Sometimes, the only way to get through the summer heat is to think ahead to winter: browsing the off-season ski sales, planning trips, watching videos from your favorite influencer’s ski trip to New Zealand or Chile.    

The vibe at Ski Utah is no different, said Director of Communications Alison Palmintere.

“Contrary to popular belief, we do quite a lot of work in the summer preparing for the winter,” she said. “When it’s hot outside, it’s kind of nice to focus on the winter and be in that mindset.”

A large part of those preparations, Palmintere said, is focused on encouraging Utahns to explore the resorts in their own backyards. Getting the word out on different passes and programs from Ski Utah is the first step. Palmintere said they’re working from all angles, designing billboards, TV ads and social media posts.

They’re continuing the fourth- fifth- and sixth-grade Passport Program and the Yeti and Gold Passes that give access to all of Utah’s resorts.

This will be Ski Utah’s second year partnering with the Youth Sports Alliance on their after-school ski program. The program gets elementary school students outside to ski and snowboard and includes lessons on the mountain and transportation from campus. Through their collaboration, the two organizations are able to offer income-based scholarships for kids to explore recreation areas like Woodward, Deer Valley Resort and Park City Mountain.

Ski Utah is also focused on getting people on the slopes who might not have the opportunity to otherwise. The Discover Winter program is designed with that goal in mind. 

“Discover Winter is a program aimed at inclusivity and giving demographics who are underrepresented on the slopes a chance to experience skiing,” Palmintere said.

Skiing and snowboarding can be hard sports to get into, especially as an adult. Expenses like lift tickets, gear, transportation and lessons often make it difficult for people who just want to try it out.

By lowering some of the barriers to entry, the Discover Winter program is designed specifically for adults from underrepresented communities who want to learn to ski.

The program offers participants gear rentals, lessons, transportation to resorts and a Yeti pass at the end of the course. Palmintere said many people have returned season after season, with some even going on to become instructors themselves.

“There are lots of programs out there geared towards getting kids out on the slopes,” Palmintere said. “But we realize that if the kid doesn’t have an adult who skis in their life, it makes it a little more difficult for them to continue skiing.”

There have been over 1,100 participants in Discover Winter so far, with the program accepting about 350 applicants each year. 

Palmintere said they’re working on getting their pre-season messaging out to visitors as well as locals. Palmintere said they’re making visits throughout the United States to represent the Utah ski industry directly. 

The Ski Utah team is looking forward to the “super” El Niño forecasted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the likelihood for above-average snowfall this winter. 

Last season’s low snowfall got quite a bit of attention, and Palmintere said it was “unfortunate” to see the viral videos on social media showing dry slopes in Utah resorts. Even though there was less natural snowfall, there were still good ski days, she said. 

“The resorts in Utah take keeping up with technologies and snowmaking … seriously, and they have been doing that for years and years, and they continue to do that,” Palmintere said. 

Beyond promoting the resorts, Palmintere said Ski Utah works hard to share information about responsible tourism with visitors and locals. She said the team wants people to be mindful of everything that goes into a ski day, from parking to ski school to dinner reservations. And for locals who might be more familiar with the ins and outs of planning, she said Ski Utah wants people to remember that the people at the resorts are your neighbors and to keep the community in mind.

Visit the Youth Sports Alliance website for more information on their collaboration with Ski Utah. Information on all other Ski Utah programs can be found on their website, skiutah.com.

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The roads across Park City will get a bit busier in just a few weeks as a wave of skiers and snowboarders begin to descend on the mountain town, marking the start of the 2024-25 winter season.

Officials from Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort, Woodward Park City and the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation joined Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games spokesperson Tom Kelly for a moderated discussion about the upcoming season on Friday afternoon at the Stein Eriksen Lodge for the Park City Chamber & Visitors Bureau’s annual tourism fall forum.

The discussion highlighted updates from Ski Utah as well as local resorts’ key plans for this winter, including new lifts and infrastructure at Deer Valley and Park City Mountain as well as what they’re doing to prepare for the return of the Winter Games in 2034.

