Utah Ski Vacations

Ski Utah reported that the 2007-2008 ski season added $1 Billion to the Utah Economy. This figure includes residents and non-residents and related purchases like food, apparel and entertainment. According to Ski Utah, over 4,258,000 skier and snowboarders visited Utah's resorts last year, that's another record breaking year for skiing in Utah.

Thanks to all of you who skied Utah last year. You help keep over 18,000 people involved in Utah's ski industry employed. Never skied in Utah? Why not visit next year? And help make 2008-2009 another record breaking year.

If you're headed for Utah on next Ski Vacation, here's some local insight into where to find discounted lift tickets. Generally you save $5 to $10 bucks off the full day ticket price on the mountain, and you can head right to the slopes and avoid the lines at the resorts. You may want to "Google" the names of the stores below to find the location of a store nearest to where you are staying.

Local Grocery Stores
Smith's and Harmon's stores offer discounted ski lift tickets. There is a Smith's located in Park City at Kimble Junction. There are a number of Smith's and Harmon's stores in the Salt Lake Valley. If you're stopping to pick-up groceries, take a minute and visit the customer service desk and get the prices for lift tickets.

Ski Shops

For those of you who have visited Utah on a ski vacation, you know the liquor laws are difficult to understand, and may hamper you apres ski activities. Those quirky laws may soon be a joke of the past. Utah regulators are looking to make your ski vacation a little less stressful.

There's legislation on the table to do away with the "Private Clubs". For those unfamiliar, a private club requires you to purchase a "membership" prior to entering. The "membership" term is really just another word for cover charge, but it confuses and annoys everyone, visitors and locals. We all hope the private clubs are a thing of the past. The membership turns away business, and gives vacationers something negative to tell their friends about when they get home. When I ask people what they think of skiing in Utah, the most common response is, "Love the Powder, BUT the liquor laws are weird."

Now that the snow has melted, Park City Mountain Resort is working on a number of improvements to the resort infrastructure. These projects are scheduled to be completed for the 2008-2009 Ski Season:

* A NEW high-speed detachable lift that will greatly improve access out of the Resort's base area. The new lift, replacing and realigning the current Ski Team lift, will take guests from the Resort's base area to the top of Crescent Ridge.

* Terrain enhancements to improve the skiing/riding experience on the mountain, including a new run and expanded snowmaking.

* Renovation of the Mid-Mountain Lodge.

Snowbird is now allowing scooters and mountain bikes access to the tram. You still need to pay for a tram ride and/or rent a mountain bike or scooter (if you don't have one). The mountain bike trails at Snowbird are steep and challenging, just like the skiing/riding. If you're just getting started don't worry, they have bike trails for all ability levels.

Visit www.snowbird.com/events/summeractivities/mtnbiking.html for more information.