
Brian Head will welcome skiers and snowboarders for its 60th season on Friday, November 8, 2024. Guests will enjoy nearly $1.4 million in capital improvements that include three new trails. Two new beginner trails and one intermediate trail will bring the resort's run count to 74. Brian Head is planning a major 60th anniversary bash during the week of January 7, 2025 with on-mountain events, activities and plenty of live music to groove to.
Brighton Resort Upgrades
A change that will have Brighton fans snow dancing with glee: Mount Milly will debut with night skiing terrain for the first time in Brighton's history! In the recent past, Brighton added additional night skiing terrain around the Snake Creek chairlift and this generous helping of Milly a welcome evolution to Brighton's beloved night skiing program. This announcement means five of Brighton's six lifts will be open for winter nights and night riders can enjoy the largest night skiing footprint in Utah!
Brighton has also made improvements to the snowmaking capabilities around the Great Western and Snake Creek chairlifts. In its continued commitment to sustainability, Brighton will debut hybrid electric snowcats, an electric truck and an electric snowmobile for the upcoming season.
Deer Valley Resort Upgrades
Deer Valley's ambitious plans are unprecedented in the ski industry and winter 2024–25 will mark the first phase in a multi-year evolution of their "Expanded Excellence" master plan.
Looking to the season ahead, Deer Valley will be offering access to its expanded terrain for the first time. Skiers can sample terrain off three new chairlifts on 300+ acres of new terrain. An additional 500 parking spots have been added to the new Deer Valley East Village which is still under development. This new gateway to the resort offers an alternate arrival option from U.S. Route 40 and will provide direct access to Sultan Express. The six-person Keetley Express will open December 2024 (conditions permitting) with a bubble shelter. This lift will connect the Deer Valley East Village to the resort's existing footprint. Hoodoo Express and Aurora are two new lifts that will service terrain for beginners while providing return access to Deer Valley's East Village.
Eagle Point Upgrades
New this season, kids 12 and under will ski or snowboard for FREE at Eagle Point! With its uncrowded slopes and ski-in/ski-out accommodations, Eagle Point gives guests an exclusive experience at an affordable price.
Nordic Valley Upgrades
The highly anticipated and meticulous Apollo chairlift restoration at Nordic Valley will be completed in time for the 2024–25 season. A massive overhaul was undertaken by the team to get Apollo repaired, refurbished and ready to transport skiers up the mountain once again. This means more night skiing, more vert and more turns at Nordic this winter!
To replace the Old Barn a handful of temporary buildings for skier services will be available this season. More permanent facilities for staff and guests are expected by the 2026–27 ski season. Nordic Valley will continue to offer a variety of food truck options and grab-and-go food to keep hungry skiers and snowboarders fueled up for their day.
Park City Mountain Upgrades
Along with shorter days and colder temps, Park City Mountain will debut the latest in world-class snowmaking systems to increase early-season terrain openings and provide consistency for guests. Crowd-pleasing runs like Chicane and Another World will be opened earlier in the season alongside more terrain around Tombstone Express at Canyons Village.
In addition, crews have been busy making terrain enhancements around Canyons Village. Tombstone Alley has been widened and expanded and Chicane Bypass has been reworked to begin further uphill. This terrain adjustment creates a new intermediate run that twists through the forest alongside Chicane. Tombstone Alley will be accessible near the top of Chicane and will direct skiers and riders to the lower half of Another World. This ultimately provides more terrain and options from the Red Pine Lodge to the base of Tombstone Express. The addition of new snowmaking systems in these key areas will accelerate early season openings
Powder Mountain Upgrade
Lots of heavy machinery was moving about the mountains this summer as Powder Mountain builds for the future. The resort has embarked on constructing four new ski lifts to improve uphill capacity and better distribute guests across the mountain. The existing Paradise and Timberline lifts have been removed and upgraded to faster quad lifts that will drastically cut ride times. The new Raintree lift will provide access to glade skiing and will better join the Village and Mary's lifts and exclusive access to Powder Mountain homeowners.
Another new lift will grace the popular Lightning Ridge area and will better connect the Sundown Base area to the rest of the resort. Lightning Ridge harbors some of the best expert/advanced and technical terrain at Powder Mountain and experts will also have the option to the hike-to terrain on James Peak when avalanche conditions allow. This lift upgrade adds an astonishing 900 acres of lift-served terrain at Pow Mow.
Park rats will rejoice at the return of two terrain parks to Powder Mountain's slopes for the first time since 2020. Powder Mountain was the first ski area to allow snowboarding in Utah in the 1984–85 season and the resort aims to continue being a hub of progression. The Sundown and Hidden Lake Parks will feature boxes, rails, jumps and a natural halfpipe that will be optimized for boardercross.
Powder Mountain has recently announced a major commitment to the arts and will focus on creating an experiential and open-air art museum and sculpture park for its visitors to enjoy year-round. Site-specific artwork—like the existing Paper Airplane mountain bike jump—will be integrated throughout the terrain for hikers, bikers, skiers and shredders to enjoy. The Powder Art Foundation is made possible through the philanthropic support of founding and principal donor Reed Hastings.
Solitude Mountain Resort Upgrades
Turning toward the upcoming winter, Solitude Mountain Resort has enhanced its snowmaking infrastructure to augment earlier terrain openings and provide better early-season skiing. In changes to Solitude's successful parking reservation system, required reservation days will be reduced from 61 days to 46 days this season. Midweek parking costs have been slashed by half and vehicles with 3+ occupants will continue to enjoy free parking.
Snowbasin Resort Upgrades
In July of 2024 Snowbasin was named an official Alpine Skiing venue for the 2034 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Snowbasin is preparing to make a few key capital investments to once again serve as an important player on the world's stage.
