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More than ever before, the whole ski world will be looking to see what's happening in Utah this winter.
Most of the attention will focus on Vail Resort's "unprecedented" $50 million offseason investment to link Park City Mountain and Canyons resorts, creating the largest U.S. ski area.
But that substantial undertaking is not alone.
While he lost Park City Mountain Resort, PowdrCorp.'s Ian Cumming will get to oversee the long-awaited completion of The Summit, a $15 million restaurant (among $35 million in upgrades overall) atop Hidden Peak at Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort.
That will realize a dream of the resort's recently departed co-founder, Dick Bass, who sold Cumming a majority interest in Snowbird a year before his death.
Deer Valley's move into Big Cottonwood Canyon also will be highlighted by the replacement of Solitude Mountain Resort's lumbering Summit two-seater chairlift with a high-speed quad. Its revised alignment also is designed to influence more guests to venture into Honeycomb Canyon.
"It's huge," Park City Resort spokeswoman Margo Van Ness said of her company's work this hectic summer, installing the eight-passenger Quicksilver gondola to connect the two resorts and upgrading two other lifts that will serve it — King Con and Motherlode.
"To put $50 million into capital improvements in one offseason is unprecedented in American skiing history," Van Ness said. "This season is such an awesome opportunity for us to showcase all of these facilities. We can't wait to unveil this to the community and the greater ski and snowboard community as well."
"It's a brand new resort," she added, "a new mountain."
Clement summer weather that extended into November helped all three resorts make good progress on their summer projects, even if the finishing touches are taking place as the first snows of winter fall.
"The race was to get the exterior done so that once the weather sets in and storms roll through they could focus on the interior," Snowbird spokesman Brian Brown said of construction ambitions for the Hidden Peak restaurant, altitude 11,000 feet.
They basically made it, he said, "an amazing feat since Layton Construction only started in May. We feel like we are on track for a mid-December opening date."
Deer Valley faced a similar timing crunch. It didn't take ownership of Solitude until May 1, so the company couldn't even sign a contract with a lift manufacturer until after then.
"We were the last one out of the chute so it's not surprising that we're still building a lift in November," said Kim Mayhew, a Deer Valley veteran who is now Solitude's general manager.
But two weeks ago, helicopters flew all 19 Summit Express lift towers and associated materials to their mountain perches. Other construction crews raced to build the upper terminal.
A crane used to put a large motor into place at the upper terminal will come off the mountain in days, Mayhew said. Then work will be completed on the lower terminal, chairs will be hooked on and test runs made.
"I have no target date for opening the lift," she added, predicting it would be well before the Christmas holidays.
"This is going to enhance our guest experience, especially for those who want spectacular views and to get into Honeycomb Canyon in less time," Mayhew said. "We'll have some happy guests."
Brown said the Hidden Peak restaurant will transform Snowbird's position as a winter and summer resort.
Up to now, people only had a small hut adjacent to the ski-patrol building in which to seek refuge on blustery days. Now they'll have a 23,000-square-foot building with 360-degree views of the world outside.
"Our ability to accommodate guests year-round will be immensely improved," Brown said. "It will be a lot easier for families to bring up kids, go to the restroom and get them geared up to head out. And it will offer a great new dining experience, a place to meet up with friends to head out for the rest of the day."
The Hidden Peak restaurant will have cafeteria seating for 192 on the first floor. Vail's new Miners Camp restaurant on the Park City side of the mountain will hold 500 diners, while on the Canyons side, the Red Pine Restaurant was expanded to seat 250 more people.
Deer Valley also remodeled Solitude's Moonbeam Lodge restaurant and upgraded the menus at all of its eateries, Mayhew said.
Ski resort improvements
• Vail Resort is spending $50 million to link Park City Mountain and Canyons resorts, creating the largest U.S. ski area.
• Part of that effort includes installation of an eight-passenger Quicksilver gondola.
• PowdrCorp.'s Ian Cumming is overseeing $35 million for improvements, including completion of a restaurant atop Hidden Peak, at Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort. It is a 23,000-square-foot building with 360-degree views at 11,00 feet of altitude.
• Solitude Mountain Resort's Summit two-seater chairlift is being replaced with a high-speed quad.