Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah — While it may not be adding 80 new trails, Solitude Mountain Resort is working on some big projects this offseason.
In the September edition of Amber’s Updates, Solitude’s President & COO, Amber Broadaway, and the ski resort’s Director of Projects and Planning, Ian Reddell (great name), detailed what Solitude employees have been working on over the past few months.
Solitude is currently working on three major projects: snowmaking enhancements, new Wyssen towers, and the completion of phase one of their mountain biking trail network development.
Snowmaking
A $4.5 million snowmaking project is underway that will help Solitude open lower-mountain terrain quicker during the early season.
Solitude will now draw water for snowmaking from a new pond located below the Twin Lakes Reservoir, resulting in more efficient snowmaking operations. Previously, they pulled water out of Big Cottonwood Creek, which led to debris going into their pump. The new main water line (around 10,500 feet in length) connects the pond to the snowmaking pumphouse. The process of creating this had its share of challenges, with the need to remove rocks on trails like SolBright.
Wyssen Towers
In recent years, ski resorts in the Cottonwoods have been adding remote avalanche control (RAC) systems, leading to faster avalanche mitigation.
Four new Wyssen towers have been added this offseason, which are situated on the east face of Honeycomb Canyon. Before this offseason, Solitude had four Wyssen towers. Opening Honeycomb can be a complicated process due to avalanche mitigation, which is a common complaint from guests. It sometimes takes as long as five hours to mitigate this terrain, so this system will lead to quicker Honeycomb openings. PeakRankings noted that there was room for improvement here, so it’s cool to see them making the change.
Mountain Biking
Over the past few years, Gravity Logic has been helping Solitude build out its mountain biking trail network. The last trail of phase one is currently being built. The green freeride trail will go from the top of Moonbeam, across the Apex terrain pod, and back down to the Moonbeam base area. The trail is expected to fully open next summer.
Battle Continues Over Parking Lot
Solitude has faced pushback from environmentalists and locals over a proposal to add a parking lot across the street from the ski resort. Solitude created this proposal to start a conversation with the town regarding parking, but it appears that locals aren’t interested.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the Town of Brighton is attempting to establish Solitude’s boundaries within the town. This would not include the proposed parking lot area, basically blocking them from expanding into it. You can read more about that battle here.
Solitude’s projected opening date is November 14th. However, the Utah ski resort could open earlier, depending on whether the weather cooperates.
Image/Video Credits: Solitude Mountain Resort
