Utah ski resorts offering backcountry-type opportunities
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah resorts still want skiers and snowboarders to come enjoy their groomed slopes and high-speed lifts this season, but they're also offering expanded options for people who want to get a taste of the backcountry without the risk of going alone.
New opportunities include a pair of new lifts at Powder Mountain Resort that open 5,000 acres of powder skiing through trees, and a new luxury cat-skiing operation at Whisper Ridge in northern Utah on 60,000 acres.
Utah ski resorts are hoping to repeat last year's banner season in which they parlayed good early-winter snow and buzz created by Vail Resort's new mega-resort into a 10-year high for visitors.
The terrain is ideal for beginner and intermediate skiers who want to practice powder and tree skiing, said J.P. Goulet, Powder Mountain spokesman.
The lifts and 6 miles of new roads connect the existing resort to the site where Powder Mountain's owners — a group of young, wealthy entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders and artists who purchased the resort in 2013 — are planning to build a New Age mountain town.
For skiers with plenty of money who are looking to get totally off the grid, Whisper Ridge Cat Skiing offers 60,000 acres of private terrain to carve through in the day and the option to spend nights at luxury yurts.
Ski Utah's long running "Interconnect Tour" has a developed a loyal group of customers who come back, but officials are hoping to entice skiers who may be among those tempted to ski more in backcountry terrain, Marshall said.