Vail Resorts appeals decision on PCMR lift upgrade (updated)

Park City Mountain Resort parent company Vail Resorts filed an appeal of a Park City Planning Commission decision preventing upgrades to the Silverlode Express and Eagle lifts.
Park Record file photo

Park City Mountain Resort parent company Vail Resorts said on Thursday it filed an appeal of a contentious Park City Planning Commission decision preventing upgrades to the Silverlode Express and Eagle lifts.

The appeal was filed in 3rd District Court at Silver Summit on Wednesday, according to Sara Huey, a spokesperson for PCMR. 

The filing comes nearly one month after the Planning Commission voted 3-1 in favor of four Park City residents who filed an appeal of an administrative conditional-use permit for lift improvements granted by City Hall staffers. Deirdra Walsh, the vice president and chief operating officer at PCMR, said in a statement at the time she was disappointed, confused and concerned by the decision. 

“The City Planning Director made the right decision to issue this permit, supported by her extensive, four-month-long analysis and the advice of three outside experts. There is no evidence that she made a mistake, and we believe her decision will be upheld in this next step in the process,” a prepared statement provided by Huey said.

Clayton Scrivner, Park City’s communications manager, could not comment on the appeal. He said the city had not seen the appeal by midday Thursday.

The group that filed the appeal – Clive Bush, Angela Moschetta, Deborah Rentfrow and Mark Stemler – argued the city’s Planning Department shouldn’t have accepted PCMR’s proposed upgrades because the application didn’t meet the necessary criteria for a staff-level approval. They also said the upgrades would exceed PCMR’s comfortable carrying capacity, which is an important metric used in the ski industry to determine the number of people a resort can accommodate, and claimed the parking mitigation plan – and several other conditions of the approval – were inadequate.

PCMR responded during several Planning Commission meetings, but the explanation didn’t ease concerns. The panel voted against the lift-upgrade project as the majority agreed the application didn’t meet the requirements for a staff-level approval. 

Planning Commissioners Laura Suesser and John Kenworthy explained they saw the resort’s proposal as inconsistent with a 1998 development agreement between PCMR and City Hall. The agreement outlines growth at the resort base and states lift upgrades should be reviewed administratively if six criteria are met, rather than through the typical Planning Commission process.

The Planning Commission also rejected PCMR’s requests to split the review of the two lift proposals, which effectively stopped any construction this summer.

“While we disagreed with the outcome, we respect the right of four residents to appeal the Planning Director’s decision and likewise we have the right to appeal the Planning Commission’s decision,” PCMR’s statement said. “In parallel with this appeal, we, of course, remain committed to working with the City to explore options to ensure that the resort moves forward with these important replacements of equipment that was installed many decades ago.”

The upgrade project would have replaced the current Eagle and Eaglet lifts with a high-speed, six-person detachable lift. The resort also wanted to upgrade Silverlode Express from a six-person to an eight-person, high-speed lift, which would have made it Vail Resorts’ first chair of its kind in North America.

PCMR also planned to introduce a paid-parking system for the upcoming ski season to address traffic and overcrowding, which was publicized amid the early talks with City Hall about the proposed lift work. Huey said on Thursday the resort is still crafting plans for parking operations.

Inside the snowmaking process at Deer Valley Resort (photos)

Editor’s note (10/24/19): Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley Resort began snowmaking operations for the 2019-2020 season this week.

Before guests’ skis are waxed, before skiers have broken out their winter gear and before the lifts begin to spin, the snowmaking team at Deer Valley Resort is on the mountain preparing the slopes.

“We’re all dedicated to creating the best snow surface possible,” said Julie Hygon, one of the 32 snowmakers on staff, in an email.

Each snowmaker has a variety of tasks on the mountain during their daily 12-hour shifts. And making snow is only one of them. Snowmaking operations began Oct. 23, requiring an around-the-clock effort to prepare for Saturday’s opening day.

The crew, split into two daily shifts, works together across the mountain, ensuring that each snow gun is functioning properly and receiving adequate water pressure and that quality snow is made on usable terrain. Crew members also move snow piles and eventually groom the trails.

“If it’s cold out, we’re here,” said snowmaking foreman Scott Enos.

According to Enos, the crew utilizes more than 250 guns to make snow across 725 acres at the resort. While some of the snow guns are permanent, others are moved to various locations by one of three utility snowcats or 13 snowmobiles available to the team.

