Sometimes, it’s best to keep things simple. Such, apparently, was the attitude at Alta Ski Area in 1970 when the resort installed a new double lift in the Albion Basin. High-tech for the time, it meant skiers no longer had to skin up to the Patsey Marley terrain.
So, they called it “Neversweat.”
What’s in a name? Actually quite a bit of history and folklore when it comes to those bestowed by Utah’s ski resorts onto their lifts and trails. Here’s the backstory to some of the most interesting monikers in Utah’s mountains:
Hamburger Hill (intermediate), Alta Ski Area: So named, according to a Ski Utah article, because the smell of hamburgers wafted up from the old Watson Shelter to skiers on this run.
Candyland (terrain park), Brighton Resort: Jared Winkler, the resort’s spokesperson, named that one when he was Brighton’s terrain park manager. He said he named the run after the children’s game because “we’d move features around all the time, and it could put you anywhere on the map.”
Puffer’s Pass (intermediate), Eagle Point: Not named for herbally inebriated guests, according to owner/operator Shane Gadbaw, but for the view it offers of Puffer Lake.
Regulator Johnson (black diamond), Snowbird: Not named for founder Ted Johnson, but for a mine established at an elevation of about 10,000 in Mineral Fork, a mile north of the ski resort
Silver Fox (expert), Snowbird: This run was named for Johnson, who went prematurely gray
McConkey’s Express, Park City Mountain: Named not for extreme skier Shane McConkey, but for his father, Tim. A man whose calling card was “America’s most daring skier,” he also started the ski school at Treasure Mountain, which eventually became part of Park City Mountain.
Coup d’Etat (advanced), Powder Mountain: Named, according to former mountain manager Rod Kelly, in reference to an attempted “coup” by a former general manager and his son. Kelly wrote in an email that during a period in between ownership changes, the two tried to form their own management group, intending to fire everyone and replace them with their own team. The attempt lasted only about a week before failing, but the run was humorously named after their short-lived ‘takeover’ attempt. “It went towards the shop, and then it went nowhere,” Kelly said of the trail, “much as the coup did.”
Medicine Man (advanced), Powder Mountain: Initially called “Abdullah Bowl” in honor, Kelly said, of Dr. Abdullah. A local doctor and one of the earliest skiers in the area, Dr. Abdullah once broke his femur while skiing solo on the run. After lying there for hours, as the folklore goes, he supposedly directed the ski patrol on how to splint his leg properly.
Navarone (expert), Solitude Mountain Resort: Positioned near the top of Eagle Express in Honeycomb Canyon, the resort used to keep an avalauncher in that area and named the run after the war book, and later film, “The Guns of Navarone.”
Kimberly (intermediate), Deer Valley Resort: Named for the daughter of a developer working on the Bald Mountain expansion who was killed in a plane crash.
Marge’s Triple, Beaver Mountain: Named after Marge Seeholzer, president of the resort, who at age 82 still works the ticket window.
Navajo(beginner), Brian Head: One of the original five runs, all named for Native American tribes. All five runs and the Navajo lift disappeared from the trail map in the 1990s. They returned in 2007, though Navajo was renamed Kodachrome. A new Navajo lift now exits off looker’s right of Navajo Peak.
The Walrus (advanced) and Strawberry Fields (advanced), Snowbasin: Two adjacent runs named for Beatles songs. “I don’t know why,” GM Davy Ratchford said.
