outdoors

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) A sign at Alta Ski Resort encourages people to social distance in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday, March 25, 2020. A group of MIT students analyzed several lodges in town and parts of the ski area to determine where guests are most at risk for catching the virus and how decrease their odds.

Alta mayor calls for quiet after study at resort shows how loud talking can spread coronavirus droplets around

By Julie Jag | December 16, 2020, 11:55 p.m.

(Al Hartmann | Salt Lake Tribune file photo) A view of the Bearclaw run at Sundance Mountain Resort, when a group called Follow the Flag had a 150-foot long American flag taken down the slope by skiers in 2018. Actor, filmmaker and activist Robert Redford announced Friday, Dec. 11, 2020, that he is selling the resort he opened in 1969 to two investment companies, Broadreach Capital Partners and Cedar Capital Partners, for an undisclosed sum.

Exclusive: Robert Redford sells Sundance Mountain Resort to pair of high-end resort firms

By Sean P. Means | December 12, 2020, 3:38 a.m.

(Zak Podmore | The Salt Lake Tribune) A nearly 10-foot tall steel sculpture that discovered in a remote canyon in San Juan County in mid-November drew attention from around the world.

Robert Gehrke: Utah’s obelisk was a beautiful mystery and it’s a good thing it’s gone

By Robert Gehrke | December 2, 2020, 5:52 p.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune)
Skiers are required to wear face coverings they ski at Park City on opening day, Friday, Nov. 20, 2020.

Most Utah ski areas expect to be open by the weekend

By Julie Jag | November 30, 2020, 1:16 a.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Zac Beveridge skis with 3-year-old Finley on opening day at Park City, on Friday, Nov. 20, 2020.

Utah ski areas expect surge in popularity due to COVID-19 this winter

By Julie Jag | November 28, 2020, 10:33 p.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The entrance to Solitude Mountain Resort is pictured Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019. Solitude has postponed its opening day, originally scheduled for Nov. 20, citing lack of snow.

Solitude postpones ski opener, cites lack of snow

By Julie Jag | November 9, 2020, 9:59 p.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Pep Fujas, vice president of marketing and product development at WNDR Alpine, talks about the construction of WNDR Alpine skis, which are made with a microalgae oil instead of petroleum, at the company's production office in Salt Lake City, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. It is the first company to use algae to make skis.

Algae in skis? Salt Lake company believes its technology could change the snow-sports industry

By Julie Jag | October 8, 2020, 5:11 p.m.

(Photo courtesy of Nick Alegre)
Tim Durtschi catches air in Jackson Hole while filming for the upcoming Teton Gravity Research film "Make Believe," which will be shown at the Redwood Drive-In on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020.

Utah’s powderhounds find hucks, hope in drive-in ski films

By Julie Jag | September 23, 2020, 7:29 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Skiers at Solitude Mountain Resort, Thursday December 21, 2017.

Solitude, Deer Valley ski areas end walk-up ticket sales, won’t require reservations

By Julie Jag | September 15, 2020, 12:51 a.m.

Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune file

Solo chairlift rides will be more common at Park City Mountain Resort this winter. PCMR's parent company, Vail Resorts, announced its protocols for protecting guests from COVID-19 during the 2020-21 season. They include, among others, mostly allowing only people skiing together to share a chair lift and no more walk-up ticket sales.

Park City ski area sets COVID-19 guidelines, including no walk-up tickets

By Julie Jag | August 29, 2020, 10:12 p.m.

(Annie Tritt | The New York Times) Doug Leen, a retired backcountry dentist who collects and reproduces national park posters created by Works Progress Administration artists, at his home on Alaska’s Kupreanof Island, Aug. 19, 2020. Leen has made it his life’s work to track down as many of the original WPA national park posters as he can, after they were scattered across the country for 70 years with few records.

Meet the National Parks’ ‘ranger of the lost art’

By Erin Berger | The New York Times | August 26, 2020, 8:35 p.m.

(Julie Jag | The Salt Lake Tribune)
The Cabriolet Lift on the Canyons side of Park City Mountain Resort takes a patron back to the parking lot on March 13, 2020. Face masks and social distancing are likely to be required on lifts and around the resort when it reopens this winter.

Ski resorts should require masks, social distancing says Vail Resorts CEO

By Julie Jag | July 31, 2020, 6:06 p.m.

(Photo courtesy of Zion National Park) Up to 400 bikes are parked at the Temple of Sinawava, a popular trailhead in Zion National Park. Since the park's reopening May 13, bicycling has become a popular way to tour Zion Canyon in the absence of the park's shuttle service. Starting July 1, cars were barred from the canyon as the shuttle service resumed using modified buses to enable social distance. Reservations are required.

