Under softening spring snow and a bluebird Easter sky, skiers and riders stretched six lifts and 13 open trails into a full day at Park City Mountain, filling Canyons Village with bunny ears, clown wigs and short sleeves for the final turns of the season.
Music from Pixie and the Partygrass Boys carried across the base area at the Canyons Village free concert, soundtracking the final laps as riders slushed through turns and linked what runs remained. Kids sprinted across the base area searching for hidden Easter eggs.
A 6-inch April Fools’ Day storm had briefly brought the mountain back to life, but a quick return to warm temperatures erased any chance of a late season push. By Friday, the resort announced it would close on Sunday.
Evie Eastman and Beth Limerick spent the afternoon skiing together and closing out another season on the snow. Between them, they bring nearly a century of skiing experience, and closing day offered one last chance to be out there doing what they love.
“We’re getting outside,” Eastman said, “celebrating Easter at the church of the up and down.”
For both, the winter still delivered, even if it looked different from what was expected. Park City Mountain recorded 171 total inches of snow this season, well below its 277-inch average and last year’s 279-inch total, according to OnTheSnow.
“I don’t think I got on snow as much as I wanted,” Limerick said. “But it was a pretty satisfying winter nonetheless, even with the marginal snow conditions.”
Even with limited terrain, they said what remained was enough to carry through the day. The snow softened through the afternoon but continued to hold together across the open runs.
“I can hardly think of a better way to spend a winter day than skiing,” Eastman said.
Limerick added: “It’s fun, it’s freedom, it’s floating and flying and everything good.”
They plan to keep skiing beyond Park City Mountain’s closure, shifting to higher elevation terrain in the cottonwoods for as long as they can.
At the base, skis and boards were stacked in the sun as people moved between the Red Pine Gondola and the concert and paused to take in the scene.
Sherry and David, a couple, were visiting from Ohio without realizing it would be the final weekend and learned about the closure after the announcement on Friday. They adjusted their plans and focused on making the most of the time they had.
“We’re just here for the weekend,” Sherry said. “We’re here to get outside, enjoy God’s earth and get some exercise.”
Despite the early end to the season, the couple was excited to take advantage of the opportunity to ski at all. They said it ended up working in their favor.
“We’re really glad to have made it in time,” Sherry said. “It’s been great.”
Michigander Lisa Bjork’s dedication to skiing rivals even some of the most diehard Park City locals. She committed to skiing every single weekend in the Upper Peninsula, rain or shine.
“We weren’t able to cancel our reservation for the week, so we said, ‘Well, we’re coming and making the most of it anyway,’” Bjork said.
This was Bjork’s first time in Park City, and, having driven from Michigan, she took a few stops at Colorado resorts along the way, hoping to maximize her ski time on her trip out West.
“This is our first time ever at Park City, so we’re a little bummed that we didn’t get the skiing we had hoped for. But it’s so sunny and beautiful, and it’s just a gorgeous view anywhere you look here,” she said. “We don’t have this in Michigan.”
Bjork, who has been skiing since she was 13, said she was grateful to get a day on skis at Canyons Village and is using the rest of the trip to spend more time exploring town.
“Any day on skis is still a day on skis,” she said. “We’re really enjoying it. We’ll definitely be back, hoping for a bit better snow.”
For Emil Harry, skiing on closing day isn’t optional. He’s attended every year since he was 6 years old, when he first learned to ski in Boise, Idaho — a streak that now stretches more than three decades.
“I have to ski closing day, no matter how bad conditions are,” he said. “I’m really superstitious. If I don’t make closing day, it weighs on me,” he said.
This winter, he shifted a lot of his skiing energy to work on skills in the park, spending much of his time at Woodward Park City as conditions changed.
“Woodward was a godsend,” he said. “So I skied park pretty much all season.”
He said in a low snow year, park skiing offered the most consistency and made for a successful season, even as big mountain terrain remained limited.
Closing day, though, is exactly his kind of skiing. He said spring conditions are his favorite, making the final day less of an obligation and more of something he genuinely looks forward to.
Deirdra Walsh, vice president and COO of Park City Mountain, said the day reflected the tireless effort of resort teams and the guests who continued to show up through a challenging season.
“It has been a season of creativity, commitment, dedication in ways that I don’t think anybody has had to do in a long time here,” Walsh said. “I’m so incredibly proud of every team member who made this possible.”
She pointed to both employees and guests as central to the experience, describing how people responded to the conditions by continuing to show up and make the most of each day.
“The best antidote in a season like this is to actually go out and ski and have chairlift conversations where people are making the most of it,” she said. “Having fun and great times with their friends and family — that’s just, at the end of the day, what it’s all about.”