By ALLISON POND
allison@newsroom.byu.edu
Lack of snow may have slowed skiers down, but local ski resorts aren't holding back this season.
The Utah ski industry has sunk $50 million into improvements for the 1999/2000 season in an attempt to compete with other states and prepare for the 2002 Olympics.
As part of a recent trend toward expansion in the Utah ski industry, extensive areas of new terrain are opening at several resorts.
With its new terrain, The Canyons will offer more trails than any resort in Utah, making it one of the largest ski and snowboard areas in the country with 3,300 acres, according to Kim Peterson of The Canyons. Peak Five, an area previously accessible only by backcountry hiking, will open with a lift for skiers this season to add 300 acres of terrain.
'Peak Five will primarily offer tree skiing. Some people like to weave in and out of the trees, and Peak Five has access to some of the best tree-skiing in Utah. As our president said, it's all about skiing through the forest,' Peterson said.
Snowbird has also increased its skiing/riding terrain by 25 percent with the addition of Mineral Basin, a bowl that for the past two years has been limited to snowcat tours.
'It looks like someone took a big empty cereal bowl and covered it with milk,' said Kristine Fish, communications assistant for Snowbird.
'It's 500 acres. It's mostly tree lift terrain, with barely any trees. It's just a big huge powder bowl,' she said.
Fish also said that the bowl is beginner-friendly, offering not just runs for expert or intermediate skiers, but for beginners as well.
Although the bowl was scheduled to open Nov. 20, Snowbird, like other Utah resorts, suffers from lack of snow, and Mineral Basin remains untouched so far this year. Fish said that the bowl would open as soon as there is enough snow to cover its rugged rocks and make it safer for skiers and boarders.
To give Mother Nature a hand, several Utah resorts use snowmaking machines. Sundance, for example, decided this year to introduce a snowmaking system to cover 20 percent of their terrain and guarantee an earlier opening, according to Ski Utah's Web site at www.skiutah.com.
The Web site reports other resorts making significant additions, including Deer Valley with three new chairlifts and three new ski runs, as well as a new day lodge and a 'family area.'
Park City Mountain Resort invested $9 million in improvements last year, including a fourth high speed six-passenger lift. This year the resort will put up $12 million more for projects including a new Legacy Lodge at the base of the mountain and a new lift accessed tubing park called Gorgoza Park.
The extensive remodeling and expansion projects are not necessarily in direct preparation for the 2002 Winter Olympics, said Nathan Rafferty, director of communications for Ski Utah.
'It's an indirect association. Even areas like The Canyons that aren't hosting any Olympic events are making improvements because they know that there will be media exposure come 2002,' he said.
Rafferty said that other reasons for expansion include Utah's growing popularity as out-of-state skiers begin exploring places other than Colorado and California. Over the past several years, Utah has increasingly offered these tourists an improved infrastructure including new lifts, lodges, roads and parking lots, Rafferty said.
From the student perspective, improvements are welcome but other criteria influence decisions about where to ski. Three avid skier-students interviewed independently all came to the same conclusion.
'Alta. For college kids, it's got the best price, the best snow, the best terrain,' said Dan Lear, a sophomore from Salt Lake City majoring in social work.
Ryan Dittmar, a junior from Springville majoring in engineering, agreed.
'It's almost guaranteed that Snowbird or Alta is gonna be the best because they have the best snow. If you want to ski, Alta is definitely the best deal,' he said.
Dave Hoagland, a sophomore from Orem with an open major, also said that Alta is his favorite place to ski because of its runs and terrain, but that Sundance's location makes it more accessible.