Plans to build the world’s longest and most expensive gondola in Utah has sparked an epic ‘tug-of-war’ and fury amongst locals who fear the damage to the natural landscape will be ‘irreversible’.
In an attempt to solve the decades-long traffic problem at Little Cottonwood Canyon – where people can sit in heavy stand-stills for up to three hours – the Utah Department of Transportation announced an ambitious plan.
A billion dollar, eight-mile long gondola at the base of the canyon, that is set to cost each household at least $1,000 in taxes.
The plan has been met with heavy scrutiny from both state organizations and locals who argue that the expensive, publicly funded project won’t be able to solve the congestion problem.
Little Cottonwood in the Wasatch Mountains is home to two massive ski spots – the Alta Ski Area and the Snowbird Resort – where hundreds of people head to enjoy the slopes known for their heavy powder.
Spencer Shaver, the executive director of Save Our Canyons, which was formed to protect the Wasatch Mountains, told DailyMail.com: ‘Mountains are just a few of the many reasons that Utahns love these places, and want to see them protected for future generations.
‘The process to preserve these landscapes is a constant tug of war between development and conservation interests.
‘And once the mountains are developed, they lose some of the natural character and beauty that make them so beloved by many.’
Little Cottonwood is home to two massive ski spots that are well known for the immense amount of snow they receive each year – yet the snowfall continues to bring avalanches and landslides along with it, making getting to and from the mountain a traffic nightmare for locals and skiers
Below the canyon lies the most avalanche-prone highway in North America, creating a massive congestion problem for residents driving through as well as skiers heading to the slopes
Dozens of locals and organizations are protesting the development, including Save Our Canyons – an organization formed to protect the Wasatch Mountains – over fears that the damage to the natural canyon landscape will be ‘irreversible’
Heavy snowfall, while great for skiers, has brought avalanches and landslides along with it, making getting to and from the mountain a traffic nightmare for locals and skiers alike.
‘There are 62 different avalanche paths that can hit the highway in this canyon,’ Dave Fields, the president and general manager of Snowbird Resort, told DailyMail.com. ‘It’s the most avalanche-prone highway in North America, and we average 500 inches of snow a year.
‘We get a lot of snow, and we’re very close to a major metropolitan area.
‘And you have a lot of people living in close proximity to some of the best skiing and snowboarding in the world here.
‘When your trying to move thousands of vehicles and buses up and down, it just comes to a halt. People are spending two to three hours coming up the canyon just trying to get home.’
Shaver believes adding a gondola for visitors to use by parking at the base of the canyon would ‘simply add to the congestion’.
He said: ‘It shifts the traffic that is mostly concentrated in the canyon today into the surrounding neighborhoods as visitors wait to ender gondola parking lots and connection hubs at the base of the canyon.
‘The solution to congestion is to get people out of their cars and closer to their place of origin and onto public transit sooner.’
Roger Bourke, the mayor of Alta, agreed with Shaver’s statements, telling DailyMail.com how ‘our expectation is that travelers would prefer to wait in their cars rather than take off their ski gear and carry it while waiting in line for the gondola’.
Spencer Shaver, the executive director of Save Our Canyons, told DailyMail.com that he believes that a gondola that visitors use by parking at the base of the canyon would ‘simply add to the congestion,’ adding that ‘while all of us would pay for what is effectively an expansion of ski resort infrastructure, only the ski resorts benefit financially’
Little Cottonwood is home to two massive ski spots – the Alta Ski Area and the Snowbird Resort – where hundreds of people head up to the canyons each year to enjoy the slopes known for their heavy powder. Pictured: Snowbird Ski Resort
The gondola, which would cost somewhere between $750million and $1.4billion to complete, would only make two stops – both of which being at the two resorts
Devin Weder, the project manager at UDOT, said in a statement to DailyMail.com that the department ‘supports the gondola decision’ and that ‘during peak ski season, 90 percent of canyon traffic heads to the resorts. Focusing on transit for this majority will improve road access for residents, emergency vehicles and others’
‘Avalanche mitigation work will also prevent the gondola operating at the same time the road is also restricted,’ he said. In simple terms, the gondola won’t work if the roads are closed, which they frequently are during winter storms.
