As leaders of the National Ability Center, SOS Outreach and the Youth Sports Alliance, we are proud to support Park City Mountain’s proposed chairlift upgrades. Through our partnerships with Park City Mountain this winter, 2,340 youth and adaptive athletes participated in ski and snowboard programs totaling 10,129 on-mountain experiences.
For decades, these partnerships have made Park City a national model for fostering a sense of belonging on the mountain and across the community through youth development, and adaptive recreation. The proposed lift upgrades are an important investment in maintaining and strengthening that legacy.
These projects would replace aging chairlifts that are critical connections to beginner, intermediate, and adaptive learning terrain already heavily used by local students, families, and athletes. Upgraded infrastructure would improve accessibility, and efficiency for the very participants our organizations collectively serve. No one cares more about safety across the mountain than Park City Mountain and our organizations. We are confident these lifts will improve the circulation and distribution of existing skiers and riders on the mountain to everyone’s benefit.
For the National Ability Center, safe and reliable lift access is essential. The current Eagle lift presents challenges for many adaptive athletes, particularly mono-ski competitors, and existing safety concerns prevent athletes from unloading at the mid-station. As Park City prepares to play a major role in the 2034 Winter Paralympics, ensuring equitable and efficient mountain access for adaptive athletes is more important than ever.
This past season alone, the National Ability Center delivered nearly 5,000 adaptive mountain experiences from the McGrath Mountain Center, and its athletes are already training with the goal of competing — and winning medals — in 2034. Easier and safer access to the King Con and Silverlode areas would make a meaningful difference for participants of all abilities.
For SOS Outreach, access to efficient and appropriate terrain is critical to the success of its long-term youth development programs. SOS programs are intentionally designed as multi-year experiences that help young people build confidence, leadership skills, and resilience over time. When lift infrastructure limits progression or reduces time on snow, it directly impacts both the quality of programming and participant engagement.
Park City Mountain has been a partner of SOS Outreach for the past 10 years, while Vail Resorts has partnered with SOS for more than 30 years nationally. During the 2025–26 season alone, that partnership supported 500 youth participants across Salt Lake, Summit, and Wasatch counties, along with a parent engagement program connecting 20 parents to the mountain experience. Through this collaboration, SOS Outreach has built a continuous pathway supporting students from fourth grade through high school graduation.
The Youth Sports Alliance has partnered with Park City Mountain under the Vail Resorts umbrella since 2014, when the resort operated as Canyons Resort. This past season, 530 students from Park City, Wasatch County, South Summit and neighboring communities learned to ski or snowboard through YSA programs, including our new Ski Utah initiative. Nearly 30% of those participants received full scholarships. For many of these students, these programs provide their only opportunity to experience the mountain. Modernized lifts would mean more time learning, more time building confidence, and less time waiting in line.
Collectively, our organizations see firsthand how access to skiing and snowboarding changes lives. These lift upgrades are not simply infrastructure projects, they are investments in accessibility, belonging, youth opportunity, adaptive sport, and the future of our mountain community.
We encourage city leaders and community members to support these important improvements and help ensure Park City remains a place where athletes and participants of every background and ability can safely and meaningfully access the mountain for generations to come.
Willie Ford
CEO National Ability Center
Seth Ehrlich
CEO SOS Outreach
Emily S. Fisher
Executive Director Youth Sports Alliance