Snowbird Improvements for 2007-2008

PERUVIAN GULCH SNOWMAKING
Snowbird crews spent the summer of 2007 installing a massive upgrade to the snowmaking in Peruvian Gulch. The new snowmaking provides coverage from the top of Chip’s Run all the way to the Snowbird base, 3000 vertical feet below. This upgrade will ensure that Snowbird continues its tradition of opening as much terrain as possible and keeping that terrain open as late into spring as possible.

MIDDLE MEN’S DOWNHILL
It took three months and over 12,000 pounds of explosives but the trail formerly known as the “Middle Men’s Downhill” has been transformed to make the terrain more intermediate friendly and bypass the need to enter the “Back Door” switchbacks when skiing on Chip’s Run. Snowbird crews drilled over 240 holes ranging from 25 to 50 feet deep, into the solid rock at the end of Baldy Flats and then used explosives to release over 8000 cubic yards (216,000 cubic feet) of rock and dirt. The run was widened by over 60 feet and its angle has been reduced from nearly 50 degrees to a more intermediate-friendly 35 degrees.

NEW PERUVIAN GULCH CHAIRLIFT AND TUNNEL
By fall of 2006, Snowbird’s original Peruvian lift will be taken out and replaced with a new high-speed quad. While the base will stay near the original base shack, the top station will be located below the steepest Chip’s Run pitch, an approximately 2,600-vertical-foot rise. At the top of the lift, a 600 foot tunnel with a magic carpet will provide access to Mineral Basin. This lift will open up more intermediate terrain for skiers and snowboarders. Timeline: Start tunnel construction and top shack earthwork summer 2005, finish grading for bottom shack and remove old Peruvian lift during summer 2006 with an expected completion date in the fall of 2006.

SNOWBIRD EXPEDITIONS
The dream of Dick Bass, the first person to summit the tallest mountain on each of the world’s seven continents, has been to create a renaissance center for enhancement of body, mind and spirit. This dream becomes a reality this year as Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort launches Snowbird Expeditions, a program offering participants hands-on mountaineering instruction and guidance from the world’s foremost experts. David Breashears, a world-famous climber, author and cinematographer, designed these expeditions to combine the optimum blend of intense athletic activity, technical climbing instruction, mountaineering skills, world-renowned healthful cuisine and restorative spa treatments. Visit www.snowbirdx.com for more information.

AVALANCHE TRAINING CENTER
North America’s first fully automated avalanche rescue training facility simulating single and multiple buried avalanche victims opened at Snowbird in December 2004. The Rescue Training Center is open and free to the public throughout the winter. It includes a control panel and buried transmitters to simulate avalanche victims. Users select the number of “victims” for their practice session at the control panel and then receive computer-generated feedback at the completion of their search.