Ski Areas
Utah and Intermountain West Ski Areas
The Utah Ski Archives can be used to research the history and development of ski areas in the Intermountain West. Finding aids for selected collections are highlighted below. These finding aids represent a small portion of the Utah Ski Archives. For more information about ski research, view the research page for searching tips.
Big Cottonwood Canyon Association records, 1957-1992
The Big Cottonwood Canyon Association records consist of documents pertaining to Big Cottonwood Canyon and its inhabitants. The records also contain documents relating to projects or plans to which the Big Cottonwood Canyon Association was concerned or consulted.
Brighton Ski Resort records, 1915-2000
The Brighton Ski Resort records (1915-2000) contain a master plan, brochures, season pass forms, trial maps, posters, articles, news clippings, ski passes, and typescript histories detailing the development of both Brighton, Utah and Brighton Ski Resort. The first serviced ski area in Utah was created at Brighton in 1936. The resort area has been expanded to cover 850 acres today.
Brighton Ski Resort photograph collection, 1920-1985
The Brighton Ski Resort photograph collection contains photographs of facilities and skiing at Brighton ski area, postcards and an album containing images of recreational activities in Brighton and of the Balsam Hotel (circa 1910).
Park City Mountain Resort records, 1942-2002
The Park City Mountain Resort records (1942-2002) contain correspondence, snow reports, accounting information, inspection reports, brochures, photography records, world cup records, memorabilia, magazines, news clippings, race materials, and engineering documents and drawings. The Park City Mountain Resort evolved from a mining operation started in the late 1800s and, as mining activities decreased, more attention was devoted to the development of a ski area. In 1963 the Treasure Mountain Resort was opened and in a few years the name was changed to the Park City Resort. The resort was purchased several times before being named The Park City Mountain Resort in the 1990s. Since that time the resort has hosted numerous competitions, including the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.
Park City Mountain Resort photograph collection, 1971-1994
The Park City Mountain Resort photograph collection (1971-1994) contains negatives, photographs, and postcards, almost all of which are directly related to Park City Mountain Resort's role in Utah's winter sports industry and international competative ski ciruit. The colleciton includes promotional materials for the ski area, Utah's ski industry at large and the United States Ski Team, as well as images of the World Cup and other competitions held at the resort, and many other materials relating to the ski and snowboard industry in Utah and beyond. Founded in 1963, Park City Mountain Resort is one of three ski areas in the vicinity of Park City, Utah. Repository
Powder Mountain Winter Resort photograph collection
The Powder Mountain Winter Resort photograph collection consists of images of the resort and of skiers.
The Solitude Ski Patrol scrapbook contains collected materials regarding staff training, staff testing, avalanche preparedness, correspondence, and news clippings. Main staff for the 1967-1968 season included Dick Frost, Jim Sewell, Dean Tucker, Steve Utley, Dick Bench, John Lee, Brent Bain and Russ Schneider.
Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort photograph collection, 1971-2002
Planning for the ski area that was to become known as Snowbird began operation in 1967. By 1971, developers Ted Johnson and Richard Bass had completed enough to open in December of that year. When it opened, Snowbird consisted of one lodge and three restaurants. Ski runs were reached by the Snowbird Tram, which still takes skiers to the top of 11,000 foot Hidden Peak, and three chairlifts, the Wilbere, Gad I and Gad II, named for Gad Valley. The resort employed 290 people. Since then a number of new lifts have been added, as well as many more condominium lodges, restaurants, and other amenities. From the earliest days, Snowbird was planned to be a summer resort as well, offering tennis courts, hiking and mountain biking, the annual Oktoberfest, the Snowbird Institute, and many other features.
Collections with materials on a variety of ski resorts
Andy Wright digital photograph collection, 1996-2000
Andy Wright is a professional photographer located in Salt Lake City specializing in snowboard photography. The Wright collection contains digital scans taken from 35mm slides of snowboarders at Brighton, Alta, Snowbird and other Utah ski resorts, as well as boarders in Salt Lake City and the Wasatch backcountry. The collection also contains images of boarders competing in the X-Games and at a snowboarding camp at Mt. Hood, Washington. The collection features a long list of snowboarders including Tonino Copene, Josh Roberts, Austin Orth, Kasey Marks, Brad Scheuffele, and many others. The original order of the images has been retained. All of the images in this collection are protected by copyright and may not be used without the exclusive permission of the photographer. For more information see http://www.andywrightphoto.com.
Bill Lash photograph collection
The Bill Lash photograph collection contains photographs of Bill Lash, Willi Schaeffler, and the Solitude Ski School in 1958.
Nate Christenson digital photograph collection
The Nate Christenson digital photograph collection conists of images of ski resorts and snowboarders primarily in Utah and also in Colorado and California.
Robert Smith Photograph Collection, 1960-1975
The Robert Smith photograph collection contains photographs of skiers and staff at the Park City Ski Area, Utah. The collection also includes photographs taken at Brighton, Solitude, and Alta ski resorts in Utah.
Ski Utah audio-visual collection
The Ski Utah audio-visual collection consists largely of promotional films, videos and compact discs designed to attract tourists to Utah on behalf of the ski and snowboard industry. The collection also includes some news stories related to Utah's ski industry. Ski Utah, Inc. is a marketing firm representing the state's resorts and related service industries.