Park City, Utah — If you’re part of the Vail Resorts legal team, you’re probably getting sick of getting sued over the lifts at Park City Mountain Resort. It’s happened again, but this time around, it’s from a landowner who wants to shut down two active lifts.
Connor Thomas of KPCW reports that the landowner where two base chairlift terminals at Park City Mountain Resort is arguing that the ski resort doesn’t have the right to operate the lifts on its land. The lawsuit was filed last week in Summit County’s 3rd District Court. They are seeking millions in damages and the shutdown of the Iron Mountain Express and Timberline chairlifts.
UI Charitable is a non-profit that bought the land in 2024. Park City operates various lifts at the ski resorts thanks to easements, which are agreements with third parties. The non-profit argues that the easement for their land permits skiing (“ski easement uses”) but not lift operations (“ski resort uses”).
According to ABC4 Utah, the non-profit stated that the Park City Mountain Resort’s operation “exceeds the scope of any easement, constitutes ongoing trespass, and unjustly enriches them by enhancing resort connectivity, increasing revenues, and reaping operational benefits—all at UI’s expense and without compensation.”
Their legal argument also contends that the American Skiing Company (which was once the owner of The Canyons) never transferred its easements to Vail Resorts.
The Timberline chairlifts opened in 2008, while the Iron Mountain Express was installed in 2010. The Iron Mountain Express terrain pod services intermediate and advanced trails and glades. Timberline is a connector lift that takes guests to both Tombstone and Iron Mountain. These areas also serve as one of the ways to return to Canyons Village and reach the QuickSilver Gondola.
“We are confident in our longstanding and long-term easement rights underlying our ski operations throughout The Colony, including on the parcel in question in this recent filing,” said Deirdra Walsh, the COO of Park City Mountain Resort to KPCW.
Writer’s Thoughts
Success here for the landowner seems unlikely. They only own a portion of the land these lifts cover, and creating this hurdle would cause a whole load of problems for the community. Another issue is that the previous landowner had no objection to the development, so why would the new landowner object now when everything’s built out?
However, weird things have happened before regarding lifts and leases at Park City Mountain Resort.
Image/Video Credits: Park City Mountain Resort, UI Charitable
