My first post here - been lurking for awhile and respect alot of posters on the board. Following is an entry I made in a blog of mine more than 2 years ago - still relevant though details have changed a little. I realize a fully-realized central Wasatch interconnect may not be the best idea and may not ever happen, but it was fun to dream. Curious if anyone has any comments...
Here it is:
My thoughts/predictions on the future of the Wasatch interconnect ski circus (7/23/2003):
1) The next step will be the formal SolBright connection. This will include a new lift and a ski pass sharing solution (not sure how they'll do this with Solitude's e-pass). I believe this must happen as Solitude/Brighton need the exposure and combined firepower to stay competitive. Combined they'll have major resort stats: 2100+ acres, 2500'+ combined vertical, 16+ lifts, Solitude village bed-base/restaurants/bars, region's best night skiing.
2) I'm curious to see what will happen with Alta's Grizzly Gulch expansion. Cat-guided tours seem to always lead to lift expansion (the only question would be the south-facing terrain, but Snowbird's Mineral Basin already half faces South)... With the Gulch lift served, the next obvious connection would be Alta/Brighton through the Lakes District. As such, the combined 4 CC resorts would have: 7000+ acres, 3240' vertical, 35+ lifts. This would be the first true ski circus in North America. It would provide arguably the best advanced terrrain pod (with the undisputed best snow conditions) in the whole world, the obvious competitor being Whistler in North America. The drawbacks would be very limited beds and nightlife, though Salt Lake could provide both (though it would never provide the ski village type atmosphere).
3) The Deer Valley/Park City interconnect would be possible anytime. The only roadblocks would be DV trying to protect their image/their skier-only insistence/and their skier-number restrictions. I also believe this will happen because the positives of media exposure and actual skiing possibilities outweigh the negative. Namely, I believe DV will soon allow snowboarding simply because families will insist upon it. Also, their restaurants and skier-number restrictions will handle the increased traffic since the price of the interconnect ticket will be prohibitive and the actual # of people taking advantage of the interconnect will be relatively small. Finally, the Bonanza Flats/Flagstaff expansions at DV will ensure interconnection, as the proposed gondola connecting PC downtown with DV and PC resort will guarantee skier access. Combined, the DV/PC/Bonanza/Flagstaff interconnect would have: 5700+ acres, 3300' vertical, and 35+ lifts. It's prime purpose would be to provide direct competition to Vail (more acreage, similar vert, similar lift capacity, ski town).
4) The Canyons/PC interconnect is easily possible with lift access into White Pine Canyon (either by PC or the Canyons). This will be intriguing just based on The Canyons questionable economic status. Either PC or The Canyons parent company will have to bite the bullet - it would be a huge win for the Canyons IMHO as it would give the resort direct access to the PC bed-base and PC marketing machine. This would be huge in terms of acreage. Combined Canyons/PC would offer: acreage approaching 8000+ (depending on how much White Pine was developed), vertical around 3200', and 35+ lifts. All together, the PC group would offer by far the greatest skiing acreage in the U.S. (potentially over 10000 acres served by 50+ lifts). Size would nearly double Vail and would be quite a bit bigger than Whistler (which will always be king in vertical). The picture of a combined resort spreading across the entire Eastern Wasatch ridge would be impressive (especially from a tourist's point of view).
5) The most questionable connection is between BCC and the Park City Group. I'd imagine this would be last but would likely be inevitable if all the above came true. I'm not sure how the lift connection would be placed (Guardsman pass to Brighton or the current route used by the interconnect tour to Solitude)?
6) Snowbird still has some potential room for expansion (seemingly much more so than any other CC resort). This is hotly contested, but Snowbird could a) build a lift to the top of American Fork Twin Peaks (increasing continuous vert to 3700'), b) expand to Scotties Bowl (adding ~400 acres), and c) expand to White Pine (adding 1000+ acres plus potential vertical increase based on lower base). Dick Bass is very persistent and if anyone could do it... I have mixed feelings on Snowbird expansion, but basically these things won't get resolved until all the Central Wasatch is in a determined state, i.e. lift-served resort or Wilderness designation.
