Ski Utah guide skiing between Solitude and Alta SKI UTAH
INTERCONNECT TOUR
season mountain playground that borrows the best of European transportation ideas and incorporates them with a Utah tradition of conservation and sustainability.
“In less than a decade, Salt Lake City will have a new international airport which is already under construction,” says Ski Utah president Nathan Rafferty. “This will be a modern and dynamic hub of activity with rail lines linking communities up and down the Wasatch Front. In a perfect world, those public rail lines would connect with a mountain transportation system to efficiently deliver skiers, hikers, bikers and recreationalists of all types and abilities into a high alpine natural wonderland.” True interconnect would be the marriage of two separate and distinct concepts: an over-the-snow, inter-resort ski connection (like the gates between Alta-Snowbird and Brighton-Solitude) that would allow skiers of all abilities to glide between resorts using gravity and chairlifts; and a fast, efficient and safe mountain transportation solution moving people between metro and mountains. The goal is simple: more time on the snow and less on the road. “The area we are talking about here includes over 18,000 skiable acres and 90-plus lifts,” Rafferty says.
With technology that’s available today, it could all be on one lift ticket. Adjacent to resorts supplying commercial skiing, but also accessed by public transportation, you would find hundreds of thousands of acres of the best backcountry terrain found anywhere in the world.
Indeed, Utah transportation officials are well into planning stages on a mountain transportation system to augment the current system of ski buses that now link to the Utah TRAX (light rail) system. As more and more skiers and snowboarders discover Utah’s resorts, metro to mountain mass transit options are key. Rafferty sees the Interconnect experience as a series of logical steps that, when complete, will bring an entirely new concept of skiing and snowboarding to Utah. It’s an exciting thing, and he wants the talk to keep going in a positive direction. “Think about it,” he says. “You could wake up at Snowbird and end your day at Deer Valley. You’d visit seven resorts in one day and get the full scope of Utah’s geography. This is how you may ski one day here in Utah. It’s a concept fully supported by all of the ski areas involved and it is only possible in the one state with The Greatest Snow on Earth.” “Sign me up,” Rafferty grins.
If you’re intrigued with the notion of skiing from resort to resort while hooking up some backcountry terrain in between, consider Ski Utah’s Interconnect Tour. For more than 25 years, Ski Utah’s backcountry certified guides have safely led clients throughout the Wasatch mountains, revealing powder stashes, off-piste turns and incredible views. Start the day in Park City and finish at Snowbird with transportation back to your starting point. (Custom trip itineraries are also available.) You’ll earn serious bragging rights back home, potentially skiing up to six resorts in one day! This adventure truly represents a European-style tour offered nowhere else in North America. Daily departures are weather and conditions permitting. Reservations required.
ETo make a reservation,
skiutah.com/interconnect
FORWARD THINKING! Salt Lake City is developing public transport faster than any other city in North America. Don’t be surpised one day to see trains, similar to this European scene, climb to your favorite resort.
WINTER 2013–14 SKI UTAH 43 WINTER 2013-14 SKI UTAH 4
ATIM ROBERTS
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