Click here or the above image to view the photo essay.

UPDATED: Vail Resorts reaches agreement to sell PCMR parking lots to Provo developer

Vail Resorts, the owner of Park City Mountain Resort, on Thursday said it has reached an agreement to sell the PCMR parking lots to a Provo-based firm called PEG Companies, a deal that almost certainly signals major development at the resort that has been anticipated for longer than two decades is pending.

Vail Resorts did not identify a price for the 10 acres and PEG Companies also declined to provide a figure. Park City officials in the 1990s approved overall development plans for the PCMR base area. The 1990s approval, secured by former PCMR owner Powdr Corp., included what was built as Marriott’s Mountainside and the Legacy Lodge.

The approval, though, also contemplates significant development on the parking lots — the upper lot and the two lower ones — that are a part of the Vail Resorts-PEG Companies deal. Powdr Corp. did not pursue a development in earnest before selling PCMR to Vail Resorts in 2014 to settle a bitterly contested lawsuit centered on leased land underlying most of the skiing terrain but not the parking lots.

It has been anticipated that Vail Resorts would eventually make some sort of consequential move regarding the parking lots based on their presumed value with development rights already attached. It was not clear, though, what sort of timeline the firm planned to follow.

A Vail Resorts release on Thursday said a project is envisioned as including a hotel and spa, residences, restaurant space, retailers and services for skiers. It will also include what is described as “improved access to public parking” as well as transit and traffic infrastructure. Workforce housing will be built on the grounds, the release said.

“We are thrilled to begin engaging with our neighbors and the greater community to bring a truly dynamic gathering place to the base area,” Cameron Gunter, the founder and chief executive officer of PEG Companies, said in a prepared statement released by Vail Resorts. “We believe that the best outcome will ensue as our highly experienced development team not only puts their creative minds together but also solicits and incorporates valued input from the people of Park City into our plans, and that is exactly what we plan to do in coming weeks and months.”

Vail Resorts has shifted away from developing land itself, opting to reach agreements with outside firms to build projects. Doing so allows Vail Resorts itself to concentrate on the operations on the mountains.

The agreement announced on Thursday triggers what will be a closely watched process as PEG Companies engages the Park City Planning Commission with project blueprints. The 1990s-era approval outlined an overall development, but the firm must win an additional approval from the Planning Commission regarding the project details.

Robert Schmidt, the vice president of development at PEG Companies, said in an interview the firm intends to submit the application to City Hall by the early spring of 2020 with the possibility the application could be filed sooner than that. He said a groundbreaking is desired approximately one to two years after the application is filed.

The timeline depends on the length of the Planning Commission review, however. Schmidt said a closing on the acquisition of the parking lots will not occur until after a Planning Commission decision.

Schmidt described the lots as unique in North American skiing, saying the land at PCMR is among the continent’s last substantial base-area parcels available for development as significant as what is considered at PCMR. He noted the opportunities to link the parcels to the slopes and spoke about Park City’s proximity to the international airport in Salt Lake City.

“Any opportunity to be at the base of a resort of the caliber of Park City Mountain Resort — that’s unique,” he said.

PEG Companies has developed projects in the Intermountain region, and its portfolio includes the Hyatt Place along S.R. 224 in the Snyderville Basin. The firm has also developed projects in the mountain resort communities of Jackson, Wyoming, and Sun Valley, Idaho.

PEG Companies this week indicated details of the development proposal have not been finalized. The Planning Commission review of a proposal will likely center on issues like the height of the buildings, the architecture, traffic flow and parking, standard topics addressed by the panel when it considers resort development.

There will likely be extensive debate about parking as PEG Companies and Vail Resorts detail ideas to build garages to replace the surface spots that will be lost as the lots are developed. Schmidt said a development proposal will involve “sufficient parking” for the resort operations and the development.

Schmidt said PEG Companies over the last month engaged City Hall staffers in discussions about a project, but no members of the Planning Commission were involved. Meetings with people who live or have properties nearby as well as small community gatherings will be held.

“More complicated than suburban Salt Lake County,” he said about the development process in Park City. “It would certainly be fair to say that.”

