Brian Head Resort is pumping the brakes on the hype over this super El Niño winter — and on its targeted opening day.
In August, Utah’s southernmost resort optimistically set this Friday as the tentative first day of its — and the state’s — 2026-27 ski and snowboard season. That seemed realistic after two recent storms that favored its high elevation and southern location dropped a total of 18 inches on the resort, according to tallies from the forecasting website Open Snow. Brian Head reported that 21 inches of snow has fallen on its slopes since Oct. 14.
But the most recent snow fell on ground that wasn’t frozen, causing it to melt quickly. It also came with rain at the lowest elevations, making conditions unsuitable for skiing. As a result, general manager Tom Pettigrew said Wednesday that Brian Head will delay its opening day indefinitely.
“We’ve had some good early season snow,” Pettigrew said in a statement, “and the improvements we made on Navajo Mountain are helping our crews make the most of every snowmaking opportunity.”
Brian Head poured nearly $1 million into snowmaking equipment during the offseason. That includes adding a pipeline on Navajo Mountain that will allow up to 24 snow guns (up from 18) to operate simultaneously. However, the resort was not able to turn them on until Tuesday due to warm temperatures.
Read the full article by Julie Jag at sltrib.com.
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.