Furthermore, the backlash has stemmed from the fear that its construction would slowly kill the very thing that residents love about their state – its scenic, nature landscapes.
‘It is a wonderful, beautiful, largely natural place that is easily spoiled, yet impossible to repair,’ Bourke said.
‘We want to keep it that way,’ he added. ‘Mantra for myself, and many others in Alta, is “Keep Alta, Alta.”‘
Little Cottonwood Canyon has long been considered a gem of the Central Wasatch, especially as ski season moves into full swing.
In decades past, there was an effective public transport system serving both ski areas. Visitors weren’t inclined to rent a car as one could catch a bus at multiple places in the valley and ride it to the resorts.
But that luxury slowly fizzled out as canyon congestion took its place, especially during ski season.
Utah saw a record amount of snowfall and skier days during the 2022-23 winter season. The 2023-24 season saw 6.7million skier days – the second record of all time, Deseret reported.
Non-supporters of the project also cited the natural characteristics that would ‘undoubtedly’ be affected, including the pure water quality since it would be built largely in the national forest. Pictyred: A vehicle drives down Little Cottonwood Canyon
The decision to move forward with the project began with a goal to cut nearly 30 percent of traffic in the canyon and called for tolling and increased bus service in its first phase, as well as a hub with 1,500 parking stalls by Big Cottonwood Canyon. Pictured: Projected plans for the project
Now on a sunny day, roughly 1,200 cars an hour pass through Little Cottonwood Canyon. The number drops to 300 an hour when it snows – causing hours of mass traffic.
In June 2020, the Utah Department of Transportation, or UDOT, identified three alternatives to stomp the growing challenge – two enhanced bus service options, one with a widened road and one without, along with a gondola.
Through support from several politicians and distaste from others, UDOT announced its gondola option in August 2023, which would be built in phases.
‘UDOT supports the decision to build a gondola in Little Cottonwood Canyon,’ Devin Weder, the project manager at the department, said in a statement to DailyMail.com.
‘During peak ski season, 90 percent of canyon traffic heads to the resorts,’ he added. ‘Focusing on transit for this majority will improve road access for residents, emergency vehicles and others.’
The gondola, which would cost somewhere between $750million and $1.4billion to complete, would only make two stops – both of which being at the two resorts.
Roger Bourke, the mayor of Alta, told DailyMail.com that ‘all Utah taxpayers, the great majority of whom don’t ski – many because it’s inconvenient or simply the expense – would pay for this,’ while noting how the median income in the state is around $80,000 as he referred to the issue as ‘Robin Hood in reverse: take from the poor and give to the rich’
Shaver told DailyMail.com that Save Our Canyons, the Friends of Alta, Salt Lake City, Sandy City and the Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake and Sandy all have active, ongoing lawsuits against the department that cite the side effects of its construction within nature. Pictured: Those who oppose the plan
Those who live in the state – roughly one million households – would take the brunt end of its cost, with each home paying at least $1,000 in the process.
‘This project would only benefit a small fraction of Utah citizens,’ Roger Bourke told DailyMail.com. ‘Only a relatively small number of the Utah population skis. Of those, only a fraction sky at the two resorts in Little Cottonwood Canyon.’
‘Yet all Utah taxpayers, the great majority of whom don’t ski – many because it’s inconvenient or simply the expense – would pay for this,’ he added, noting how the median income in the state is around $80,000.
‘We term this Robin Hood in reverse: take from the poor and give to the rich.’
Shaver agreed with Bourke’s statement, adding that ‘while all of us would pay for what is effectively an expansion of ski resort infrastructure, only the ski resorts benefit financially’.
Since less than one in ten Utahns ski, those against the proposal argue that footing the expensive, publicly funded project is solely for the benefit of two privately-owned for-profit resorts rather than its residents.
‘The gondola is an idea that serves to profit the resorts and a number of highly politically-connected private property owners would would profit from the sale of land at the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon,’ Shaver said, while comparing the proposal to ‘rent-seeking behavior’.
