Industry News
In another blow to Park City Mountain’s efforts to improve lift infrastructure, the Utah Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a citizen’s appeal to prevent the upgrades of two major lifts on the Mountain Village side of the resort, seemingly ending what has been a years-long struggle. It has been over three years since Park City Mountain applied for approval to upgrade two existing lifts: the Silverlode Express from a six-pack to eight-pack lift, as well as Eagle to a six-person high-speed lift with a mid-station. This has been part of an ongoing struggle between Vail Resorts, Park City Mountain, and the local community.
In April 2022, a former planning director approved the lift upgrades, but a citizen’s group challenged the infrastructure improvement, expressing concerns regarding the comfortable carrying capacity, or CCC. This refers to the number of skiers and riders that can be on the mountain at one specific time without overcrowding or burdening the resort infrastructure. These proposed lift upgrades would increase uphill carrying capacity, which has the potential to create a crowded experience for downhill travelers. Furthermore, the citizen group expressed concerns that upgrading the lifts would add visitors to the mountain, increasing traffic congestion and overcrowding in parking lots, which is already problematic.
Just this week, the Utah Court of Appeals agreed that the two lift upgrades were not aligned with the resort’s 1998 development agreement. This means the project cannot be completed until the 1998 development plan is adjusted to allow for these upgrades. The development plan, put in place twenty-seven years ago, is holding up a large portion of Park City Mountain’s aging infrastructure. Vail Resorts, as owners of Park City Mountain, have struggled winning approval for a variety of infrastructure projects, including for these two lifts, the Sunrise Gondola, and also the Town Lift upgrade. There was even a chance the Town Lift would cease running this season. Vail’s ownership of Park City Mountain has been subject to controversy recently after a disastrous 2024 Christmas holiday week when a ski patrol strike led to absurd chairlift wait times for guests and ultimately resulted in a class action lawsuit.
Park City Mountain released a statement credited to Vice President Deirdra Walsh in response to the Court’s decision:
“We are disappointed by today’s decision, especially after we initially received approval for these lifts after months of work with city staff and community input. We successfully implemented the 2022 parking plan, which, as we expected, has resulted in significant improvements to the arrival and departure experience at the resort.”
This statement shows support of Park City Mountain trying to improve the experience for thousands of guests the mountain sees per year. Vail plans to re-submit these proposed upgrades and re-build its relationship with the community.
In May, Cloudflare CEO and Park City Resident Matthew Prince bought the Town Lift Plaza, saving the historic Town Lift from shutting down. Prince also offered to purchase Park City Mountain. Vail Resort’s CEO Rob Katz quickly declined the offer saying, “We don’t think that that ultimately is in the right long-term interest of our company, especially a resort like Park City is critical to our overall company.” Since then, Prince has continued trying to push Vail investors towards change at the company.
Ideally, Park City and the Town Council can work together to provide the best experience for skiers, riders, residents, and vacationers alike. A quick resolution to these conflicts would be in the best interest of all parties involved. For now, Park City Mountain’s skiers and snowboarders hold hope that Vail Resorts and the local community can develop a mutually beneficial plan that includes an improved experience both on and off the mountain.
