Snowbird: the back story

About Snowbird: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Ski Resorts Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Snowbird was dreamt up in the 1950s by a ski bum working at the Alta Rustler Lodge, financed with the help of an oilman, and opened in December 1971 with its Aerial Tram. Half a century later it is one of the great big-mountain resorts of North America, 29 miles from an international airport.

Silver in the canyon

Silver was first prospected in Little Cottonwood Canyon in 1869, and the Emma Mine, whose silver was worth $3.8 million, would later become part of Snowbird’s land. Alta grew into a mining town of 138 homes and some 8,000 people.

A dream at the Rustler

In 1954 Ted Johnson came to Alta to work the winter at the Alta Rustler Lodge, and imagined a ski resort of his own. Between 1965 and 1967 he and his wife Wilma quietly bought up old mining claims, starting with the Blackjack claim, so as not to drive up prices or tip off competitors. A 13-minute film narrated by Warren Miller helped him pitch to investors.

The Aerial Tram covers 2,900 vertical feet in about seven minutes.

Enter Dick Bass

In 1969 Johnson met the oilman Dick Bass at a party in Vail. Bass, already an investor in Vail, joined the project and shaped its vision of a world-class resort in harmony with its setting. Snowbird opened in December 1971 with the Tram and three chairlifts, Gad 1, Gad 2 and Wilbere, together with the Lodge at Snowbird and the Snowbird Center.

Growing up

Oktoberfest began on the Plaza Deck in 1972. The Cliff Lodge opened in 1973 and grew in 1986 with The Cliff Spa and The Aerie restaurant. Mineral Basin opened in 1999; in 2001, just before the 2002 Olympics, the Baldy Express linked Snowbird with Alta. In 2005 the Peruvian Tunnel opened, North America’s only ski tunnel, and in 2015 The Summit opened on Hidden Peak, a lifelong dream of both founders.

A Swiss sister

Snowbird’s sister resort is Zermatt, in Switzerland: two mountains famous for big, high terrain and the cable cars that reach it.

Our advice

Ride the first Tram on a powder morning, then explore Mineral Basin through the Peruvian Tunnel. Buy lift tickets online at least two weeks ahead to save up to 15 per cent.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Snowbird: the back story before you go.