Park City, UT – The Park City ski resorts of the Wasatch Back, including Park City Mountain Resort, Canyons Resort and Deer Valley Resort, have announced the 3rd annual Wasatch Backside Lifty Invitational (WBLI), running today through Friday.n“We created the WBLI in an effort to recognize the hard work of our lift operations teams,” said Jeff Marzka, lift operations manager at Park City Mountain Resort. “WBLI is a way for these team members to let loose, have some fun and gain recognition for all their hard work at the end of the season.”

The Wasatch Back Lifty Invitational consists of 12 events, four held at each resort. The event kicks off today at Park City Mountain Resort, with the Ski Boot Relay, Ski Pole Spin, Gear Return Relay and Snow Scoop Race. On Wednesday, the event moves to Deer Valley Resort where lift operations team members will compete in Clock Discus, Boot Toss, Stop Gate Javelin and Snow Scoop Heft. The finale of the event, held at Canyons Resort on Friday, includes Lost and Found Mound, Trash Can Fill, Maze Set-up and Tug-O-War. Each day the events will begin at 5:00 p.m.

“Lift Operations can really be a thankless job,” said Deirdre Riley, lift operations manager at The Canyons “All three resorts have great teams that work hard and play hard! What better way to focus all that energy then to challenge each other at the skills we use every day.”

Paul Hedman, lift operations manager at Deer Valley Resort, explains, “At this point in the season, we’re looking for ways to have fun and swap stories with our counterparts at other resorts. It really brings people together when they realize that we all have the same challenges and experiences regardless of where we work.”

Lift operations team members include lift operators, ticket scanners and maze coordinators. These team members are a crucial part of the day to day operations of a mountain resort. The events that make up the WBLI take skills perfected over the course of the season and allow the team members put a new spin on their daily duties.