Development of Skiing in Utah

Skiing in Utah is a thriving industry which contributes greatly to the state’s economy. Skiing started off in the state as a recreational activity enjoyed by only a few, but since the 1930s, it has increasingly developed into a substantial industry, which creates thousands of jobs and brings in millions of dollars in revenue.

The ski industry adds much to Utah’s economy, in particular its tourist industry, which includes several year-round outdoor activities, such as hiking, trekking, mountain climbing, and mountain biking. Utah’s eight major ski resorts, Park City Mountain Resort, The Canyons, Deer Valley, Brighton, Solitude, Snowbird, Alta and Sundance, are located along the Wasatch Front in the north-central mountain range; however there are six others scattered throughout the state, Beaver Mountain, Brian Head, Eagle Point Ski Resort, Powder Mountain, Snowbasin and Wolf Creek.

History

Pre-war (1900 to 1930s)

In the early nineteenth century, skiing simply started off as a way for people to move from one point to another, especially, in snowy winter months with limited mobility. The first persons who used skis were trappers, miners and mountain dwellers.^[1] In mining towns such as Alta, which on average received five-hundred inches on snow per year, skis were an essential means of transportation.^[2]

As skiing developed, it became a popular recreational activity. All through the majestic Wasatch Range, ski clubs and trails were created, which attracted skiers, hikers, climbers. The Wasatch Mountain Club, founded by Charles T. Stoney in 1912, was the most successful of the first clubs. Skiing expeditions throughout the Wasatch mountains near Park City, Brighton, and Alta were organized and the first touring groups were established. During the late 1910s and 1920s, the Wasatch Mountain Club started to expand their touring groups which extended as far as Ogden.^[3]

During the 1920s, the ski touring industry continued to expand. Short trips lasting from two to four days were popular in the Brighton area. Early on, because of the sport's extreme nature, public opinion of skiing was portrayed it as a dangerous. Skis and warm-weather apparel were hand-made and provincial, and ski runs were minimally developed.^[3] Later, once equipment and apparel improved, the public opinion of skiing improved as well.^[2]

By the 1930s, the sport evolved and professional ski jump meets were organized. Becker Hill started hosting professional meets which attracted thousands of spectators. The attention of these events sparked the expansion of other ski areas, such as Rasmussen's Ranch in Parley's Canyon and Ecker Hill. In 1937, the National ski jumping championship was held at Ecker hill, after the Utah Ski Club and the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce raised thirty-five hundred dollars for the event. Between eight and nine thousand spectators attended the Championship. Even during the Great Depression, ski jump events drew thousands of spectators.^[3] The New Deal provided public work relief programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps Highways which constructed to highways to ski resorts, like Alta and Brighton. Also at this time, the first uphill tows were created. Through highways and new technologies, the ski industry expanded further and more jobs werecreated, which mitigated the effects of the Great Depression.^[2]

In 1938, the first ski lift was constructed by businessman Joe Quinney and his partners with the hopes that it would transform the ski industry in Utah.^[4] The first year the lift was also plagued with problems and only operated sporadically during the 1938 season. Ski lifts allowed beginners and experienced skiers, a like, to climb up and down resorts with ease.^[2] Other resorts such as Brighton, Snow Basin, and Cache Valley soon followed and added their own ski lifts. This era brought forth other great additions to skiing, for example, ski poles, adjustable bindings, sealskin climbers, ski wax, water-resistant clothing, and goggles.^[3]

Expansion and Tourism (1940s to 1970s)

In the 1940s, skiing in Utah expanded drastically. In 1914, only a few people skied and no modern-day resorts existed, but in 1940, it was recorded that over 190,000 had visited ski resorts in Utah. However, In 1941 we entered WWII and the demand for skiing decreased. The rationing of gasoline forced the curtailment of many recreational activities.^[5] Ski resorts were converted into training camps for paratroopers and specific rescue groups in the U.S. military.^[3]

However, all of the ski resorts were not converted into military camps; there were a few that were reserved for alpine skiing. Alpine skiing increased and popularity and more and more competitions were created. Alta started the famous Snow Cup tournament in 1940. Snowbasin hosted the US National downhill slalom and combined ski championships in 1947. The 1948 US Winter Olympic team included a large contingent of Utah skiers.^[6]

During the latter part of the war, winter recreation surged in popularity once again, and ski resorts were often at full capacity. Alta and Brighton alone received 44,000 during the 1944-45 winter season. That trend continued throughout the postwar-era since better ski technologies were desinged.^[3] After WWI, state officials promoted Utah's slopes more that ever.^[7] In 1945 the state produced the film Ski Aces, which promoted skiing in Utah. The film was shown to millions throughout the United States and was the first official advertising campaign.^[8] State government conducted research at this time which concluded that winter sports recreation brings in two and a half times more revenue than summer recreation.^[9] In the 1960s, the Utah Travel Council claimed that "Utah possesses some of the finest skiing terrain in the world." ^[10] The council made brochures about which resorts were the best and created labels such as "Romantic Alta" and "Beautiful Brighton." ^[11]

"Ski Utah"

D. James Cannon, known as Jim Cannon, first came up with the "Ski Utah!" brand. This branding caught on with skiing fans and boosted Utah's tourism industry. Shortly after, he coined the slogan "The Greatest Snow on Earth" which eventually was printed on Utah license plates in 1985. The Travel council advertised these ski slogans on many billboards all over the state. The Utah Travel Council also created advertisements at extreme sport conferences in Los Angeles, Oakland, Chicago, and New Jersey.^[12] The "Ski Utah!" brand captured over 4 percent of the ski market, and by the end of the century, it increased to 5.5 percent market.^[13] By 1972, tourism was ranked as the second largest industry in Utah and generated nearly $209 million per year for the state.^[14]

Utahn Inc.

