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A winter of unrelentingly warm, dry conditions has forced Deer Valley to surrender its ski season.
President and chief operating officer Todd Bennett announced Thursday, March 26, lifts will stop spinning Sunday, March 29. That’s three weeks sooner than Deer Valley’s original goal of closing April 19.
Bennett said resort leaders made the call after skiing yesterday, when temperatures reached the low 70s.
“Obviously, we’ve been talking about the conditions for a while, but we had 30 senior leaders from mountain operations and lodging and all throughout the company, and we got together at 4 o’clock and talked about what we saw,” he said.
They decided to deliver “one last great weekend” to guests before shutting down for the season.
Bennett said the resort’s advanced snowmaking technology helped Deer Valley make the most of a difficult snow year.
“We have the largest snowmaking system in North America. I think at one point we had 130 snow guns making snow simultaneously,” he said. “So, we are really grateful for the team and able to, even in a low snowfall year, to extend here almost to April.”
This was a milestone year for Deer Valley East Village, the massive expansion overlooking the Jordanelle Reservoir. The resort opened nearly 100 new runs and eight new lifts.
“This is the first time I’ve dealt with, or had the opportunity to lead a team through, something that has been so simultaneously exciting and challenging,” Bennett said.
Unseasonably warm and dry weather has made for a grim ski season for resorts across the Mountain West. Deer Valley’s announcement follows a week of record-breaking warm temperatures.
The National Weather Service reports Salt Lake City logged record highs on five out of the seven days from March 19 through March 25.
Unusually dry conditions all winter have added to the challenges. Deer Valley received a total 144 inches of snow this season, less than half its annual average of 300 inches.
Deer Valley will host a “passholder appreciation weekend” to close out the season with music and complimentary lunch.
Refunds will be issued for lift tickets and lessons booked for after March 29.
Several Utah ski areas have already closed for the season. For a full list, visit kpcw.org.
Many others are hoping to hang on a little longer. Park City Mountain has said it will remain open until April.
Deer Valley Resort is a financial supporter of KPCW.