Ski Utah President and CEO Nathan Rafferty said the 2002 Olympics helped the state make a name for itself, and tourism has increased since. Utah has seen a 15% increase in skier visits over the past five years. 

Around 6.75 million skier visits were recorded across the state’s 15 resorts during the 2023-24 season, down from the record-breaking 2022-23 season, which saw 7.1 million skier visits. Utah saw about a quarter of the total visits to the Intermountain region, which includes Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming, during the last ski season. However, Rafferty said the state is picking up ever so slightly to capture more visitors.

He also touted the financial impact of the skiing and snowboarding industry not only on the state, but the local economy. The ski industry contributed around $2.7 billion in visitor spending with an average expenditure of $320 per day.

Park City’s overall tourism industry saw $2.2 billion in economic impact with visitors spending $1.6 billion, a 7% increase, according to Park City Chamber/Bureau President and CEO Jennifer Wesselhoff. There were also 3.7 million overnight visitors, a 4% increase in visitor volume compared to 2022, according to preliminary data presented from the 2023 tourism impact study.

Around $247 million was generated in state and local tax collections. Summit County saw an increase in every tourism-related category over the last nine months, including a 3% increase in sales tax collections, a 4% increase in the Recreation, Arts and Parks tax, and a 5% increase in transient room and restaurant tax collections.

Summer lodging numbers were up about 2% for an average occupancy rate of 35%. Rates also increased about 6% for an average of $350 a night.

However, Wesselhoff said winter numbers are off to a slow start. 

Reservations on the books are pacing about 3% above average for all of winter, November through March. December is down 7% and January is down 9%, but February and March are outperforming the pacing from last year at 20% and 14% above average, respectively. Room rates overall are strong, but there is some variance month to month. The average winter rate is $950 a night. 

The upcoming election might have some travelers wary, while others might just be waiting for more snow to fall. There’s also increased competition with more Americans choosing to travel overseas. 

While the forecast for the upcoming season puts Utah in the “tweener zone” for a mild, snowy winter, officials are optimistic the 2024-25 ski season will be another successful one. 

The Chamber/Bureau invested in a rebranding effort, Mountainkind, to attract environmentally conscious, luxury travelers who want to spend time outdoors. Wesselhoff expects couples, families, sports enthusiasts, foodies and outdoor recreationists to visit Park City this winter.

“We’re thrilled to embark on a new season in winter’s favorite town, and we just know it’s going to be another incredible season,” Wesselhoff said.

Susie English, Deer Valley’s vice president of marketing, highlighted how the resort’s expansion into Wasatch County is part of its expanded excellence mission. Deer Valley East Village will open around 300 acres of new skiable terrain, 20 runs and 500 parking spots this season — about a year earlier than expected. Employee housing has also been a big focus of the resort, which plans to build a 200-bed development called Ski Rail near the Snow Park base.

Park City Mountain Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Deirdra Walsh discussed how the resort is dedicated to enhancing the visitor experience by creating an innovative, welcoming experience on the mountain such as improving snowmaking capabilities for this winter.

Woodward Park City General Manager Gar Trayner, a 2002 Olympian for Great Britain, and Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation Chief Operating Officer Calum Clark spoke about the inclusive, collaborative nature of the ski industry in Utah. 

They said they want to lower the barrier to participating in winter sports, and to partner with other community organizations such as the National Ability Center to empower youth and athletes as well as promote winter sports legacy.

Four-time Olympic speed skater Catherine Raney-Norman, chair of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, emphasized the opportunity for the 2034 Olympics to help redefine culture and community in the state. 

She said officials learned a lot from the Summer Games in Paris. Everyone has come back rejuvenated and ready to reimagine what the Olympics could mean for Utah — to shift how to improve the lives of residents, not just make it onto the map.

“We can think bigger, and that’s what we should be doing. We can think about the opportunities that go beyond just buildings and infrastructure and transportation, right? That for us is the promise and the opportunity of the next Games,” Raney-Norman said.

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