Lift access at the Canyons Village base wasn’t available until after 10 a.m. Tuesday, but the Mountain Village side of Park City Mountain experienced even more hiccups.
Payday and Town were the only lifts available early Tuesday, and without access to Bonanza to get farther up the mountain, heavy lines quickly formed.
The wait for Payday was over 20 minutes for a stretch of the morning, according to the Epic Mix app, which provides wait times. Peak wait time was about 25 minutes.
A skier named Andrew told KPCW the line for Payday stretched to the slow down signs on Home Run around 10:30 a.m. due to the congestion. He ended up walking nearly a mile to take the Town Lift instead. A Park City Mountain spokesperson said the Epix Mix app wait times are estimates, and the PayDay wait is usually overstated given foot traffic in the area — which the app uses the determine wait times.
Several skiers at the base of the Town Lift said Tuesday afternoon they planned to go the Canyons side, or stop skiing for the day. Along with wind, the incoming snow storm brought in a warm system that produced more cold rain than snow in Park City as of Tuesday afternoon.
Park City Mountain eventually opened more lifts later in the day, with Bonanza, Silverlode, and Motherlode coming on to offer access higher up the mountain.
Wind also shut down some lifts at Deer Valley Tuesday. Lifts accessing Bald Mountain were closed Tuesday, along with Empire Express, Lady Morgan Express, and the Jordanelle Express.
Deer Valley spokesperson Emily Summers said there are many factors at play when the resort is considering wind holds. She said each hold is determined by lift location or aspect versus the wind direction, along with speed of both gusts and sustained winds.
Lifts were on hold at resorts throughout the Wasatch Tuesday, from the Cottonwoods to Snowbasin.
Lifts holds are for public safety. Just a week ago at Breckenridge in Colorado, a guest stuck on a lift during wind hold was uninjured after a chair dislodged and fell over ten feet.
