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- Solitude Mountain Resort will open its Link lift on Friday for pass holders, launching the start of the ski season.
- Brian Head Resort celebrates its second-earliest opening on Friday.
- Other Utah resorts are preparing for openings after being aided by recent snowstorms.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's 2024-25 ski and snowboard season will officially begin this weekend with a race to be first after a flurry of storms over the past few weeks.
Solitude Mountain Resort will open its Link lift beginning on Friday, which will be available to Solitude and Ikon pass holders, resort officials said on Thursday. The "stoke event" includes access to a beginner run.
The lift will operate from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Conditions permitting, the resort will reopen with a large party on Nov. 15 that could include its Moonbeam Express lift also opening. The Big Cottonwood Canyon resort was initially slated to open on Nov. 22.
"We are excited to offer our locals a chance to get on snow this early in the season," said Amber Broadway, the resort's general manager, in a statement.
Thursday's announcement comes a day after Brian Head Resort officials said there was enough snow to open Navajo Mountain to skiers and snowboarders beginning Friday. Resort officials plan to hold a "first-chair celebration" at the resort's Navajo Express lift beginning at 10 a.m, marking the Iron County resort's second-earliest start in its 60-year history.
The Paradise, Strip, Freemont and Easy Time trails will be available to skiers and snowboarders, as well as access to lessons, rentals and food options at the Navajo Lodge.
Brian Head didn't receive much from an Election Day storm that passed through Utah, which overperformed in other parts of the state. However, resort officials said the area has received snow off and on since Oct. 18, allowing them to open on time. Weather conditions since then also aided snowmaking efforts at the resort, helping create an 8-inch base in time for opening day.
The resort's earliest opening date was Nov. 4, 2022.
Resorts like Solitude received a little bit of snow, but officials report that they've received 20 inches of snow this season, helping create a 7-inch base depth.
Other resorts in the state, still preparing for their opening days, received a welcomed bump on Tuesday. The storm wasn't expected to produce as much in the mountains as other storms this season, but ultimately delivered 8 inches of fresh powder at Snowbird Resort in Little Cottonwood Canyon. A National Weather Service station in Alta also received 8 inches of new snow on Tuesday, packing onto the more than 8 inches it received between Saturday and Monday.
Brighton Resort announced Thursday that it will now open on Nov. 14. Alta Ski Area will open on Nov. 22, along with Park City Mountain, according to Ski Utah. Snowbird is slated to open Nov. 28. Barring any changes over the next few weeks, Snowbasin Resort (Nov. 29) is the only other Utah resort planning to open this month.
Utah's 15 resorts brought in 6.75 million skier visits last season, a slight decrease from the record year before.
