Park City Mountain extends operations, plans to have longest season in 30 years

Carter Williams
·2 min read
First-time skier Camila Mendoza, of Equador, practices skiing at Park City Mountain Resort’s Canyons Village in Park City on Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. Resort officials announced Monday that they will extend the resort’s operations through April 23, marking the resort’s longest season in 30 years.
First-time skier Camila Mendoza, of Equador, practices skiing at Park City Mountain Resort’s Canyons Village in Park City on Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. Resort officials announced Monday that they will extend the resort’s operations through April 23, marking the resort’s longest season in 30 years. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

The country's largest ski resort is set to have its longest season in three decades as a result of record snow totals.

Park City Mountain Resort officials announced Monday that they will remain open through April 23, two weeks longer than originally planned. Barring a shift in the weather, most of its chairlifts and trails will also remain operational through April 16.

Officials say the resort has received 455 inches of snow this season, which is beyond its average total snowfall for the full season. It's also the most snow the resort has received by this point in the year since it began tracking records 49 years ago. The extension means the resort will have its longest season since 1993.

"(It) has truly been an experience of a lifetime," said Deirdra Walsh, who took over as vice president and chief operating officer of Park City Mountain last year. "From our early opening in November and spinning all lifts by Christmas Day, through more than 400 inches of snowfall by March 1 — I have been mindful to appreciate every day."

Utah's current ski season began when Brian Head Resort opened on Nov. 4, 2022, marking Utah's fourth-earliest ski season on record. Most of the other resorts in the state also opened in November.

As snow continues to fall, Park City Mountain Resort is one of only a few that have penciled in a closing date. Alta Ski Area, Eagle Point Ski Resort and Sundance Mountain Resort are also scheduled to close for the season in April, according to Ski Utah.

The rest of the state's resorts have yet to decide when they will end their seasonal operations as a result of the strong winter. Some resorts, including Alta and Brighton, have already surpassed 600 inches of snow with no sign of the snow stopping anytime soon.