It was a glorious, though too warm, spring morning today as the sun crested the Mount Sugarloaf shoulder and shone brightly down on the small crowd holding a memorial service for Snowbird’s own Chip Loring who passed away in 2020. Chip was a long-time instructor with the Mountain School and fervent collector of relics from within the canyon walls of Little Cottonwood. He’ll be missed by many. Inside the tunnel work continues as those of us who find rust and iron an interesting part of history remove items that previously cluttered the tunnel and relocate those that remain to form [...]

Canyon Blog had the honor and pleasure of assisting with the recrafting of Snowbird’s Peruvian tunnel over the past few months. The tunnel itself was created over two summers to connect the Little Cottonwood side of Snowbird resort with its expanded terrain in Mineral Basin, itself named for the rich mining history in the upper reaches of American Fork Canyon. The tunnel has almost become a destination of its own given the fascinating items and their stories. It was bored over two summers through 600 feet of solid rock at a cost of $1.4 million and takes four minutes to [...]

Welcome to '71 It may feel like a summer of change with social restrictions and reduced opportunities but at Snowbird activities remain open for a bit longer and the weather continues to facilitate immersion in the mountains. However, this month's blog is about the great indoors, specifically The Cliff Lodge's reinvented restaurant SeventyOne. Your correspondent had been meaning to stroll in and sample its board of fare for some time and Labor Day weekend provided just the opportunity. The first thing you’ll notice, indeed is unavoidable, is the décor. Drawing on the restaurant’s name of SeventyOne, the year Snowbird opened [...]

It’s still spring and there’s still snow (if you want it that is). Unbelievably, the mountains delivered another foot of fresh last week, thus extending the white just a little bit closer to summer’s official start. Your correspondent continues to make tracks here and there across Alta and Snowbird, the latter having opened uphill travel a few weeks ago. Right now the mountain is the perfect mix of a little skiing here or there and trail hiking. It remains important to keep safe from a health standpoint and Canyon Services is here to help by providing private accommodations in the [...]

Canyon Blog spent an afternoon chatting with Alta safety director Dave Richards in his office. During the lull in skiing that’s struck the nation there was time to be shared. In a canyon populated by transplants, Dave’s the rare local born and bred, not just in Utah but the canyon itself. He grew up at Alta where his dad was a ski patroller for three decades and his mother an employee at The Rustler lodge. He was a pro skier for a time in his youth before working as a heli skiing guide until he eventually found himself skiing his [...]

Well, it’s happened. So much snow we had to shut the canyon and both Snowbird and Alta for two days. Snowbird has recorded a whopping 409” so far with Alta right behind (It’s still a mystery to your correspondent how the down canyon resort ends up with greater snowfall, but no matter) and skiable bases of over 12 feet. Forty-eight hours of snowfall delivered 34 inches of white. For the past two days those of us in the canyon haven’t moved, and that’s a literal interpretation. Safety officials, in conjunction with both resorts, maintained a strict interlodge for Thursday and [...]