The above would provide the largest (and probably only possible) major ski circus in North America. The numbers would be astounding: 18000+ acres, 4300'+ overall vertical (6700' to 11000'), 3240' continuous vertical (Snowbird), 100+ lifts. Vertical would basically match anything in the U.S. (with really only Whistler obviously greater in NA). Acreage would be 3x Vail (5200 acres) and 2x Whistler (7300 acres). The lift numbers would be well beyond any resort in the U.S. The size and scope would be nearly equivalent to the biggest of the European circuses, though differentiated by the typical U.S./Euro resort comparisons. Namely: the U.S. doesn't have the vertical, the above-treeline alpine terrain, the rugged scenery, the ski villages, the tram/funicular lifts, and the 'social skiing' aspect that exist in Europe; Europe doesn't have the service, tree-skiing, grooming, organized lift-queues, friendly ski schools that exist in the U.S.
How will the interconnect evolve?
1) Tickets/ticket sharing is an obvious issue. Snowbird and Alta are currently figuring this out - how to share revenue, how to have a common pass, what price to charge, etc. If they can do it, it will be possible anywhere, since they're so radically different resorts.
2) Alta is an eventual lynchpin, as they do not allow boarding. This is a huge question. At some point, they will just have to break down and allow boarders. It will be a sad day, indeed.
3) The whole culture of circus skiing will have to evolve. Currently, I believe AltaBird skiers are basically the hardcore (season pass holders), and the curious wealthy destination skiers - not very large numbers. As time goes by and more resorts connect, the culture will evolve. You could wake up at the Canyons, hit the PC terrain parks, have lunch at DV, and end the day via shuttle back to the Canyons. To me, SolBright is an obvious winner, with a bed-base in Solitude and all the available terrain between the 2 resorts. The ultimate would be a courier service that would transport your luggage from resort to resort (this may be far-fetched), so you could spend your nights in different areas. I think this would be a huge winner for the destination ski clubs/groups.
4) The infrastructure of circus skiing will have to be built. Note, though, that it's pretty much all there, with free and frequent shuttles between the PC resorts, and the UTA service between the CC resorts. A more robust shuttle service will be required between the CC resorts and PC (and likely SLC), though UTA is the obvious solution.
5) Utah skier-numbers will likely increase (or have to increase to support such an interconnect). Currently around 3 million per year, my guess is that the numbers would have to increase to 4M/yr to support Utah resorts. The Canyons and Snowbasin obviously require higher usage to survive. Solitude is under-utilized, as well. These are still way below Colorado numbers (Vail itself sees over 1.5M skiers per year, the same as all 3 PC resorts together). Likely, overall skier days in the country will not increase much, so Utah will have to steal from other destination areas (i.e. Colorado). In any case, Utah will always be much less crowded than Colorado, the Northeast, or California (this is a good thing).
Here it is:
My thoughts/predictions on the future of the Wasatch interconnect ski circus (7/23/2003):
1) The next step will be the formal SolBright connection. This will include a new lift and a ski pass sharing solution (not sure how they'll do this with Solitude's e-pass). I believe this must happen as Solitude/Brighton need the exposure and combined firepower to stay competitive. Combined they'll have major resort stats: 2100+ acres, 2500'+ combined vertical, 16+ lifts, Solitude village bed-base/restaurants/bars, region's best night skiing.
2) I'm curious to see what will happen with Alta's Grizzly Gulch expansion. Cat-guided tours seem to always lead to lift expansion (the only question would be the south-facing terrain, but Snowbird's Mineral Basin already half faces South)... With the Gulch lift served, the next obvious connection would be Alta/Brighton through the Lakes District. As such, the combined 4 CC resorts would have: 7000+ acres, 3240' vertical, 35+ lifts. This would be the first true ski circus in North America. It would provide arguably the best advanced terrrain pod (with the undisputed best snow conditions) in the whole world, the obvious competitor being Whistler in North America. The drawbacks would be very limited beds and nightlife, though Salt Lake could provide both (though it would never provide the ski village type atmosphere).
3) The Deer Valley/Park City interconnect would be possible anytime. The only roadblocks would be DV trying to protect their image/their skier-only insistence/and their skier-number restrictions. I also believe this will happen because the positives of media exposure and actual skiing possibilities outweigh the negative. Namely, I believe DV will soon allow snowboarding simply because families will insist upon it. Also, their restaurants and skier-number restrictions will handle the increased traffic since the price of the interconnect ticket will be prohibitive and the actual # of people taking advantage of the interconnect will be relatively small. Finally, the Bonanza Flats/Flagstaff expansions at DV will ensure interconnection, as the proposed gondola connecting PC downtown with DV and PC resort will guarantee skier access. Combined, the DV/PC/Bonanza/Flagstaff interconnect would have: 5700+ acres, 3300' vertical, and 35+ lifts. It's prime purpose would be to provide direct competition to Vail (more acreage, similar vert, similar lift capacity, ski town).
