Salt Lake County says “no” to Snowbird coaster
Snowbird’s plan to build a roller coaster on Mount Superior has come off the tracks. Salt Lake County’s Board of Adjustment on Wednesday, May 11, overturned the Planning Commission’s decision to allow a roller coaster on the south side of Mount Superior across from Snowbird.
Artist rendering of a proposed roller coaster at the base of Mount Superior. Image courtesy Snowbird.
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the county took this action because they say the Planning Commission “acted illegally” in granting the project preliminary approval.
Snowbird’s proposed roller coaster would have begun at the ski resort’s base at the Snowbird Center, cross Little Cottonwood Canyon Road (Highway 210) via a new bridge, and stretch a few hundred feet up Mount Superior’s base. According to Snowbird, the roller coaster would have only operated during the summer season, similar to the one at Park City Mountain Resort. The resort also says the structure would have been 13 feet high, and people would have been pulled 1,000 up Mount Superior’s slope before dropping down in “toboggan-style cars.”
Of course, backcountry skiers and canyon preservationists have been vocal opponents about any sort of new development on the north side of Little Cottonwood Canyon, and they surely consider this decision a victory.
Snowbird officials say they are now looking at other options, but insist that a roller coaster is essential to their summer operations.
