Junior ski racers and Olympic athletes from all over the world will soon have a new place to train in Utah.
On Wednesday at 11 a.m. the UOP will celebrate its expansion with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, which is free and open to the public. The ski hill is not open to the public.
The new terrain is 25 acres with two ski runs. It includes 10 lanes of advanced alpine and freestyle ski training, FIS-approved Giant Slalom and Slalom runs, and a World Cup-level moguls course. The expansion will also bring a brand new high-speed quad lift to the UOP. Other improvements include area lights for night training and snowmaking systems.
Fundraising for the facility has been ongoing for years. Contributions have come from Park City Ski and Snowboard, Rowmark and the University of Utah and the Eccles Foundation, which provided a $5 million grant last August to complete the second phase.
Utah Olympic Park opened the first phase of its mountain expansion – named Hyeway – in 2019, which included an enhanced intermediate hill with six acres of alpine, freestyle and snowboard training as well as competition terrain.
More than 1,500 youth athletes regularly train at the UOP annually. The new park is not open to the public, but last year Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation CEO Colin Hilton hinted that they've looked at a local uphill ski pass option.