snowbird

• News

Snow Update - Storm Blankets The Rockies

Early season flakes equal excitement, especially this year as snow also equals sales. We’re all waiting on the edge of our seats, hoping to escape from behind our desks and trade them for a chairlift very soon and things are looking good!

mike lewis

• October 01 2009 | 277 views

• Features

Snowbird’s PR Director Jared Ishkanian On Recent Avalanche

After a series of deadly avalanches in December, one of which was on Snowbird’s Mt. Baldy, Transworld Business talked with the resort’s PR director about the recent tragedy, how the resort is reacting and what this means for the remainder of the season.

mike lewis

• January 05 2009 | 617 views | 1 comment

• News

Snowbird Continues Local Environmental Restoration

Following on the heels of its award-winning efforts with the Pacific Mine, Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort is continuing to improve local environmental conditions and water quality by embarking on a second mine restoration project in American Fork Canyon.

With assistance from Trout Unlimited (TU), Snowbird is redirecting water from the Live Yankee Mine in Mary Ellen Gulch away from its current path over contaminated mine waste. This redirection helps ensure that the water quality in the stream will meet Clean Water standards and provide a healthy environment for the occupants of the mountain streams of American Folk Canyon. Snowbird’s efforts are supported by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality and the Forest Service. The project is slated to begin Aug. 25 and be completed by Aug. 29.

“The Live Yankee Mine project is a natural extension of Snowbird’s desire to protect and improve our local environment,” said Snowbird President Bob Bonar. “We are proud to have helped lead the way in demonstrating how the ski industry can tackle the challenges of abandoned mines.”

Currently, potentially lethal heavy metals are leaching from the Live Yankee Mine waste piles and being carried to the stream in Mary Ellen Gulch. The water from the mine contains 10 times the metal content acceptable by Clean Water standards and is killing almost all the water insects that are crucial to the survival of fish downstream. The plan to redirect this water around the mine waste through conduits was deemed the most environmental and economically feasible solution considering the remoteness of Mary Ellen Gulch, an area adjacent to Snowbird’s Mineral Basin. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that more than 500,000 abandoned mine sites litter the western landscape, affecting 16,000 miles of streams.

“Trout Unlimited has been proud to ally with Snowbird on the precedent setting cleanups of the Pacific and Live Yankee Mines,” said TU’s Ted Fitzgerald. “Both the local habitat in American Fork Canyon and large numbers of people who enjoy this recreational area will clearly benefit from this restoration project.”

Snowbird’s initial partnership in 2006 with TU at the Pacific Mine resulted in a number of local and national honors, including the National Ski Areas Association Golden Eagle Award for Overall Environmental Excellence. The resort also received the 2007 Earth Day Award from the Utah Department of Natural Resources for being the first private landowner to help fund a mining clean-up project, as well as the EPA’s Environmental Achievement Award. In 2005, Snowbird became the first ski area to partner with the National Forest Foundation, in an effort to provide funds for conservation projects in and around the Wasatch-Cache National Forest. The program has raised more than $120,000 since it was instituted.

Press Release

• August 26 2008 | 27 views

• News

Snowbird Announces New Public Relations Director

Press Release

• July 31 2008 | 189 views

• News

Snowbird Receives 14 Inches Over Night

The NWS forecast calls for more snow through the weekend.

Press Release

• May 22 2008 | 307 views | 1 comment