Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Columnist Susan Snyder: Experience at resort is uplifting

The slopes are bare at Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort, but the main lift is still running.

And people are still riding it -- not to ski but to admire the trees and snow-capped peaks and to suck in some of that fabulous mountain air.

"It's just wonderful," a woman said as she and three friends emerged from a scenic ride on the resort's No. 2 lift. "I didn't even know they were doing this. I just checked the Web site for a snow report and saw it."

It's just one idea Brian Strait has up his sleeve. Strait is general manager of the ski area that was bought last fall by Powdr Corp., which also operates Park City Mountain Ski Resort in Utah.

Strait stood next to the grill on the Las Vegas resort's lodge patio one recent Saturday hawking hot dogs, burgers and the $10 scenic lift rides. The 25-minute rides have been running from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday since the ski season ended April 11.

"The Arizona Snowbowl does these rides too. The people love to do it. It's really great for the public," said Scott Ewers, who oversees special use permits for the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area.

Strait hopes to add mountain-biking trails and lift rides to take the bikers to the top. He also hopes to install a ZipRider, in which people sit in a swing-like harness and descend down a cable. The Park City resort recently added one, but Strait said such plans remain on the drawing board. He needs to assess how they fit into the rest of the canyon.

"We want to be really proactive in the community and to do our share to maintain the mountain environment," he said.

Ewers said the Spring Mountains are a "biological hotspot," and all development proposals must undergo extensive federal study.

The 316,000-acre recreation area is home to some 27 endemic plant, animal and insect species. ("Endemic" means they aren't found anywhere else.)

No major development plans have been proposed since the region became a national recreation area in August 1993, Ewers said. The status adds another layer of requirements that must be met.

Critics undoubtedly are right that more trails and attractions could lure more people to the recreation area and its mountains. But the mountain areas already are feeling the population pinch.

"We're already overrun," Ewers said.

The trail to Big Falls over in Kyle Canyon the Saturday before last was packed. If we didn't see people on the trail ahead or behind us, we heard them and their dogs somewhere in the distance."

Big Falls shot from the tiptop of the gray limestone cliffs like a spout. Snow still filled the canyon below for several hundred yards, and water gushed from beneath, pooling and tumbling over the rocks farther down the wash.

Absolutely breathtaking. And it's all ours.

Ski lift in Lee Canyon, mountain trail in Kyle Canyon or a nice drive with the windows down over the Deer Creek Road that connects the two canyons -- any route is worth the gas it takes to get there.

This is one of those times when following the crowd is a pretty cool idea.

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