SAM Magazine—Eden, Utah, July 16, 2018—The operators of Nordic Valley, Mountain Capital Partners (MCP), are floating the idea of a massive expansion that would grow Utah’s smallest ski area from 140 skiable acres to more than 2,800. The proposal for the expansion into the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest includes a 4.3-mile-long gondola plus at least 10 more lifts. The development would also raise Nordic’s top elevation from 6,330 feet to about 8,100.

MCP entered into an operating agreement in April with Nordic Valley owners Skyline Mountain Base, LLC, to manage and operate the resort. MCP hasn’t submitted a formal proposal for the expansion project to the Forest Service yet. The company’s leader, James Coleman, held a public comment and information open house last week at the ski area, and more than 100 local residents attended.

Much of the territory within the proposed expansion is inventoried as roadless, per the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which limits activities that require building permanent roads. The land was once proposed for wilderness designation. However, the Forest Service can make exceptions to the roadless rule, according to reports.

Roads would need to be built in order to install and maintain the new lifts in the expansion area. The new gondola would provide “direct resort access from North Ogden,” according the project’s website. The site also says construction of the new gondola is slated to begin in spring of 2020, to be completed before the start of 2020-21 ski season. Coleman said the gondola would cost around $40 million alone.

At the open house, it was reported that most attendees expressed concerns over the project’s impact on the environment, traffic, water use and water runoff.

Viability was also a concern. Nordic Valley’s 5,400-foot base elevation is the lowest of Utah’s 14 ski areas, and its highest lift at present reaches 6,330 feet, which is lower than the base elevations of all but two of the state’s ski areas. And despite getting an average annual snowfall of 300 inches, it is typically the last ski area in Utah to open and first to close. The new expansion would raise the ski area’s highest point to about 8,100 feet and offer more reliable snow.

Coleman said Nordic Valley right now isn’t profitable. He said it gets a lot of consistent snow, especially on the upper half of the mountain, but it’s “definitely challenging down low, which is why it is important to go higher on the mountain for the ski area to remain viable.”

Coleman assured residents the project would entail the minimum amount of environmental impact, and remained confident. “I’ve never had a project fail yet,” he said.

Another open house is scheduled for August.

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