Eden, Utah- For most people, yesterday was a good day at Powder Mountain. The Utah ski resort reported yesterday that they received 18″ of fresh snowfall over the past 48 hours, leading to some mint turns at one of the best spots for powderhounds on the planet. However, it wasn’t a good day for members of Powder’s mountain biking community.
Yesterday, PowMow announced that they won’t operate their lift-serviced mountain biking park this summer. The XC trails, which have been around well before the MTB park, will remain open to the public. However, these trails will be subject to temporary closures when construction is in full swing.
The reasoning behind the decision makes a lot of sense though, as the ski resort is going to be undergoing quite the transformation this summer. Four new chairlifts will be constructed at Powder during this coming offseason, which will make a solid portion of the ski resort a construction zone. Three of these new chairlifts will be for public use, while the other one will be for the new private portion of the ski resort. Other ski resorts, like Attitash in New Hampshire, have shut down summer operations for similar reasons, so I think it’s a logical decision.
Unfortunately, it appears that the move caught the summer mountain biking workers by surprise. Powder Mountain said that they notified the workers before the announcement on Paylocity. On their Facebook post, the wife of an MTB worker claimed that they only received notice at 7:32 the morning of the announcement, with the couple first hearing about it on social media.
In terms of the guest’s response, the overall reception to the announcement was mixed. While some applauded the move due to what the projects will mean for the ski resort, members of the MTB community aren’t happy due to them missing out on the trails this summer. The park is regarded as having some of the best mountain biking trails in the state.
As a longtime fan of Powder Mountain, this new direction is a tricky sell to longtime guests. They made some errors here with this announcement, and the best way moving forward is to be as transparent and timely as possible with locals, guests, and their employees. My suggestion: more rounds of chairlift chatter.
Image Credits: Powder Mountain
