A Utah ski resort is making some of its lifts private. Here’s where you can and can’t go

The first American ski resort to combine public terrain with private lifts is finally showing the world just what that looks like.

Powder Mountain on Tuesday revealed its new ski map for the 2024-25 season. The map includes the Eden-area resort’s expanded public terrain, including one new lift and two upgraded ones. However, two previously public lifts and one new one that can only be accessed by Powder Mountain landowners and their guests can also be found on the map.

The mixing of private and public lifts was part of Netflix founder Reed Hastings’ vision when he took over Powder in 2023. Hastings said at the time that he believed that with 12,000 total acres on the mountain, enough room existed for both.

Instead of separating them out, though, both are included on the map. That’s likely because, as Hastings previously told The Salt Lake Tribune, the terrain in the private areas isn’t off-limits to public skiers and snowboarders. Only the lifts are.

“This is the first season we debut operations for our public/private blended model, which will continue to financially support upgrades to the public resort for years to come,” Hastings said in a statement. “These improvements embrace and enhance what’s always made Powder special: incredible natural terrain and an ethos that prioritizes the sense of wonder that uncrowded places like Powder provide.”

Getting into and out of the private terrain without lift access will require some serious effort.

The new private lift, a fixed-grip quad dubbed Raintree, provides a direct connection to the east side of Cobabe Canyon. The canyon can also be reached via a combination of the Village Lift and Mary’s Lift, which were once public but are now private. For most of the public, though, the east side of Cobabe Canyon — which consists mostly of short, intermediate runs but includes a popular route to an old school bus — will be inaccessible without skinning or hiking into the terrain.

A more promising picture for PowMow regulars can be found on the right side of the new map, where one new lift, two upgraded ones and 900 acres of newly lift-accessed terrain have been added. The new lift is Lightning Ridge, a fixed-grip quad that stretches into the expert runs streaming off of the ridge by the same name under Cobabe Peak. Paradise, one of the upgraded lifts, is now a high-speed quad that will decrease travel time from the bottom of the upside-down resort to mostly expert mid-mountain terrain. The other upgraded lift is Timberline. Once one of the oldest lifts in the state, it is now a fixed-grip quad.

With the additions, Powder Mountain can boast nearly 8,500 acres of skiable terrain. Its 4,200 acres of lift-accessed terrain are second in the U.S. only to Utah’s Park City Mountain (7,300 acres).

“We’re looking to make an immediate impact, and improving lift infrastructure was an opportune place to start,” a statement from Hastings said. “We view the new lifts as the foundation on which we’re building the next chapter of Powder.”

Powder has other changes in store before it closes this chapter, according to a news release. Among them is the return of terrain parks, which haven’t been a part of Powder’s layout since 2020. A beginner-oriented one will be located on the Confidence Run near Sundown Lodge and a more advanced one will be built under the Hidden Lake lift.

Backcountry tours are also on offer, as is a new ski team and a variety of art installations placed throughout the resort. Also new this season, Powder Mountain will not cap season pass or day-ticket sales and will charge for parking on weekends except for carpools of three passengers or more.

Powder has not yet set an opening date.