It’s time to put any concerns that this year’s record amount of snow would go to waste to rest.
Snowbird Resort announced this weekend that it plans to keep ski season going through Father’s Day and, if history is any indicator, likely beyond. In addition to allowing skiing and snowboarding during the June 17-18 weekend, the Little Cottonwood Canyon resort will be unveiling the rooftop balconies on its red and blue trams.
The balcony rides can be purchased as an upgrade to Snowbird’s scenic summer rides. This is the first summer they will be offered after the red tram crashed to the ground during an “equipment malfunction” last summer and its installation was not completed until November.
While the tram rides will be available all summer, the skiing and snowboarding won’t last that long. Still, Snowbird is known for staying open until July 4. It has done that five times, most recently in 2019 — and that year it got 10 fewer feet of snow than the 838 inches it has piled up in 2022-23.
Dave Fields, Snowbird’s president and general manager, said history has little to do with the decision, however, and he’s not making any promises.
“This season has been exciting, complex and record-breaking by all accounts,” Fields said in a news release. “Not only have we seen incredible amounts of snow on the mountain, but significant melting as spring progresses. Conditions on the mountain change not only weekly, but daily. While we feel it’s too soon to promise we will be skiing and riding on the Fourth of July, we certainly hope that will be the case.”
While the resort is mulling its options for summer skiing, it will hit pause for a couple of weeks. After Memorial Day, Snowbird will halt operations to perform routine maintenance on the trams and install the balconies. It will not reopen until Father’s Day weekend, when it will run the trams and perhaps other lifts from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., conditions permitting.
Both 2022-23 and 2023-24 Summit or Alta-Bird season passes will be honored throughout the rest of the spring and summer. Day passes will also be available.