Guest editorial: Vandals of Vail Resorts billboard had right idea, wrong method of sharing it

Someone vandalized a Vail Resorts billboard in Park City with graffiti, apparently over the closing weekend of the ski season at the firm’s Park City Mountain Resort. The graffiti appeared amid frustration among some Parkites about the Sunday closing date of the resort.
Jay Hamburger/Park Record

According to recent reporting, vandals desecrated a Vail Resorts billboard in Park City during the closing weekend of Park City Mountain Resort. Based on the graffiti, it’s presumed the vandals used spray paint to demonstrate their frustration with the closing date of the resort.

As a Park City resident, I am ashamed. We live in beautiful, world-renowned mountain community that many visitors would love to call home. I, for one, find great pleasure riding chair lifts with visitors who express sincere jealousy when they find out I live full-time in Park City. We should bask in our great fortune to call Park City home, not vandalize property and leave pockmarks on our community.

While I disagree with the delivery method, I agree with the intended message. The vandals, like many other Parkites, are frustrated with this year’s closing date. As I made my final turns of the season during closing weekend, I felt that pit in my stomach that comes at the end of every season. I didn’t want it to end, and in light of this year’s bountiful powder and resulting above-average snowpack, I didn’t understand why it had to. The resort could easily remain open an additional two weeks at least.

Vail Ski Resort and neighboring Beaver Creek, the pride and joy of the Vail Resorts portfolio, remain open. Beaver Creek closes on April 14 and Vail Ski Resort a week later. Neither of which have enjoyed more snow than PCMR. As of April 12th, Beaver Creek had a 79-inch base with 320 inches for the season. Vail Ski Resort reported an 83-inch base depth and 331 inches on the season. The last reported totals at PCMR on closing day included 111-inch base depth and 359 inches for the season.

So if it’s not about snow quality or snowpack, it begs the question then of why us? Why were we the target of an early closure? Presumably it’s about economics and Vail Resorts has made the determination that to keep PCMR open later is a money loser.

That’s understandable. Vail Resorts is a publicly traded company with a fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders. However, they are also part of the Park City community and have a responsibility to the Park City community.

Yes, visitors are drawn for the incredible ski terrain and a taste of the greatest snow on earth. But they are equally drawn because Park City is a mountain destination. The restaurants, shopping and off-mountain winter activities are just as much a draw for visitors as the skiing. Those restaurant workers, shopkeepers and winter adventure guides may not be on the dole of Vail Resorts, but let there be no mistaking the fact that they help bring visitors to their mountain. They are also committed season pass holders.

What a great way to show your commitment to the community and appreciation for local season pass holders to keep the resort open an additional week or two for locals to enjoy some additional time on the mountain free of long lift lines and crowded runs. Yes, Vail Resorts might lose money. But what a great way to ingratiate yourself with locals, many of whom are growing disenchanted by Vail’s corporate presence.

Which brings me back to the vandals who are part of this growing chorus of frustrated locals. Vandalism is not how you win friends and influence people. Maybe if we as a community take a different, constructive approach to the issue, Vail Resorts might be persuaded to think differently as they consider the closing date next season.

Park City man, happy pet inside, watches bobcat traverse backyard

Jason Hendrickson was inside his Solamere house last Thursday evening playing with his pet Australian shepherd when he noticed something moving outside.

It was a bobcat traversing the backyard at a slow pace across the snow. A brief video captured by Hendrickson shows the animal move from the open yard toward a pine before disappearing from view. It was “trotting across the backyard,” Hendrickson said.

“It was pretty awesome. I’m glad my dog was inside with me,” Hendrickson said in an interview, calling the experience a “pretty cool thing.”

It was the first time he saw the bobcat and he has not seen it since the sighting on Thursday. As a result of the sighting, he said, he now goes outside with the pet to “scope out the backyard, just to be sure.”

He estimated the bobcat weighs up to 35 pounds and compared the animal’s size to that of a medium-sized dog.

The sighting outside the Solamere house occurred a little more than two weeks after an earlier report of a bobcat in a different part of Park City. In the earlier case, the Park City Police Department was told a bobcat was seen carrying off a rabbit on Three Kings Drive, a street close to the Park City Golf Club. Bobcat reports to the Police Department are rare.

Wild Aware Utah, a program that involves the state Department of Natural Resources, Utah’s Hogle Zoo and Utah State University Cooperative Extension, says bobcats are adapted to living close to people and are found in areas that are urban. Wild Aware Utah says bobcats sometimes see small pets as well as poultry as prey even though conflicts with people are uncommon.

