After Ski Utah’s big announcement of the One Wasatch interconnect plan that would make it possible to ski from Deer Valley to Snowbird on one lift ticket drew praise on the one hand, and critical ire on the other. Among the organizations that came out in opposition to the plan are Save Our Canyons and the Wasatch Backcountry Alliance.
Almost immediately after the Ski Utah press conference in downtown Salt Lake City, both organizations released statements that you can read below. Needless to say, they are both against any ski resort expansion that might take away human-powered recreation opportunities or might disrupt the environmental landscape of the Wasatch all in the name of profit.
Wasatch Backcountry Alliance statement:
“As skiers, snowboarders and winter recreationists, the members of Wasatch Backcountry Alliance appreciate and support Utah’s world-class ski resort industry. We recognize the significant contribution to the economy and quality of life that skiing and winter recreation provide for residents and visitors along both sides of the Wasatch.
Furthermore, Wasatch Backcountry Alliance and our members believe the current balance between opportunities for developed (resort) and undeveloped (backcountry) skiing is a crucial component of Utah’s attraction as a winter recreation mecca and that this balance must be protected. Given the significant growth in backcountry skiing and snowshoeing in the face of declining or flat resort skiing numbers, it is evident that backcountry skiing, snowshoeing, winter mountaineering and other forms of human-powered winter recreation are increasingly important contributors to Utah’s economy and quality of life.
The Wasatch Mountains hold value far beyond their unrivaled recreational amenities, terrain and powder snow. These mountains are an ecological and scenic treasure, the source of the water we drink, a place to find solitude and respite from the noise and stress of city life and to experience wild open spaces and wilderness on their own terms.
With respect to future ski resort expansion on public lands, including the Interconnect proposal to link the seven resorts of the Central Wasatch via additional ski lifts, Wasatch Backcountry Alliance supports the direction provided in the Wasatch-Cache Forest Plan. After careful analysis of environmental, economic and social impacts of potential resort expansion, the Wasatch-Cache Forest Plan determined that, ‘New resort developments on National Forest System lands will be confined to the permit boundaries in effect at the time of revision [2003].’
The Plan goes on to state that, for all resort development decisions, ‘Special attention will be given to the scenic integrity of views from backcountry and wilderness trails.” Adding that, “visual integrity of ridgelines will be maintained.’
It is also noteworthy that public opinion overwhelming supports this approach to maintain the current balance. In the 2010 Wasatch Canyons Tomorrowreport sponsored by the State of Utah, Salt Lake County, and Salt Lake City, 94 percent of Wasatch Front residents supported limiting resort expansion to existing Forest Service permit areas in a way that would not infringe on existing winter backcountry ski areas and have little or no effect on environmental resources.
While there may indeed be viable options to connect the Wasatch resorts in a way that avoids negative environmental and watershed impacts and maintains the current balance between developed and undeveloped recreation opportunities, Wasatch Backcountry Alliance and our members believe that any consideration of an Interconnect system should take place within the context of a broad and inclusive public planning process such as the current Mountain Accord initiative and that this process must incorporate an overall transportation solution for the Wasatch area.
And finally, we believe that before proposing a large-scale linkage of resorts, the Utah ski resort industry should show a good faith effort to demonstrate benefits from connections and common boundaries already in place between the resorts of the Wasatch. This process should also include careful study of resort connections in other parts of the world for proof of perceived benefits. For example, since the 1997 merger of Whistler and Blackcomb ski resorts in British Columbia to create Canada’s largest ski complex, skier/rider visits to the area have remained stagnant. It appears that combining the resorts into one complex has not created any additional economic or social benefit to the resorts or to surrounding businesses and communities.
Wasatch Backcountry Alliance and our members look forward to participating in partnership with the ski resort industry, local governments and other stakeholders to ensure recreation and transportation solutions that truly benefit all residents and visitors who turn to the irreplaceable splendor of the Wasatch Range for soul-replenishing recreation and rejuvenation.”
Save Our Canyons statement:
One Wasatch is a concept driven by Ski Utah, supported by the seven central Wasatch Resorts. Their goal, to interconnect all seven resorts with three or so lifts, offering one lift pass to ski between all seven resorts. They have stated that they hope to align all these lifts on private land. It should be noted that the Wasatch, will not be One Wasatch for snowboarders as 2 of the 7 resorts will continue to prohibit snowboarding. At the press event, it was also stated that SkiLink has been taken off the table, but that the Canyons Resort feels it is still a viable connection between the resorts so it is not ‘off the table.’
One thing that Ski Utah and the resorts got right is that, there is only One Wasatch. Kudos for recognizing that. We only have one; One Watershed, One for year round recreation, One Viewshed, one Wasatch for a growing population of nearly 2 million people. And since we only have one Wasatch, we need to share it. One Wasatch fails to do that and represents the defacto expansion of 7 Wasatch ski areas. It should be noted that recent Ski Utah studies found that 5% of the Utah population ski.
We found it ironic that while describing the need for interconnect, Ski Utah President, Nathan Rafferty, talked about how he skied from Park City Mountain Resort’s Legacy Lodge at 9:30am last weekend, skied to Snowbird, and was back to Park City by lunch (1:30pm). What a wonderful experience! If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Sounds like the only thing standing in the way of an interconnect is a cost sharing structure amongst the resorts. They can sell the experience without building more lifts, lodges, condos, and restaurants.
We’d like to know what it is that the resorts [think they] need. One reason we had interest in participating in the Mountain Accord, was that we felt there was a way to get resorts the visitors they are interested in via transportation improvements. What was stated at today’s event, was that they want both — transit and lifts. This is too much!
The Wasatch Mountains are a finite resource — the ski areas proved our concerns of over 4 decades that their desire to infinitely expand has no end in sight. At what point is enough, enough! Last year was SkiLink, this year One Wasatch, what scheme is next? The resorts are asking for compromise, we feel that we compromised when these resorts were established. The Wasatch is compromised enough, the appropriate balance exists.
Last, on the issue of private land. It might be possible for them to build the lifts on private land, but the terrain they will be skiing on will surely encompass public lands. But because they didn’t identify alignments, there is no way of knowing exactly how much. You can view our prior post on interconnect and look at our interactive map to learn more about rumored links.
The Wasatch is too amazing of a place to be lost for a marketing ploy by the ski industry. We hope that you’ll get engaged, bring your friends and join Save Our Canyons to stop interconnect… for the umpteenth time! It was a bad idea 30 years ago, a bad idea 20 years ago, a bad idea 10… 5… 3… and 2 years ago.
We only have One Wasatch – let’s fight to protect it!”