Zion National Park’s visitor numbers are way down due to COVID-19, but demand isn’t

By Libby Seline | July 6, 2020, 3:46 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Bureau of Land Management is dissuading people from visiting the vibrant blue potash production canal, located just east of the Bonneville Salt Flats, which has garnered attention recently as seen on Monday, June 22, 2020. "The canals are industrial facilities leased to Intrepid Potash for mining activities and are not designed or safe for public recreation," reads in part a statement by the BLM.

Feds warn boaters, swimmers to stay out of potash canals on Bonneville Salt Flats

By Brian Maffly | June 25, 2020, 9:49 p.m.

(Rick Bowmer | AP file photo) This Sept. 15, 2015, file photo, shows Zion National Park near Springdale, Utah. More people are renting RVs for their getaways amid the coronavirus pandemic.

More Utahns, others are renting RVs for their vacations amid the coronavirus

By Libby Seline | June 22, 2020, 9:45 p.m.

(Photo courtesy of Snowbird/Adam Barker Photography) Snowbird opened its summer operations, including the alpine slide, June 13, 2020. It was one of the first Utah resorts to open since COVID-19 forced an abrupt end to the season in mid-March. To protect against the spread of the virus, all alpine slide sleds and the entire mountain coaster will be disinfected after each ride and employees are required to wear masks.

Ski resorts gear up for summer season with new features — and new rules to deal with COVID-19

By Julie Jag | June 21, 2020, 2:08 p.m.

(Photo courtesy Utah State Parks) Utah State Parks says a recent storm exposed this shipwreck on the Great Salt Lake. It is a steel boat that probably dates back to the turn of the 20th century, according to a post from Utah State Parks.

Storm exposes shipwreck in the Great Salt Lake

By Nate Carlisle | May 26, 2020, 9:46 p.m.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) High School sweethearts turned college students Josh Crockett and wife Sydney Crockett have created Wakbat, a friendly lawn game, May 11, 2020. Wakbat is a derivative of a game they saw played in the city of Sao Paulo during their LDS missions to Brazil.

Wakbat, a Provo couple’s brainchild, mixes lawn games with social distancing

By Julie Jag | May 18, 2020, 3:12 a.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Skiers at Snowbird on Friday, March 13, 2020.

Utah ski resorts emphasizing insurance in 2020-21 season pass plans

By Julie Jag | May 14, 2020, 11:20 p.m.

(Photo courtesy of Tentrr)
The Utah Division of Parks and Recreation has teamed up with Tentrr to create 48 campsites across five state parks this season. Designed as a bridge between a campsite and a hotel, sites are set away from other campgrounds. They feature an already set-up tent, a queen bed set on a raised platform, chairs and a rudimentary shower and toilet, among other amenities.

Camping in Utah’s state parks may have gotten safer — but the upgrade will cost you

By Julie Jag | May 12, 2020, 5:04 p.m.

(Photo courtesy of Tara Isaacson) Tara Isaacson, owner of Hat Creek Dog Training, works with Richard Mitchell and Josh Castro to help train their Dalmation Radar.

Interest in adopting a dog has surged during COVID-19, but experts recommend answering key questions first

By Norma Gonzalez | May 2, 2020, 12:00 p.m.

(Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune file) A skiers heads up the hill to the lifts at Brighton ski area in Salt Lake City Monday January 1, 2018. Brighton is offered on the Ikon pass, a multi-resort pass that, like Vail Resorts' Epic Pass, will provide skiers and snowboarders insurance for the 2020-21 season as a way to make up for the coronavirus cutting this spring's skiing season short.

Utah skiers underwhelmed by Ikon, Epic pass response to spring season cut short by COVID-19

By Julie Jag | April 29, 2020, 2:49 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) As the coronavirus grips the nation, people are taking to the trails in search of a therapeutic safe space. Hikers get outdoors along Jacks Peak Trailhead above the Salt Lake Valley on Friday, March 20, 2020.

‘I feel like hiking is a safe option’ — Utah’s hills are alive with hikers, most keeping their distance, in age of coronavirus

By Nate Carlisle | March 23, 2020, 3:47 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Skiers on a lift as night sets in at Brighton on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020.

Shedding some light on night skiing, Utah resorts’ best-kept secret

By Julie Jag | February 28, 2020, 7:59 p.m.

(Julie Jag | Salt Lake Tribune)
Professional backcountry skier Elyse Saugstad, left, teaches the art of probing and shoveling while making a rescue during an all-women avalanche clinic at Solitude Mountain Resort on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020. Saugstad and fellow pro backcountry skiers Michelle Parker, Ingrid Backstrom, Jackie Paaso, Lel Tone and Reine Barkered sold out both days of their all-day SAFE AS clinics over the weekend. It was the first time they had brought the clinics to Utah since 2013.

Female pro backcountry skiers imbue fear, education through avalanche safety clinics

By Julie Jag | January 16, 2020, 5:47 p.m.