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RICHMOND — While the mountain around Cherry Peak Resort may not be completely white with snow, the main ski run is covered with the man-made stuff.
"I call it farming snow," operations director Dustin Hansen explained. "You're always moving snow around throughout when you've got these 50-degree temps. We're grateful we never really hit those Salt Lake City temps. We've been at least ahead of the game there."
Hansen spent much of Wednesday driving a snowcat, carefully grooming the mountainside. While this winter has been challenging, the resort is gearing up for Presidents Day weekend. He also holds hope that a predicted storm could bring some natural snow over the weekend.
"We're still not giving up," Hansen said smiling. "We're all out there, doing our snow dances every day, and I'm doing it all night long."
In addition to making snow, however, Hansen said he's employed some creative methods to draw new people to the resort, marketing a limited number of $99 annual ski passes to communities in Idaho and throughout Utah. The resort is also advertising events year-round including summer concerts.
More on the lack of snow:
Where’s the snow? How this year’s snowpack looks compared to 2017
Utah’s weather has been a far cry from last winter when the snowpack in the state’s basins well-exceeded the normal averages."We offer everything from concerts to haunted slopes, which is a spook walk," Hansen explained. "Rockstar Rail Jam series is one thing we've been kicking off this year."
Ultimately, Hansen said the resort is surviving. But he's still crossing his fingers for a late-season surprise.
"We're hoping there's a lot of winter left," he said.
