The Utah’s state slogan The Greatest Snow on Earth® was coined in 1960 and has been featured on Utah license plates and promotional material for decades.
No doubt, Utah has some of best snow and best skiing on the planet but it is somewhat curious why 13 of Utah’s 15 ski resorts are all located in a relatively small northeastern portion of the state. Utah is the 12th biggest state by landmass and has multiple mountain ranges so why are all the resorts in the Wasatch?
The good folks at PeakRankings explored the question and created this detailed breakdown on the key reasons for the geographic oddity. Reasons include reliable snowfall, population density and vast tracts of land that are under Wilderness protections. Fascinating!
Some of the reasons include that some mountain ranges don’t get enough consistent snowfall, others don’t get sufficient snowpack except in the upper elevations, some potential ski area sites are too remote, and other areas are under Wilderness protections. Fascinating!