| Brighton Ski Resort | |
|---|---|
View from the resort |
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| Location | Salt Lake County, Utah, USA |
| Nearest city | Park City, Utah |
| Vertical | 1,750 feet (530 m) |
| Top elevation | 10,750 feet (3,280 m) |
| Base elevation | 8,755 feet (2,669 m) |
| Skiable area | 1050 acres (4.2 km²) |
| Runs | 66 total 21% beginner 40% intermediate 39% expert/advanced |
| Longest run | Olympic - 5.5 miles (8.9 km) |
| Lift system | 4 high-speed quads/1 attached-quad/1 triple |
| Terrain parks | 3 |
| Snowfall | 500 in/year (12.7 m/year) |
| Web site | www.brightonresort.com |
Brighton Ski Resort is a ski area located in Big Cottonwood Canyon, 30 miles (48 km) from downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. Brighton Ski Resort was the first ski resort in Utah, and one of the first in the United States. Brighton was started in 1936 when members of the Alpine Ski Club built a rope tow from wire and an old elevator motor. Brighton claims to be a "no-frills" resort whose sole business is to provide skiers and snowboarders with top-notch trails. While it does provide lodging, dining, and shopping, the extent of the facilities does not make Brighton what is typically seen as a destination ski resort. Most Brighton skiers and riders are Utah locals. Most visitors do not stay at Brighton-run lodging; many visitors stay in the greater Salt Lake area, many of who also plan trips to other area ski resorts.
Brighton is on public land; all of the resort's land is actually part of the Wasatch-Cache National Forest, meaning the whole resort is open to the public year-round, though tickets must be purchased to use the lifts.
Brighton is a local favorite. They offer a variety of special deals throughout the year that allow locals to ski for cheap. Generally, the first Wednesdays in December they have Quad Wednesdays where you bring something to contribute to a local charity and get your lift ticket for 1/4 the price.
Brighton has some of the most extensive night skiing in the West – with over 200 acres (0.81 km2), three lifts, and the main mountain terrain park. Night skiing is from 4 – 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday from early December through early April. Brighton is CLOSED for night skiing Christmas Eve, Christmas & New Year’s Eve.
The 2005-2006 Terrain Park starts out in “My-O-My” with 3 sets of 3 different sized jumps ranging from small to medium to large. To the far left are the large jumps, in the middle are the medium sized jumps, and to the right are the small jumps. A short ride after “My-O-My” is the “Candy Land” park Consisting of several boxes and rails with a few small jumps. A short ride through the trees gets you to the “Lower Majestic” terrain park, with 2 sets of 2 different sized jumps consisting of 2 sets of large jumps and 2 sets of medium sized jumps. Proceeding these sets of jumps is the half pipe which is 400 feet (120 m) long with 16 ft (4.9 m) high walls. To the right of the half pipe there is a variety of other boxes and rails. And towards the end of the terrain park is a wall ride with two small kickers on either side of the wall ride followed by a few other boxes and rails. The terrain park at Brighton changes on almost a weekly basis. Throughout the season, the terrain park crew will take down some features and reassemble new ones. The only features that are guaranteed to not be changed are the 3 sets of jumps on “My-o-My” , the two sets of jumps on “Big Bertha” and the half pipe.
The Disney Channel Original Movie, Johnny Tsunami, was filmed at Brighton Ski Resort.