Snowbasin plans to debut its fourth lift in six seasons with an upgrade to the Becker Chairlift. This will complement the Wildcat Handle Tow installation (2020), the new Middle Bowl chairlift (2021) and the addition of Demoisy Express (2023) over on Strawberry. The new Becker Chairlift will debut in the 2025–26 winter season. As one of the resort's oldest chairs—installed in 1986—Becker will transform from a fixed-grip triple chair to a detachable quad. The lift ride time will be halved to six minutes allowing guests more time to enjoy Snowbasin's legendary vert.
Snowbasin is launching a multi-year project to refurbish and update the cabins on the Needles Gondola. Guests will notice improvements in 2024–25 with the project slated for completion in the 2025–26 season. New windows, new components and new seats are in the plan and 1/3 of the gondolas will be updated this coming winter.
Snowbasin will continue to strive to be one of Utah's most accessible resorts by improving the beginner terrain around Earl's Lodge at the main base area. With the replacement of Becker Chairlift, the bottom terminal will be repositioned near the Wildcat Chairlift for better access and less congestion. Bear Hollow, Snowshoe and the Slow Road ski runs will be widened to further enhance safety and traffic flow within the Family Zone where learners thrive.
Finally, this summer Snowbasin partnered with the Utah Department of Transportation to implement a new traffic pattern for Trapper's Loop. This will allow cars arriving to Snowbasin from both the north and south lanes to simultaneously turn onto Snowbasin Road. Traffic movement will be far more efficient and help relieve congestion and backups along Trapper's Loop during peak visitation periods and holidays. To incentivize and reward carpoolers, the best parking in Earl's Lot will be entirely reserved for those who carpool with three or more passengers on weekends and holidays. This will help keep parking FREE at Snowbasin
Snowbird Resort Upgrades
Bird fans have long been wanting to know the fate of Snowbird's beloved OG Tram cars. Après fans will rejoice when they discover Old Red on the outdoor patio of the Tram Club (beneath the current Tram Dock). Patrons can enjoy year-round patio seating, dining and drinks in and around the hallowed red Tram car which faithfully served Snowbird for 50 years. In addition, patrons will delight in new lunch and après ski menus at the Atrium in the heart of the Cliff Lodge and the refurbished outdoor patio at Rendezvous.
This summer the old Wilbere double chair has been realigned and upgraded to better serve guests and Snowbird's young ski racers. The new high-speed quad will depart from Gad Valley near Mid-Gad and Gad Zoom. The relocation of the base station will make Wilbere far easier to access and the loading conveyor belt will ease chairlift loading. Construction on the new Mid-Gad Restaurant commenced this summer with the demolition of the old building and will continue throughout the winter and next summer with a projected 2025–26 opening.
The number of incentivized carpool parking spots has more than doubled for the upcoming season alongside a new incentive program to motivate guests and employees to carpool or utilize the Ski Bus. Frequent riders will be entered into holiday and weekend giveaways.
Once skiers and snowboarders arrive and head for the snow they will notice 18 new snowmaking guns around the base area and on the mountain. Snowmaking will be ramped up in high-traffic areas, especially lower on the mountain, to help build a healthy base and allow Snowbird to operate later into the spring.
Sundance Mountain Resort Upgrades
Sundance Mountain Resort is mid-act on its ambitious and multi-year plan to improve the resort experience, atmosphere and amenities for locals and visitors alike. Divvied up into Act 1 and Act 2, Sundance has completed projects within the Act 1 phase and looks forward to further delighting its guests with the exciting projects in Act 2.
In the summer of 2023, Parking Lots D & E were expanded to add 88 new parking spaces. In the summer of 2024, 110 more spaces were added to Lot E to better serve Sundance's guests on holidays and weekends.
The Springs, a highly anticipated relaxation area at Sundance is now fully complete and operational. The Springs encompasses two hot tubs and one large, warm spa pool in addition to outdoor showers, a sauna and a firepit. Centrally located and near the resort's lodging rooms, this sanctuary is meant to celebrate slowing down at Sundance in any season with gorgeous views of Mount Timpanogos.
In late 2024, the Mountain Camp Day Lodge will open its doors to skiers and snowboarders. This comfy day lodge will be positioned next to Jake's Lift and the improved parking lots. It will house lockers, a ticket office, the ski school's HQ, food and drinks, gear rentals, ski patrol, and room to rest or dine. In addition to a road realignment to eliminate skiers crossing the road, there will be a new beginner trail from Jake's Lift to the upper parking lots.
Late 2024 will also see renovations and updates to Sundance's Cottages. Half of the cottages in the resort rental pool have been updated with new appliances, countertops, window dressings, furnishings and more. The design and decor updates uphold the rustic and romantic feel that makes staying at Sundance so special.Construction on the new Inn at Sundance is underway with an anticipated opening in 2025. As the flagship project of Act 2, this 63-room hotel in the base village will greatly expand Sundance's lodging options and offer ADA access. The design is modern, yet rugged and will encompass two buildings to avoid squandering the beautiful mountain views that Sundance is known for. Guests can gather and mingle in a cozy "Living Room" lounge and store their gear in the "Mud Room." A wrap-around porch deck delivers stunning mountain views and ski-in/ski-out convenience.
Looking further into the future in 2026, Sundance eyes a terrain expansion and a new high-speed chairlift. Stay tuned...
Woodward Park City Upgrades
Woodward Park City aims to shepherd the next generation of local rippers with expanded programming to foster lifelong action sport lovers. Multi-week programs will be offered to local residents with a focus on skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, scooter, parkour and mountain biking for children as young as three.
