Utah — After a solid ski season, this upcoming weekend will be your last chance to get lift-serviced skiing in Utah for a while.
Last weekend, Brighton Resort and Solitude Mountain Resort wrapped up their 2024-25 seasons. Brighton hosted its third annual Meltdown event, which is when they reopen during a select number of days in May. Before the event, Brighton’s terrain park crew creates new features across the remaining open terrain. This shows why Brighton has one of the most beloved terrain park networks in the country.
Solitude was hoping to make it to Memorial Day weekend, but the Utah ski resort announced this week that they didn’t have enough snow to make it happen. Solitude’s closing date ended up being May 18th.
Snowbird is throwing in the towel as well, with the Utah ski resort announcing yesterday that it will close for the season on May 26th. The Tram, Peruvian, Little Cloud, and Mineral Basin lifts will be spinning this Memorial Day Weekend.
For Utah skiers and riders, it’s good news that there are now four ski resorts that remain open into May (Brian Head also closed this month). The bad news is that June and July skiing and riding are becoming less common in Utah. The last time Snowbird stayed open until July was in 2019.
A core reason for this is something that’s out of their control. In recent years, dust from the formerly water-filled areas of the Great Salt Lake has found its way into Utah’s snowpack. This dust has led to a faster melting time of the snowpack. University of Utah professor Jim Steenburgh has done his research on this, which you can read about in Secrets of the Greatest Snow on Earth.
With springtime temperatures likely increasing in the years ahead, along with the rise of the Great Salt Lake’s dust, I do wonder when we’ll see June or early July lift-serviced skiing and riding again in Utah.
Image Credits: Solitude Mountain Resort, Brighton Resort (@thevillagewolf), Snowbird Ski Resort (Rocko Menzyk)
