SALT LAKE CITY — Skiers and snowboarders normally dream of a powder day like Sunday after the latest winter storm dumped snow in the Wasatch Mountains, but those dreams were crushed after multiple resorts announced that they would be closed for the day.
Sundance Mountain Resort announced Sunday morning that it would not open because of "extreme mountain weather conditions." They cited both the amount of snow — 41 inches so far in the weekend — and the moisture level with the wet snow and rain mixed in. The recent snow brought eight inches of "water content," the resort said in the announcement, which rendered their grooming machines unable to create a "good and safe product on the mountain."
They said they expect to re-open Monday.
Both resorts in Little Cottonwood Canyon were also unable to open Sunday.
State Route 210, which runs from the bottom of the canyon in Sandy to its top at Alta Ski Area, was closed to all traffic Saturday night at 10 p.m. for the Utah Department of Transportation to perform avalanche mitigation. UDOT provided updates throughout Sunday morning that SR-210 was still closed, and announced shortly before noon that the road would remain closed for the rest of the day.
The complete road closure meant eager skiers and snowboarders coming from the Salt Lake Valley — many of whom waited in a long line of traffic, hoping for the canyon to re-open — would be unable to access the resorts.
But even those staying at Snowbird or Alta, who would not need to use the highway to reach the lifts, ended up disappointed. Snowbird announced around 11:30 a.m. that it would not open its lifts due to "widespread avalanche activity associated with the abnormally wet snow."
Alta announced the same shortly after, adding that they hope to "try again tomorrow," although UDOT said in its latest update around noon that they still did not know when SR-210 would be back open.
In addition, the Town of Alta was placed under "interlodge," which means residents, employees and lodge guests were required to stay inside during avalanche mitigation.
01/01 5:32 AM Delayed opening for SR210. No estimated opening at this time. The Town of Alta remains in interlodge.
— Alta Central (@AltaCentral) January 1, 2023
Other resorts throughout the state remained open, although many announced early on that their parking lots were completely full, and others had to delay the openings of certain lifts and areas due to avalanche mitigation.
