Snowbasin Expansion Plans Generating Positive Feedback | News, Sports, Jobs

TIM VANDENACK, standard examiner

Ambitious expansion plans at Snow basin, including the addition of a 300-room hotel, elicited a favorable response from some people familiar with the plans.

They have certainly not generated a strong reaction from the public, although development in the Ogden Valley can be a sensitive issue for locals who protect the area’s natural resources.

Jan Fullmer, an Ogden Valley resident who helps run the Ogden Valley GEM, said Snowbasin officials have covered their bases in planning for the expansion. She attended one of the meetings organized by Snowbasin to brief different segments of the ski and Ogden Valley community about the plans.

“Overall, they did a really good job of explaining things,” Fullmer said, targeting planning and preparations to meet the expected demand for water and wastewater brought on by the expansion. GEM, made up of residents of Ogden Valley, is closely monitoring development in the area.

Kym Buttschardt, who has attended three meetings hosted by Snowbasin, said the response from meeting attendees was generally positive. Many had questions, she said, and representatives for Snowbasin – continuing to expand to increase the number of visitors coming to the resort – were able to answer questions.

Image provided, Snow basin

“They did their homework on water and development,” said Buttschardt. She regularly skis at Snowbasin and also does business with the ski resort through the company she helps run, based in Ogden Roosters Brewing Co.

A massive expansion proposal put forward by Nordic Valley in 2018 generated a strong public reaction, in particular a provision to create a mountain crossing gondola between the north of the Ogden and the ski resort of Eden-area.

The Nordic Valley gondola plan “surprised everyone, let me tell you,” Fullmer said. Nordic Valley ultimately put the massive proposal on the back burner, although it moved forward with a reduced expansion plan Last year.

Snowbasin’s expansion, on the other hand, had been publicly considered for years and had even passed a preliminary review by officials in Weber and Morgan counties in the early 2010s. “This was not a big surprise to most. people there, ”said Weber County Commissioner Gage Froerer, who lives in the Ogden Valley.

Froerer acknowledged that the Ogden Valley contingent is wary of the change that is leading to increased traffic and visits to the area. “You are going to have this group that sees any kind of tourism as not being a good thing for the valley,” he said.

But he senses general support for Snowbasin’s plans. Three ski resorts are based in the Ogden Valley: Snowbasin, Nordic Valley and Powder mountain. The area is also home to the Pineview Reservoir, another popular attraction.

Snowbasin publicly announced its expansion proposal on September 23. Plans call for the addition of a 300-room hotel to be operated by Club Med, new retail offerings and other developments around Earl’s Lodge, as well as additional elevators and parking.

The aim is to increase the attractiveness of Snowbasin to visitors from all over the world and to strengthen its status as a destination resort. The planned changes, some of which are already underway, would be the most significant improvements since the improvements implemented before the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Utah. The new hotel is due to be built by the end of 2024, although further expansion is envisaged that would continue in the years to come.

From a business standpoint, Buttschardt said Snowbasin’s plans made sense. “I always knew that it was not sustainable to have this incredible mountain without being housed around it,” she said.

That said, she is aware of some grunts on social media, mostly from skiers who are wary of others invading the mountains in the area.

Davy Ratchford, Managing Director of Snowbasin, felt the same about a pocket of critics but received more positive feedback. “The feedback has been very encouraging. People have been waiting for this for a long time, ”he said.

One of the main areas of questioning among those attending the Snowbasin meetings, Ratchford said, was about buying property around the resort. More information will be available if and when these details are finalized.

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