When snow storms and weekends overlap in Utah’s mountains, chaos can ensue. Skiers and snowboarders need to be aware of slippery roads, avalanche mitigation and traction law enforcement. They’d also like to know how long it will take them to get to their favorite resort and whether parking will be available when they arrive.
For the past six years, the Utah Department of Transportation’s Cottonwood Canyons social media accounts have been providing visitors to the Wasatch Front resorts frequent updates with just such information.
Soon, those who ski in Park City will have easy access to updates about their roads, too.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Snowplows clear the road early in Big Cottonwood Canyon on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024.
UDOT announced Monday that it has created a Wasatch Back social media account, @udotwasatchback, and will begin posting updates around Jan. 22. The updates will be geared toward skiers and snowboarders and cover conditions and hazards on the four main routes to Deer Valley Resort and Park City Mountain. They include Interstate 80 through Parleys Canyon, U.S. Highway 40 between Silver Creek Junction and Mayflower, State Route 224 from Kimball Junction into Park City, and SR 248 from Quinns Junction into Park City.
Becky Parker, who last year stepped into UDOT’s newly created traveler information director role, said the agency has gotten demand for the service from numerous directions.
“It comes directly from the public,” she said, “and then our regional experts expressed a big desire as well.”
The @UDOTCottonwoodCanyons channel has increasingly become an essential park of many skiers and snowboarders’ morning checklist — especially if they are planning to visit one of the four resorts in those two canyons or are going into the backcountry. After its first year, the account had 10,800 followers on X (then Twitter) and 11,200 followers on Instagram. Those numbers have exploded to 45,000 and 85,500, respectively, in the four years since. Its following on Facebook has also grown, though more modestly, from roughly 3,500 to 5,000.
On Saturday, when the normal weekend traffic surge was compounded by a sizable storm and slick roads, UDOT was on the spot. It posted 18 updates on its X account, including videos of the roads and conditions as well as avalanche warnings and resort parking closures.
Parker said the new channel will have much of the same. It will, however, be more focused on challenges specific to the roads in and out of Park City. That likely includes fewer alerts about avalanche conditions and more about traction issues semitrucks face as they drive up Parleys Canyon, she added.
“Think of the impact a spun-out semi has on a four lane highway. They could clog that highway up just with one vehicle,” Parker said. “So while we don’t have avalanche closures, we do have the potential for a large vehicle to close the route.”
In the past, those alerts and closures were communicated mostly in two ways: on-road via electric signs and flashing lights or through UDOT’s general traffic website and social media channels, which address travel throughout the state.
Starting Jan. 22, or earlier if the area sees a big storm, Park City skiers and snowboarders will be able to turn to Instagram, X or Facebook for those updates. If all goes well, the @UDOTWasatchBack channel will offer them everything they need to know about the roads in one stop.
They can only hope their drives go as smoothly.
