by Gina Bégin

Snowbird, UT – Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort resumed winter activities Saturday, the third Utah resort to do so in as many days. This weekend’s lift tickets grant access to limited terrain off the Chickadee and Gadzoom chairs as well as the Aerial Tram from the summit.nOpening a full week earlier than expected, Saturday’s debut gave skiers a taste of what the resort has to offer. With the Tram running, guests were able to experience a healthy portion of Snowbird’s vertical drop of 3,240 feet as well as step into some of the powder for which Utah is famous.

Lindsey Phillips of Salt Lake City, Utah, headed to a “secret spot” along a closure rope to get into some softer snow. Describing it as her favorite run of the day, she smiled and said, “There was a lot of powder, which I didn’t expect.”

Tom Rolleczek, also of Salt Lake City and current top competitor in Canyons’ Ultimate Mountain Gig contest, explained how unexpected the lack of crowds were.

“I thought it was gonna be a madhouse; maybe get a run or two in. Got up here and walked right onto the Tram,” Rolleczek said. “It feels like the last day of skiing in spring… so mellow up here, everyone’s just chillin’.”

Jeff Berman of Salt Lake City has a tradition of skiing Snowbird’s opening day and found this one to be particularly good. Pleased by the lack of crowds, Berman accredited it to the cloudy skies.

“I think if it was bluebird conditions it’d be way more crowded,” Berman said. When asked if the weather had given him any hesitation he quickly added, “I was gonna ski no matter what. I’d be here even if it was raining.”

For some, traveling to Snowbird on opening day required going the extra mile. Nowell Pawliw and Terry Diamond, both of Sun Valley, Idaho and employees of Scott Goggles weren’t willing to wait until Thanksgiving day for the opening of their home resort. While working at 3 p.m Friday, the two heard the news of Snowbird’s opening and an hour later were on their way to Utah to hit the slopes the next day.

“Conditions were great for opening day. We were expecting only groomers but we got some stuff in the trees. You always want more but for opening day it exceeded expectations,” said Pawliw.

Enthusiastic about their first trip to Snowbird, Diamond explained, “We just wanted to come check it out, get our bearings and then come back up later this season.”

When asked if that was still the plan, the two nodded in agreement. “We’ll definitely be back,” said Pawliw.

Snowbird, which along with nearby Brighton and Solitude is one of three Utah ski areas now open for the season, will continue to operate daily this week with the Aerial Tram and Chickadee only Monday through Thursday before Gadzoom is added to the open lift count again beginning Friday. Skier services are available at Snowbird Center, with food and beverage service as well as ticket sales at Creekside coming back online on Friday as well.