Yet those in support of the project argue that the gondola’s development would not only solve the congestion issue, but would bring along other benefits to residents, aside from just the ski resorts.
Dave Fields, the president and general manager of Snowbird Resort, told DailyMail.com that ‘ultimately, a gondola is the most efficient, safest and most reliable way to get people in and out of this canyon. Really, what I believe in is having fewer cars in this canyon, which is a win all the way around’
Bourke said that ‘Avalanche mitigation work will also prevent the gondola operating at the same time the road is also restricted’ which in simple terms, means that the gondola won’t work if the roads are closed, which they frequently are during winter storms
‘The gondola could be used to move goods, you could have delivery cars that have your produce for your restaurants in them and your laundry or whatever,’ Fields said.
‘Ultimately, a gondola is the most efficient, safest and most reliable way to get people in and out of this canyon. Really, what I believe in is having fewer cars in this canyon, which is a win all the way around,’ he added.
However, UDOT’s controversial decision has been met with a number of lawsuits.
Shaver told DailyMail.com that Save Our Canyons, the Friends of Alta, Salt Lake City, Sandy City and the Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake and Sandy all have active, ongoing lawsuits against the department.
These legal actions brought against UDOT cite the side effects of the gondola’s construction that they say could potentially harm the state’s surrounding nature.
More specifically, the lawsuits claim that the department was not objective when selecting the gondola option and failed to consider impacts to the watershed and ecosystem in the canyon – therefore violating the federal decision-making standards for infrastructure projects, Utah News Dispatch reported.
Gondola Works, a group that non-supporters say was created as a marketing campaign to circulate pro-gondola talking points in the press by those who will profit most from the project, has been publishing ads in local media in recent years vouching for its environmental benefits
In one ad, actor Bart Johnson said ‘Utah has two options – transition to clean energy, or ride the bus,’ while also noting how more buses would mean ‘concrete over nature, polluted rivers and streams, displacement of wildlife and loss of climbing resources’
‘The gondola infrastructure would be built largely in the national forest, some adjacent to wilderness areas,’ Bourke told DailyMail.com.
‘One might argue that these are relatively small disturbances on an eight-mile canyon, but for those concerned about degradation, we are aware that once these scenic and other environmental features are lost, they will never return,’ he added.
Both Shaver and Bourke cited the natural characteristics that would ‘undoubtedly’ be affected, including the pure water quality.
Shaver also discussed how the project would harm the designated Wilderness Areas that surround either side of the canyon as they are ‘some of the highest protective designations available to areas within the US.’
‘The proposed gondola system would also situate towers, angle stations, snowsheds, and clear vegetation within one of the Wasatch’s most protected areas, impacting not just one, but three Inventoried Roadless Areas’ in the canyon, he said.
The areas that he said would be affected are Twin Peaks, Lone Peak and White Pine Roadless Areas.
However, in a statement to DailyMail.com, Weder said that the gondola ‘is a long-term solution to the canyon’s growing traffic congestion’ that reduces environmental impacts brought by ‘idling cars, watershed contamination, road expansion, or clearing a new path up the canyon for a train.
‘The gondola minimizes environmental impact while effectively addressing long-term transportation needs.’
‘It reduces watershed impacts by limiting impervious surfaces like wider roads or new rail lines and minimizes disruptions to wildlife because they can cross under the towers and cabins.
‘It also substantially reduces the impact on climbing boulders, impacting two boulders while other options like a wider road or a train would impact 41 or 116 boulders, respectively.’
While citing gondola installations in other urban environments such as Asia and South America, Fields doubled down on the fact that the project would reduce environmental issues, rather than enhance them.
‘Those of us who live in the Salt Lake Valley drink the water that comes out of this canyon, so it needs to be protected and the gondola is the least impactful of the options that UDOT considered,’ he added.