To get more Utahns interested in the development of the tourist industry, Utahn Inc. was created, which consisted of the chamber of commerce, various hotels, transportation and touring companies, amusement parks, ski resorts, and park agencies. This organization was successful in promoting economic activity in the state. Utahns Inc. was also involved in developing Park City's Ski industry. In 1962, it helped the United Park City Mines company stay afloat and helped build the Treasure Mountain Ski resort. This park was eventually renamed as the Park City Mountain Resort.^[15]

The advertising eventually paid off; ski visits increased from 195,000 in 1960 to 649,000 in 1970.^[16]

Changing laws

Utah's culture, which has much of its history rooted in the Mormon religion, enacted Utah liquor laws that limited the availability of alcohol. Since Utah felt they needed to compete with Colorado's ski industry, so they decided to establish new liquor laws for the purpose of bringing more tourists. The new laws did what they were designed to do; they drew in more tourists.^[17] Utah ski promoters spent over $50 million on advertisements every year to compete with Colorado. In 1989, Utah ranked fourth in the Rocky Mountain region for attracting the most tourists to their state, right behind Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada).^[18]

Impact of the 2002 Olympics^[19]

The Olympics of 2002 in Utah led to an economic boom for its ski industry. Skier visits rose 42% from 2002-2011 including a 70% growth in out-of-state skiers from 2002-2011.^[20] Park City lodging also increased by 33%. Foreign and U.S. visitors grew from 17.3 million to 20.2 million (in 2010).^[21] Direct expenditures from skiers and snowboarders resulted in a 67% increase in revenue for Utah of $704 million in 2002-03 to $1.2 billion in 2010-11. The Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation also distributed over $120 million in sports related programs and operations at Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns and Utah Olympic Park near Park City.

Since hosting the 2002 Winter Games, Utah has hosted over 60 World Cup events as well as 7 world championships and numerous other sporting events.^[22] Following the Olympic games, Utah has become a training hub for 38 USA world-class athletes, including 13 athletes from the state. Dick Ebersol, Chairman of NBC Sports stated this in regards to the Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games: “Far and away, the most successful Olympics, summer or winter, in history.”^[23]

Current Developments

New Areas

In 2014, Vail purchased Park City Mountain Resort, and since then, they have already started a construction project to connect two big resorts together, Canyons and Park City. Vail Resorts created a $50 million improvement plan for the two resorts.^[24] The link between Park City and Canyons will be finished by the 2015/16 ski season and will include 7,300 acres for skiing and snowboarding. It will be the largest ski resort in the United States. Plans to improve the infrastructure of both resorts are in order, as well. Vail executives and other ski leaders in Utah have announced that this is just the beginning of a project called One Wasatch. This projects plans to team up with 7 Wasatch Range ski resorts just east of Salt Lake City: Alta, Brighton, Canyons, Deer Valley, Park City, Snowbird, and Solitude. Their objective is to create the largest network of ski resorts in North America with 100 lifts, 750 runs and 18,000 acres to explore. The cost of the project is estimated at $30 million for new lifts and improved infrastructure.^[25]

Climate Change

Climate change is a global problem, but it really hits the core of the ski industry. The changes in the snow and ice are some of the easiest impacts of climate change to see. There are significant differences that climate change has on resorts and that has to do with their infrastructures for snowmaking and the various climate models, emission scenarios, time horizons and scales of analysis used.^[26] Comparing records since 1999, the NRDC reported said the Utah had 14 percent fewer skiers in the low snow fall winters compared to heavy snowfall winters. It cost the state $87 million in revenue and 1,000 jobs were lost. Together the ski industry will lose 27,000 jobs and $1 billion in revenue due to decreasing snow.^[27]

Year-round Skiing

Despite decreasing snow levels, resorts are not shutting down for the summer. Resorts are investing a great deal to make their establishments year-round. Park City has grown in the last years with eight peaks, nine bowls and 3,700 acres. The resort has invested in summer activities, as well, which include miniature golfing, alpine slides, the alpine coaster, climbing walls for kids, zip-lines, and several hiking and biking trails.^[28]

Employment

Tourists from all over the world come to Utah. The Winter sports industry has proven to be an asset to Utah's economy. It attracts nonresidents and brings in new out-of-state dollars to the economy. In the latest RRC Associates survey on Skiing in Utah, they estimated skiers and snowboarders spent about $1.29 billion in the 2012/13 season. This was a 10% increase from the previous year. Of the $1.29 billion spent, $1.1 billion was spent by nonresident skiers and snowboarders. Based on data calculated by BEBR, the ski industry provided 18,419 direct, indirect and induced full- and part-time winter sports-related jobs during the month of February 2013.^[29] Many of the top winter sports events come to Utah because of the variety of world-class venues that were constructed for the 2002 Olympics are here. As a result, thousands of additional tourists travel here, which again creates hundreds of seasonal jobs for Utah's economy. Laura Shaw of the Utah Sports Commission, a non-profit organization created by the state to attract sporting events, estimates that winter sporting events brought in $27.3 million for the state in 2013.^[30] Events are held all over Utah including Park City, Salt Lake City, and Kerns.

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