Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Beaver Mountain, the longest continuously family-owned ski resort in the U.S., celebrates 85 years.
- The Seeholzer family, who run the resort, emphasize its family atmosphere and natural snow reliance.
- Celebrations include a torch run, fireworks, and discounted passes, with future expansion plans underway.
GARDEN CITY, Cache County — The longest-running family-owned ski resort in the U.S. is now almost 85 years old. It's preparing for celebrations starting this weekend.
The resort is getting a nice dumping of snow just in time, and it keeps on coming down. For Utah's only resort to depend on natural snow, its managers say they've been lucky, and they've been blessed.
"We don't make snow," Beaver Mountain President Marge Seeholzer said. "So we just pray a lot."
Sometimes the place where you spend the most time starts to feel like home.
"The year we were married, it was the earliest all-time opening for Beaver," Seeholzer said.
Since that November 60 years ago, Seeholzer has been working at Beaver Mountain.
The adventure started when she married into the family business, and now, she and her son and daughter-in-law now run the resort together.
"People always say, 'why don't you retire?' And I don't want to retire. I love it here," Marge said.
Beaver Mountain Operations Travis Seeholzer practically grew up here. Now the Seeholzer family is celebrating a major milestone.
"I think I started driving a snowcat when I was 15 or 16," Travis said. "It's a little different upbringing, but it's a fun place to grow up and I think my kids have enjoyed that, too."
They're not sure of the exact date, but some time 85 years ago, Harold and Luella Seeholzer started a dream.
"When I saw what my in-laws did back then and the sacrifices they made," Marge said. "I think they would be pleasantly surprised if they saw the growth of it now and what it's done."
And looking forward to 86 comes a major expansion, with a new ticket office, ski shop, cafe, and more, hopefully set to open in time for next season.
Growth aside, the Seeholzers said the family feel is not going away anytime soon. Something that can be hard to find when corporate ski resorts seem to rule the business.
"We value that, and we kind of hang our hats on that," Travis said.
"I like it where you know the people and they know you," Marge said. "It's family to us."
There will be food and cake this Sunday night, and a torch run down the mountain with fireworks, starting around sunset. The Seeholzers will also celebrate with 20 dollar passes all day Tuesday.
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