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Dear Alta Skiers,
In 1938, the first chairlift in Utah starting spinning and skiing began in Little Cottonwood Canyon. The early ski pioneers invented powder techniques and snow safety science that have since become the industry benchmark. Some 81 years later, Alta is still a magical place steeped in tradition—a pantheon for powder that attracts skiers from across the globe with the promise to float ones skis on The Greatest Snow on Earth. For those of us who came for, and tasted that first unforgettable powder day, we become family and come back year after year. Many of us Alta skiers have passed along this love affair to the next generation of skiers.
Simply put. We came for the skiing and stayed for the skiing.
Enter Alta Ski Area’s mission statement, “to provide authentic skiing experiences in a natural mountain environment.” We always have and always will put our focus on skiing.
Don’t you return to Alta each winter because the skiing remains unchanged? We thought so and now we need your support because we’re in a predicament.
The Now, The Future
Salt Lake City is growing very quickly and there are more and more people playing in the mountains every year. The Mountain Accord was created to develop collaborative solutions for dealing with recreational access, transportation, economic growth and environmental protections associated with the projected growth. The Mountain Accord designated the base of existing ski areas in the Cottonwood Canyons as clustered nodes where additional mountain development could be used to accommodate recreational growth. Legislation drafted from the Mountain Accord process included authorization for the ski areas in the Cottonwood Canyons to trade private alpine mountain lands for base areas lands to facilitate base area development. The Mountain Accord was deemed incomplete at the federal level and the legislation stalled and the Mountain Accord was dissolved. The Central Wasatch Commission (CWC) was created to continue the collaborative work of the Mountain Accord and implement the values and actions of the Mountain Accord.
Since the conditions for the exchange of some of Alta’s private lands were not met, Alta Ski Area has removed its private lands in Grizzly Gulch from the proposed land exchange to preserve its options for accommodating recreational growth. With Grizzly Gulch off the table, special interest groups have pressured the CWC to remove Alta Ski Area from the legislation authorizing Alta to exchange sensitive private alpine outside the ski area for base area lands in the ski area while authorizing the other ski areas to exchange private lands for base area lands. This action seems unfair and is contrary to values and collaborative spirit of the Mountain Accord.
Please Support Alta
This is the where your help is needed. Please support Alta's vision of preparing for recreational growth in a manner that preserves the Alta experience and manages the impact on the environment. Alta believes the currently proposed legislation should:
| • | Provide solutions to reduce congestion and improve transportation and parking in the Cottonwood Canyons. |
| • | Respect and protect private landowner and ski area permit holder rights. |
| • | Authorize land exchanges of sensitive private alpine lands for heavily used base area lands in ski areas. |
| • | Provide protections for sensitive public lands and watershed. |
| • | Legislation should be fair to all stakeholders. |
Please join Alta in calling upon public officials and legislators to look beyond the rhetoric of special interest groups demanding that Alta be removed from legislation authorizing future land exchange with the Forest Service.
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It's time for Alta skiers to weigh in on this issue. Thank you for your support.