More information about bobcats is available on the Wild Aware Utah website.

Wildlife reports to the Police Department dropped last week after numerous calls in recent months. The heavy snow in the winter forced the animals like deer, elk and moose to lower elevations in search of food. Predators like mountain lions followed the prey animals to the lower elevations.

Guest editorial: A conservative student at Park City High School shares his story

I am one of the kids who was sickened by bear spray at Park City High School on April 1. The Park Record reports the suspected perpetrator is a fellow student who has been charged by the Summit County Attorney’s Office with 18 criminal counts.

I am Jewish and gay, and also a conservative who is a member of the group that was scheduled to host an event in the PCHS lecture hall and may have been targeted by the release. I would like to share my story.

My mother is Jewish. Her family escaped persecution by socialists in Germany and communists in Russia, luckily before World War II. My father’s family is from a poor, rural area in Alabama. His grandparents were sharecroppers. His parents grew up picking cotton and didn’t have electricity or running water. Many people might call them rednecks or hillbillies.

My mother became an orthodontist by paying her way through school, borrowing $250,000 in the 1980s. My father finished his high school’s math curriculum in 10th grade. His parents, even though my grandfather never graduated from high school, encouraged him to continue to learn through other means. My father aspired to go to the best engineering school in the world. His family thought this was crazy. When he was 17, my father got on a Greyhound bus alone and took the 24-hour trip to Boston to enroll in MIT. He went on to a top business school, started a business on Wall Street, and became one of the youngest partners at a prestigious investment bank. My father survived the 9/11 attacks only to die eight years later from what some have labeled a “9/11 related illness,” although we will never know that for sure.

My parents are the poster children for the American Dream. They paid their “fair share” of taxes and paid it forward by giving significant donations to educational organizations (including here in Park City) to help underprivileged kids. We believe we are good people, and, I think, most people who know us would say the same.

Yet my brothers and I have been called racists and Nazis in our respective schools, including here at PCHS. Why? Because we believe the United States is the greatest country in the world. Because we believe capitalism, while not perfect, has lifted hundreds of millions of people around the world out of poverty, and hundreds of millions have been oppressed or murdered in the name of socialism and communism. Because we believe that people should be rewarded for hard work and perseverance, not handed things on a silver platter. Because we believe that the 1st Amendment applies to all speech, including those who call Jewish-Americans like ourselves Nazis. Because we believe that the 2nd Amendment is a right, and most gun owners are law-abiding citizens. Because we believe that there is a crisis at our southern border. Because we believe that radical Islamic extremists should be called out by name. Because we don’t believe illegal immigrants should have the right to vote. You get the idea.

The thing that hurts me the most is not my throat from the coughing. It is not my chest from the bear spray. It is not my stomach from the vomiting. It is the possibility that a student sought to stifle free speech at PCHS by targeting a club hosting a conservative speaker at the lecture hall that evening. The high schoolers who put this event together worked tremendously hard. The parents who donated to this event were extremely generous.

Kids make stupid mistakes all the time. I have made mistakes myself. I invite the student and his family to spend some time with my family and me, and perhaps with some of the thousands of other conservatives who are his neighbors and classmates in Park City. I think that would do more to “teach him a lesson” than anything the courts could order.

Park City police told woman upset ‘she has to look at’ homeless people

The Park City Police Department last week logged two calls about a person suspected to be homeless, cases reported by the same husband and wife who were apparently especially displeased with the sight of a homeless person in the Main Street core.

The police responded to two complaints by the husband and wife in quick succession midday on Tuesday, April 9. The first report was on Main Street while the other one was on nearby Park Avenue.

In the first case, reported at 12:37 p.m., the person called the police complaining “about a homeless man sleeping on a bench,” according to department logs. The person who contacted the police said “she is offended and would like to (talk) to an officer ASAP,” the logs indicated.

Less than a half hour later, at 1:05 p.m., police logs said a woman had called dispatchers repeatedly that day about the person.

“She is upset because she has to look at them,” the police logs said, describing that the caller wanted the department to contact her in person.

Phil Kirk, a police captain, said officers investigated the case reported at 12:37 p.m. on Main Street. An officer found a man suspected to be homeless on a bench along Main Street and had been asleep earlier. The police told the person who lodged the complaint officers determined the man on the bench had not committed a criminal act. The caller was upset with the determination, Kirk said.