Fields said: ‘Those of us who live in the Salt Lake Valley drink the water that comes out of this canyon, so it needs to be protected and the gondola is the least impactful of the options that UDOT considered’. Pictured: View looking up Little Cottonwood Canyon in Salt Lake City
Many non-supporters claim that when taxpayer money is at stake, other issues such as adequately funding public schools, housing and citizen healthcare should come before the creation of the world’s longest gondola
In decades past, there was an effective public transport system serving both ski areas. Visitors weren’t inclined to rent a car as one could catch a bus at multiple places in the valley and ride it to the resorts, but canyon congestion diminished that luxury
Utah saw a record amount of snowfall and skier days during the 2022-23 winter season. The 2023-24 season saw 6.7million skier days – the second record of all time. Pictured: Snowboarder in action, Snowbird, Utah
Gondola Works, a group that non-supporters say was created as a marketing campaign to circulate pro-gondola talking points in the press by those who will profit most from the project, has been publishing ads in local media in recent years.
‘When you think about it, the experience of getting to the greatest snow on Earth should also be… great,’ Actor Bart Johnson, who was the face of one ad shared to YouTube in 2022, said.
‘Utah has two options – transition to clean energy, or ride the bus,’ Johnson continued, while also noting how more buses would mean ‘concrete over nature, polluted rivers and streams, displacement of wildlife and loss of climbing resources.’
‘Gondola Works invites you to rise high above the hazards and hassle of the road – and imagine, the possibilities of a sustainable future.’
Shaver told DailyMail.com that though the press coverage has been mostly pro-gondola, opposition only grows when the reality of the concept sinks in. Additionally, the numbers used in the ads to describe the environmental benefits are uncited.
‘These ads mislead the public on the impact deforestation and development of impervious surfaces would have on a protected watershed, claiming that a gondola would keep rivers clean,’ he said.
Yet in a statement to DailyMail.com, Weder described the gondola as having a ‘lower 30-year life cycle cost than a bus system alone’ due to the number of buses needed along with the ‘relatively short life span of a bus’.
Fields agreed, noting how the project is efficient as it has fewer emissions – making it safer and very reliable as it moves people above the avalanches, rather than through.
‘As I talk to people about it and the more people learn about the complexity of transportation in this canyon, the more they understand why UDOT picked gondola,’ he said.
However, public forums on the internet, such as users on Reddit, have labeled the project as ‘corrupt’ and ‘unfair’ since UDOT’s announcement.
Some have even gone as far to create detailed graphs showing the connections of the project’s ‘key players’ – many of whom are said to have direct ties to the government bodies approving its construction.
Many non-supporters claim that when taxpayer money is at stake, other issues such as adequately funding public schools, housing and citizen healthcare should come before the creation of the world’s longest gondola.
‘Instead of using taxpayer dollars to address a problem that businesses are causing themselves, those businesses should advocate for solutions that benefit our community and be willing to pay for those projects themselves,’ Shaver said.
Spencer Shaver (pictured), who moved to Salt Lake City in 2022, told DailyMail.com that ‘with this project, the reasons I moved to Utah would be significantly diminished, and the places that draw many new Utahns here would be degraded for future generations’
‘It’s the most avalanche-prone highway in North America, and we average 500 inches of snow a year,’ Fields told DailyMail.com. ‘When your trying to move thousands of vehicles and buses up and down, it just comes to a halt. People are spending two to three hours coming up the canyon just trying to get home’
Public forums on the internet, such as users on Reddit, have labeled the project as ‘corrupt’ and ‘unfair’ since UDOT’s announcement, saying how the ‘rich should be paying for the privilege’ to have it developed rather than the taxpayers (pictured: Snowbird Activity Center)
Last month, the Legislature went into general session. No gondola-related legislation has yet emerged.
As of two weeks ago, more than 50 business owners, professionals and entrepreneurs have joined the voices of opposition against the gondola – opposing ‘using tax dollars for infrastructure benefiting private businesses’, Deseret reported.
Shaver, who moved to Salt Lake City in 2022, said that he made the area his home because of the awe-inspiring landscapes and access to nature and public lands.
‘With this project, the reasons I moved to Utah would be significantly diminished, and the places that draw many new Utahns here would be degraded for future generations,’ he said.
‘We will work hard to keep Utah the way we want it to be – beautiful and world-class destinations for fellow outdoor enthusiasts.’
