Industry News
There are a select few resorts that offer night skiing in Utah, if riders are brave enough to fight against the frostbite. Brian Head, Brighton, and Sundance are some of the resorts where skiers and snowboarders can ride sometimes as late as nine at night. However, on December 6, 2024, Powder Mountain started its opening weekend at 4:00 pm for its night skiing operations—before its first full ski day.
Lift tickets for night skiing are back at $19 and will remain at that price for the remainder of the season. Compared to a resort like Brighton, whose night skiing lift tickets are currently running at $47 for an adult and begin its night skiing closer to mid-December, it may be a better value proposition, especially to locals in the greater Salt Lake City area. Currently, Powder Mountain has only one lift running with only 1% of its 8,000 acre terrain open for skiing. However, as the season progresses, Powder Mountain plans on running both its Sundown lift and Sun Tunnel surface lift from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Night skiing isn’t the only change Powder Mountain is making this year. To keep prices low and the resort uncrowded and still fully funded, Powder Mountain is now making the resort semi-private. Mary’s, Village, and Raintree lifts will be exclusive to Powder Haven members, the new real estate development that Powder Mountain is implementing this year and years to come. Not new to the skiing industry as a whole, but for some locals to the mountain, this means a loss of terrain and a new unwelcomed look for the resort. Resorts like Deer Valley operate with multiple luxury resident clubs like the Deer Crest Club and soon the East Village residents as well. They show that it can be done, but not without backlash.
On the opposite end, there is some good news for locals with season passes to Powder Mountain. For the entire month of February, the resort will be opened exclusively for pass holders to the mountain. Peak season brings in plenty of tourists to Utah looking for the world-renowned snow it has to offer, but not without consequence. For some local Utahns, who are consistently frustrated with tourism flooding the resorts and building up traffic in the canyons, the breathing room is welcomed. As is expected, there was a backlash from people wanting to visit over Presidents weekend in mid-February who are now forced to look for alternatives. Powder Mountain could potentially be using this February as a chance to model a potential members-only resort. If this year goes smoothly, it may open up opportunities to source its funding from private residency clubs and rely less on income from tourists.
Powder Mountain certainly is trying to play both roles. It wants to keep its reputation as a local mountain for its hardcore fans, but it proves difficult to fund a resort without outside funding from luxury real estate and privatizing part of the resort. The future of Powder Mountain is foggy as it is paving a new way forward for the resort. Only time will tell.