In the later case, the same husband and wife contacted the police about the same person, who, according to the couple, was sleeping on a park bench. The police again explained the person was not committing a criminal act, Kirk said.

“We need to respect homeless people’s rights,” the captain said, adding, “In this case they weren’t violating any law.”

The police that morning, at 9:21 a.m., also received a complaint about a person who was believed to be homeless sleeping on a Main Street bench.

The Police Department in recent months has received a series of reports about sightings of people suspected to be homeless, including in the Main Street core. There are few services for the homeless in the Park City area. Police officers when they find a homeless person provide information about services offered by the Christian Center of Park City. The police also offer to transport a homeless person to a shelter in the Salt Lake Valley. The homeless typically decline a ride to the Salt Lake Valley shelter, the police have said.

The Police Department last week also indicated officers conducted sweeps of public places searching for homeless people. Some of the locations included the Town Lift garage, the Old Town transit center, the Main Street post office, public bathrooms in a small Main Street park and public bathrooms at City Park. The officers apparently did not find anyone. The sweeps were reported in the late-night and overnight hours.

Homelessness is not widespread in Park City and surrounding Summit County, but in recent years there have typically been at least several people considered to be homeless living in the area throughout much of the year.

The Police Department over the years has received reports of suspected homeless encampments in the hills surrounding neighborhoods or on land just off the Rail Trail. There are also ongoing reports at the transit center. Reports sometimes increase in the spring and summer as ski season employment ends and the warmer, drier weather makes living outdoors at least marginally less complicated compared to the cold, snowy winter. The executive director of the Christian Center of Park City, Rob Harter, recently indicated the homeless numbers could climb as summer arrives.

UPDATED: Man in custody after shooting brother at Summit County hotel, police say

A 32-year-old South Jordan man is in custody after, authorities say, shooting his brother following a drunken dispute early Sunday morning in a Summit County hotel.

According to a press release from the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, the victim, 35, contacted police at approximately 2:45 a.m. to report the shooting, which occurred at the Westgate Park City. The Sheriff’s Office and Park City Police Department responded to the incident.

Officers met with the victim and his family in the pool area of the hotel, according to a probable cause statement. His fiancé and two sons, ages 14 years and 3 weeks old, were also there.

One bullet struck him in the buttocks, and officers found another lodged in the wall of a room in the hotel. Emergency responders treated the victim at the scene. But, he was later taken to a hospital in the Salt Lake Valley with injuries that were not life threatening.

Officers found the suspect, along with his fiancé and 2-year-old daughter, in the hotel room, the statement shows. Deputies found a handgun on the living room table, two spent shell casings and droplets of blood on the floor in the living room.

The suspect’s fiancé allegedly told deputies that the two men were arguing about the victim wanting to leave with his family before the shots were fired, the statement indicates. She said that all the adults were consuming alcohol.

The woman said she was in the living room while their daughter was asleep in the bedroom when the shots were fired, according to the statement. The suspect’s teenage son had left the room when the argument started because he “doesn’t like conflict” between the two men, the statement shows.

The suspect was booked into Summit County Jail on suspicion of several crimes, including attempted homicide, domestic violence in the presence of a child and intoxication. As of Tuesday morning, he was being held on $100,000 cash bail. Formal charges had not been filed.

Scott’s Bowl owner expects ex-PCMR terrain will sit unused next season

Surveyors will likely be in the upper-elevation Scott’s Bowl and West Scott’s Bowl this summer.

But it appears Park City Mountain Resort skiers and snowboarders will not be there next winter.

PCMR and the firm that owns the Scott’s Bowl and West Scott’s Bowl acreage are not attempting to negotiate an agreement that would return the land to the resort terrain for the 2019-2020 ski season, a representative of the Gallivan family-controlled Silver King Mining Company said shortly after the recent end of the 2018-2019 season.

“Crickets,” Jack Gallivan, the president of Silver King Mining Company, said about any recent talks between his firm and PCMR.

Gallivan said there have not been talks in the past few months.

“There’s been no discussions. We’ve sort of put it to bed,” Gallivan said.

Gallivan said he would be “very surprised” if an agreement is negotiated with PCMR for the next ski season.

He added there are no plans for Silver King Mining Company to offer skiing and snowboarding outings on the land through some sort of snowcat operation. An agreement with an outfitter for backcountry skiing and snowboarding is also not contemplated, he said, indicating it is likely the land will not be used for skiing and snowboarding during the 2019-2020 ski season.

