Top of Little Cottonwood Canyon
Ski Utah · Little Cottonwood Canyon
Snowbird
Big, steep and snowy, Snowbird climbs 3,000 vertical feet from a concrete base village to Hidden Peak, with a 125-passenger tram, the open bowl of Mineral Basin and one of the longest seasons in the West.
Photo: Tyson Dudley · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Snowbird is the mountain that Utah experts measure themselves against. The Aerial Tram, running since 1971, lifts 125 people at a time from the base to Hidden Peak in about ten minutes, and from the top you can drop into Cirque Traverse, Great Scott or the steep chutes of Gad Valley. Nearly half the terrain is rated advanced or expert, and the snow comes in the same storms that make Alta famous.
Over the back side, Mineral Basin is a huge sunny bowl with wide intermediate runs and the connection to Alta. The base village is built in poured concrete in the Brutalist style of the 1970s, with The Cliff Lodge and its rooftop spa as the centerpiece. Many springs, Snowbird is still spinning lifts in May, and in good years well into late spring.
Snowbird welcomes snowboarders, but riders cannot cross into Alta. The Alta-Bird ticket covers both mountains for skiers.
Known for
- The 125-passenger Aerial Tram
- Steep chutes and cliffy expert terrain
- Mineral Basin
- One of Utah’s longest ski seasons
- The Cliff Lodge
Good to know
- Snowbird mixes free first-come lots with paid and reserved parking. On powder weekends the free lots fill early, so arrive before the lifts open or take the bus.
- UTA ski buses serve Snowbird’s four entries from the valley and are free for Ikon and many Cottonwood season passholders.
- Little Cottonwood Canyon has a single road with no other way out. Traction-device rules are enforced in storms, and avalanche control can close SR-210 for hours.
- When avalanche danger is high, the resort and the Town of Alta may call Interlodge, keeping guests inside buildings until it lifts.
- Ride the tram early or late. Lines peak mid-morning, and Peruvian Express plus the Peruvian Tunnel (a moving carpet through the ridge) are a fast way into Mineral Basin.