In the same week that the Ski Our Canyons Responsibly group held its first meeting, Canyons Resort officially announced its plans in building an interconnect to Solitude Resort in Salt Lake County. Tuesday night, Park City locals grilled Canyons Resort Manager Mike Goar and Talisker Director of Community Affairs Ted Wilson on the proposed lift.
“We need to have a strong presence, to have a voice in these meetings,” said Tom Richardson, the group’s organizer. “We will need to have a presence at hearings when it gets to a critical point, when authorities are meeting.”
Before those meetings ever happen, Richardson said the new group can get locals talking about the pros and cons. At the heart of Tuesday’s discussion one point kept coming up as the dividing issue: is more development in Park City a good or bad idea?
The gondola project dubbed “SkiLink” would be an eight-person gondola that could move skiers and snowboarders in between Canyons and Solitude in 11 minutes. Goar added that the interconnect could replace roughly 18,000 cars on the road every year.
“The SkiLink vision has been in the works for many years,” Goar said in a press release, “and we are glad to be at a point where we can share the details of the proposed project and express our excitement and enthusiasm for the tremendous experience and benefits it offers for Utah and snowsport enthusiasts from around the globe.”
Even as the resort was outlining all the potential benefits of the project, concerns were raised on how the resort might purchase the federal land suggested for the Ski Link.
Congressman Rob Bishop, who serves as the chair of the National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee, introduced legislation co-sponsored by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Sen Orrin Hatch and Sen. Mike Lee that would sell the federal land to Talisker, the Canadian-based company that own the Canyons Resort, for a fair trade value. If the bill the Wasatch Range Recreation Access Enhancement Act is passed, Talisker would be able to avoid any U.S. Forest Service mandates for construction.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Park City residents were still torn on the idea of building any interconnect at all. While some spoke out in strong support, others had logistical questions on the impact the proposed gondola might have.
“More and more infrastructure in the mountains is my biggest concern,” said Park City local Patrick Reddish, “not necessarily the skiers but the development that follows.”
Matthew Lindon, a Park City resident for more than 30 years, said development concerns were at the top of his list too.
“We said some things (at this meeting) about Park City becoming a portal for people to get into other resorts,” Lindon said. “That puts a lot of pressure on our quality of life here.”
As a member of Save Our Canyons, the nonprofit organization based in Salt Lake City that has so far opposed the Ski Link concept, Lindon said he believes the mountains surrounding Park City are about more than making money.
“Everyone wants to talk about bigger and better and growth,” Lindon added. “Nobody really wants to talk about sustainability. If we bring too many people in here we have too many cars and too may skiers and the experience of living here is not as good as it used to be.”
On the other side of the fence, Damon Decando was in full support of the proposal.
“We should react before people are here and plan for growth,” Decando said. “I understand both sides and I don’t want to see Park City turn into a McDonald’s, but unfortunately, because of the growth of both Salt Lake City and Park City we need to prepare so our town doesn’t turn into those golden arches.”
In the meeting, Goar and Wilson reviewed both sides of the argument. “We’re going at this with the assumption that it will be the only connect of its kind,” Goar said. “It is a stand-alone project.”
With that in mind, Goar said Canyons Resort was researching any impact the Ski Link could have, from backcountry skiing to potential watershed issues in Salt Lake County to working with other resorts.