General Manager Jamie Kimball said the UOP released 400 season passes at 9 a.m. Thursday to test the public’s appetite for human-powered skiing.
The $234 passes sold out in five minutes, locals’ only chance to get on the hill because no day passes will be sold.
“It was amazing,” Kimball said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour.” “Had no idea there's that much interest in the general public, which is great to see, and for us, a little bit overwhelming as well because we haven't been in this space before.”
Uphill skiers use modified equipment to hike and ski without a lift. Usually, that entails bindings with a free heel and “skins” attached to the bottom of the ski to gain traction.
The sport’s popularity is growing, and “ski mountaineering” will debut at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy. Companies are now producing “splitboards” so snowboarders can walk up and ride down too.
The UOP cut skimo runs last year, and this season is the first chance for the public to hike up.
“We're really excited to allow some folks up on the hill see what we have in the wintertime,” Kimball added, “and kind of evaluate how it goes for the future.”
Traditional ski resorts usually limit uphill access to a run or two, but there will be multiple ways up and down the UOP for the lucky few who snagged passes.
“There's about 40 to 50 acres of accessible terrain in and around our training venue,” Kimball said. “The training venues are all off limits for any uphill or downhill ski traffic, but all of the trees and the rolling hills and areas around that we've opened up. We've actually done quite a bit of glading and clearing in there to try to make it a little bit more ski-friendly.”
Besides skimo, the UOP is a training facility for nearly every winter sport except cross country skiing and skating.
UOP’s uphill hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily from January to April. No dogs are allowed.
Park City Mountain plans to open uphill access on Homerun Monday. It is free and only outside of regular resort hours.
Deer Valley Resort does not offer uphill access.