4) The Canyons/PC interconnect is easily possible with lift access into White Pine Canyon (either by PC or the Canyons). This will be intriguing just based on The Canyons questionable economic status. Either PC or The Canyons parent company will have to bite the bullet - it would be a huge win for the Canyons IMHO as it would give the resort direct access to the PC bed-base and PC marketing machine. This would be huge in terms of acreage. Combined Canyons/PC would offer: acreage approaching 8000+ (depending on how much White Pine was developed), vertical around 3200', and 35+ lifts. All together, the PC group would offer by far the greatest skiing acreage in the U.S. (potentially over 10000 acres served by 50+ lifts). Size would nearly double Vail and would be quite a bit bigger than Whistler (which will always be king in vertical). The picture of a combined resort spreading across the entire Eastern Wasatch ridge would be impressive (especially from a tourist's point of view).
5) The most questionable connection is between BCC and the Park City Group. I'd imagine this would be last but would likely be inevitable if all the above came true. I'm not sure how the lift connection would be placed (Guardsman pass to Brighton or the current route used by the interconnect tour to Solitude)?
6) Snowbird still has some potential room for expansion (seemingly much more so than any other CC resort). This is hotly contested, but Snowbird could a) build a lift to the top of American Fork Twin Peaks (increasing continuous vert to 3700'), b) expand to Scotties Bowl (adding ~400 acres), and c) expand to White Pine (adding 1000+ acres plus potential vertical increase based on lower base). Dick Bass is very persistent and if anyone could do it... I have mixed feelings on Snowbird expansion, but basically these things won't get resolved until all the Central Wasatch is in a determined state, i.e. lift-served resort or Wilderness designation.
The above would provide the largest (and probably only possible) major ski circus in North America. The numbers would be astounding: 18000+ acres, 4300'+ overall vertical (6700' to 11000'), 3240' continuous vertical (Snowbird), 100+ lifts. Vertical would basically match anything in the U.S. (with really only Whistler obviously greater in NA). Acreage would be 3x Vail (5200 acres) and 2x Whistler (7300 acres). The lift numbers would be well beyond any resort in the U.S. The size and scope would be nearly equivalent to the biggest of the European circuses, though differentiated by the typical U.S./Euro resort comparisons. Namely: the U.S. doesn't have the vertical, the above-treeline alpine terrain, the rugged scenery, the ski villages, the tram/funicular lifts, and the 'social skiing' aspect that exist in Europe; Europe doesn't have the service, tree-skiing, grooming, organized lift-queues, friendly ski schools that exist in the U.S.
How will the interconnect evolve?
1) Tickets/ticket sharing is an obvious issue. Snowbird and Alta are currently figuring this out - how to share revenue, how to have a common pass, what price to charge, etc. If they can do it, it will be possible anywhere, since they're so radically different resorts.
2) Alta is an eventual lynchpin, as they do not allow boarding. This is a huge question. At some point, they will just have to break down and allow boarders. It will be a sad day, indeed.
3) The whole culture of circus skiing will have to evolve. Currently, I believe AltaBird skiers are basically the hardcore (season pass holders), and the curious wealthy destination skiers - not very large numbers. As time goes by and more resorts connect, the culture will evolve. You could wake up at the Canyons, hit the PC terrain parks, have lunch at DV, and end the day via shuttle back to the Canyons. To me, SolBright is an obvious winner, with a bed-base in Solitude and all the available terrain between the 2 resorts. The ultimate would be a courier service that would transport your luggage from resort to resort (this may be far-fetched), so you could spend your nights in different areas. I think this would be a huge winner for the destination ski clubs/groups.
4) The infrastructure of circus skiing will have to be built. Note, though, that it's pretty much all there, with free and frequent shuttles between the PC resorts, and the UTA service between the CC resorts. A more robust shuttle service will be required between the CC resorts and PC (and likely SLC), though UTA is the obvious solution.
5) Utah skier-numbers will likely increase (or have to increase to support such an interconnect). Currently around 3 million per year, my guess is that the numbers would have to increase to 4M/yr to support Utah resorts. The Canyons and Snowbasin obviously require higher usage to survive. Solitude is under-utilized, as well. These are still way below Colorado numbers (Vail itself sees over 1.5M skiers per year, the same as all 3 PC resorts together). Likely, overall skier days in the country will not increase much, so Utah will have to steal from other destination areas (i.e. Colorado). In any case, Utah will always be much less crowded than Colorado, the Northeast, or California (this is a good thing).