Scott’s Bowl and West Scott’s Bowl were once leased to PCMR under an agreement that was initially negotiated under a former owner of the resort. Silver King Mining Company accepted lift passes as compensation for the use of the land, Gallivan has said. The most recent lease ended, and the landowner and the current PCMR owner, Vail Resorts, did not reach another agreement.

The failure to negotiate another deal for the use of the land resulted in PCMR’s widely publicized closing of Scott’s Bowl and West Scott’s Bowl early in the ski season. The land covered in the former lease stretched across approximately 115 acres. The Silver King Mining Company controls approximately 1,000 acres of land in the Park City area, including the land that was under the former lease. PCMR has said an agreement had been in place for longer than 14 years to use the land as resort terrain.

A PCMR spokesperson on Thursday said the resort does not have an update about the land. The spokesperson did not provide a precise acreage number for PCMR taking into account the loss of the terrain in Scott’s Bowl and West Scott’s Bowl.

Gallivan said Silver King Mining Company intends to study the land shortly with the goal of drafting a comprehensive survey. There is a collection of mining claims underlying the land, he said, describing the claims as zigzagging across the acreage.

“As soon as the snow clears, there’ll be survey crews up there,” he said.

The land, in an unincorporated area of Summit County, is seen as a potential location for development, with Gallivan saying there is a possibility of “Colony-like homes.” He said Silver King Mining Company does not have current plans to develop the land itself, but there are no intentions as of now to put the ground on the market. He said selling the property could be a possibility later.

“We’re getting long in the tooth and want to have some questions resolved fairly soon,” Gallivan said.

Some Park City businesses irritated by resorts’ early close

When the lifts at Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley Resort stop running, Park City business owners know what to expect. They always anticipate a drop in foot traffic and sales.

But this year’s downturn felt more abrupt to some businesses than it has been in the past. When the resorts closed on April 7, despite snow covering the slopes, the town and its stores quickly became quiet. Some businesses are frustrated by the resorts’ decision to not delay their closing dates, which the businesses say would have provided a boost heading into the shoulder season.

The several-week stretch after ski season is one of the slowest times for Park City businesses. Several of them close or adjust their hours during April and May because of the low amount of guests passing through. Because the resorts had an early closing date this season, some businesses closed their doors sooner than they have in the past.

Lespri Prime Steak and Sushi, for example, closed for the shoulder season on April 7. Last year, it closed on April 22.

Di Dray, who works at Mountain Town Olive Oil on Main Street, said the store recently reduced its hours from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. to 11 a.m.-5 p.m. She said the day after the resorts closed, there was an extreme change in sales.

Dray, like many residents, hoped the resorts would extend for at least another week or until April 21, which is Easter Sunday. She said the store is well below its sales from this time last year, and she said the numbers would likely be different if the ski lifts were still running.

“I’m disappointed it wasn’t extended,” she said. “People will still come ski when there’s a great amount of snow.”

Other Main Street businesses agreed that the close of the resorts was a buzzkill for business. They said it is frustrating for the historic street to be covered in snow but also void of people.

According to a forecasted occupancy report from the Park City Chamber/Bureau, visitation was projected to be down from last year throughout April and well into May.

The resorts have faced pushback from the community for sticking to their closing dates when there was ample snow on the mountains. A spokesperson from Deer Valley Resort previously said its leaders selected the closing date because of the late date of Easter Sunday. The resort anticipated that visitation would be low, regardless of snowfall, if it remained open until late April.

A handful of other Utah resorts, such as Alta Ski Area, Brighton Resort and Snowbasin Resort, are scheduled to close on April 21.

Deer Valley and PCMR have not extended their seasons in several years.

Meisha Ross, owner of the restaurant Twisted Fern, said her restaurant’s closing dates are similar to last year. It is scheduled to close from April 15 to May 9. She, like many Park City businesses, will use the time to renovate or update her business.

She said the resorts’ decision to close did not greatly impact her business.

“Once April hits, regardless if you are open or not, things really shift from a tourism standpoint,” she said. “I know there are a lot of people who would like for the resorts to stay open … but they run businesses, so they have to do what’s best for their business, just like all of us that are a little micro-level.”

She is not worried about the shoulder season starting a little early this year, because it seems to be ending earlier each year, too, she said.