Industry News
An ongoing legal dispute is threatening Iron Mountain and Timberline lifts at Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR), Utah, but the case is now heading to mediation. Representatives from Park City Mountain, Utah-based nonprofit UI Charitable Advisors, and The Colony Homeowners Association are scheduled to meet on October 22, with the litigation on pause in the meantime.
UI Charitable filed a civil lawsuit against VR CPC Holdings, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Vail Resorts, alleging that Vail is unlawfully operating ski lifts and related resort infrastructure on land owned by UI in The Colony at White Pine Canyon within Park City Mountain.
UI filed the complaint on February 6, claiming that the resort does not have approval to operate both lifts and the Cascade run. PCMR owner Vail Resorts does not own all of the land on the mountain. It leases some of it and operates some under various existing easements.
The current dispute centers on an easement originally granted to the American Ski Company in 2003. UI’s complaint claims that property maps filed in 2010 narrowed the easement to skiing and snowboarding and related trail use, rather than authorizing the construction and operation of ski lifts and associated infrastructure. UI also disputes whether the relevant rights were properly transferred to Vail.
At the end of 2024, UI purchased approximately 63 acres known as Parcel B. The property includes the land beneath the Timberline and Iron Mountain Express ski lifts, as well as the Cascade ski run, key components of PCMR’s lift network. The lifts were installed in 2008 and 2010, respectively, more than 14 years before UI acquired the property and before Vail acquired PCMR. The lifts are important connections between the Mountain Village and the Canyons sides of the resort.
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Vail Resorts has challenged the lawsuit and previously asked the court to dismiss the case. Vail maintains that existing agreements give the resort the right to operate the lifts and associated ski terrain, pointing to easement rights that predate Vail’s ownership of Park City Mountain. The plaintiff opposed Vail’s attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed.
The dispute has since moved toward mediation. Third District Judge Richard Mrazik initially presided over the case before it was reassigned to Judge Patricia Kuendig. The court allowed The Colony HOA to join the case as a defendant in July, with the neighborhood association arguing that the lifts are important to residents’ ski-in, ski-out access.
The litigation is now on pause while the parties attempt to reach an agreement through mediation. Representatives from Park City Mountain, UI Charitable Advisors, and The Colony HOA plan to meet on October 22. Following the meeting, the parties will update Judge Kuendig on the outcome of the negotiations and whether there is a need for litigation to continue.
If the lawsuit ultimately prevents the resort from operating the lifts, it could affect one of the key connections between the Canyons Base area and the Mountain Village side of Park City Mountain.
- Related: Epic Pass Holders File Class-Action Lawsuit Against Vail Resorts Over Park City, UT, Strike
Kinda like buying a house at the end of a runway, the complaining about the noise.
How much more ridiculous can you be? Buy property in a ski area that already has lifts and runs on it and then complain that they’re infringing on your property.