Skiers and snowboarders anxious to get the 2024-25 ski season underway probably knew Brian Head Resort planned to open Friday. But now another Utah resort is joining in the fun.
Solitude Mountain Resort announced Thursday that it would also open for the season Friday. It is the first resort in the Wasatch Mountains to declare it will open and its 9 a.m. start time technically could make it the first to open in the state. Brian Head plans to open at 10 a.m.
Solitude and Ikon season passholders will be able to take turns on Solitude’s Easy Street run off the Link lift starting at 9 a.m. Eight terrain park features will also be available on the run, according to a news release.
The resort plans to continue operations from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and will sell $25 lift tickets for those days. Those presenting a military identification and their dependents can ski free Sunday. Parking is free and no reservations will be required throughout the weekend. Solitude will then close and reopen Nov. 15. Conditions permitting, it will also open Moonbeam Express at that time.
(Brian Head Resort) A snowboarder carves turns under a chairlift at Brian Head Resort near Cedar City. Brian Head has set its tentative opening date as Nov. 8, which would be its second earliest on record.
Meanwhile, after Brian Head revs up its Navajo Express lift Friday, it plans to remain open through May 4. This season will mark the second-earliest opener in the Cedar City-area resort’s history. Its earliest was a Nov. 4 opening in 2022.
The resort plans to offer top-to-bottom skiing on four trails on Navajo Mountain: Paradise, the Strip, Fremont and Easy Time. Brian Head uses flex pricing, but as of Thursday lift tickets ranged from $54-$61 per day for the opening weekend. Kids 12 and under ski and ride free all season.
Brighton Resort, which has developed a friendly rivalry with Solitude over which will be the first to open each season, won’t try to one-up its Big Cottonwood neighbor this time around. It will instead open Nov. 14, according to a press release. At that time, Brighton plans to run both its Majestic and Explorer lifts. Discount lift tickets can be purchased online. Parking reservations will not be required until Dec. 1.
