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Snowbird Utah

Snowbird, Utah Timeline

1969 – Ted Johnson meets Dick Bass
1971 – Snowbird, Utah opens
1972 – The Inn at Snowbird, Utah opens
1973 – The Cliff Lodge at Snowbird Utah opens
1974 – The Iron Blossom at Snowbird, Utah opens                                                                                                                                 1980  - Canyon Services Property Management Opens with The Village at Sugarplum                                                                         Condominiums, The Sugarplum Townhouses and The Meadows at Sugarplum
1986 – Major expansion of the Cliff Lodge
2000 – Mineral Basin opens at Snowbird, Utah
2002 – Snowbird/Alta connection opens

Little Cottonwood Canyon History
Long before skiers discovered the powder paradise that is Little Cottonwood Canyon, miners discovered their own treasure within the rugged confines of the glacial canyon. The history of Little Cottonwood Canyon and the town of Alta, Utah dates back to the 19th Century, when a soldier in the U.S. Army first prospected for silver in 1869. The tiny minerals he stumbled upon quickly evolved into a massive industry attracting fortune-seekers who would otherwise never have stepped foot in Little Cottonwood Canyon or Utah.

What the soldier had discovered goes down in history as one of the largest producers of silver ore in the Wasatch Mountains. Known as the Emma Mine at Alta, Utah it became the namesake for Big Emma run in Snowbird Utah’s Gad Valley.  The soldier’s find eventually produced more than $3.8 million in silver.

At the mine’s peak, 8,000 people lived and worked in the narrow canyon, which boasted two smelters, 138 homes, hotels, boarding houses, stores and even a railroad. The entire town of Alta Utah was later destroyed by a series of avalanches.

An Alta Utah Dreamer and a Texas Oilman
While working at the Alta Lodge in 1965, Ted Johnson dreamed of a place that would become Snowbird. Having purchased the deed to the Blackjack mining claim at the base of Peruvian Gulch, Johnson hoped to build a lodging complex as an extension of the Alta Utah community. Blackjack was situated such that skiers could not only ski Alta, but also the wide bowls and two-mile runs of Peruvian Gulch and Gad Valley.

Johnson had the opportunity to buy the Snowbird Utah mining claim adjacent to Blackjack, and he soon realized that the canyon could handle an entirely new ski resort. However, he needed financial support to make his dream a reality.

In October of 1969, Johnson met Richard D. Bass who knew the ski industry. The following week Bass came to Utah and the two hiked into Gad Valley. Bass immediately recognized the wisdom of Johnson’s dream. Soon, Bass and Johnson were touring European and American ski areas to get ideas of how to maximize Snowbird Utah’s potential. In April of 1970, the project was underway. Dick Bass had a vision of what he hoped Snowbird would become. In his words:

“My underlying dream for Snowbird is the creation of a year-round resort, which respects and complements the beauty and inspiration of this natural setting – a place dedicated to increasing human understanding through the enhancement of body, mind and spirit.”

Let It Be
Snowbird opened in December of 1971 with three lifts and the Tram.   Snowbird has also fostered a reputation for environmental stewardship, for which it has received numerous prestigious awards.

The Continual Quest to Improve
Known for its deep powder snow, Snowbird Utah made a conscious effort to expand its beginner and intermediate terrain with the installation of the Baby Thunder Chairlift in 1995. Two years later, “The ‘Bird” entered the age of high-speed chairlifts when the Gad I chairlift was improved to a high-speed quad and appropriately named Gadzoom.  

In the summer of 2001, just months before Utah would play host the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, Mineral Basin received its second high-speed chairlift with the installation of Baldy Express. Not only did this expand the skiable terrain in Mineral Basin at Snowbird  Utah but it provided a connection with Alta Ski Area and allowed the two resorts to offer one lift ticket to ski a whopping 4,700 acres of powder-filled terrain. In 2006, Snowbird Ski Resort completed the Peruvian Gulch High Speed Quad and the ski conveyer that takes skiers through the mountain to Mineral Basin – opening up more intermediate terrain for skiers.   SKIING Magazine has ranked Alta Ski Resort and Snowbird Ski Resort the No. 1 resort in the United States every year since the two joined at Sugarloaf Pass.