Brent Lange knows there’s magic happening at Fairview’s Snowland Ski & Tube Resort.
Lange, the chair of the nonprofit Snowland Foundation, Inc., said he’s seen that magic watching people donate their time at the public ski hill, hauling garbage and sanding tables. The excitement is building, he said, for when the tiny ski area can open its two runs.
“Everyone is so behind this,” he said. “From the citizens, the mayors, to the county commissioners. Everyone is so excited to see this coming back to life.”
Snowland was expected to open on Friday — but that didn’t happen. Lange said that was because the nonprofit is waiting for a replacement part for the rope tow system and then needs to get an inspection and final permits.
And, of course, they need more snow.
(Brent Lange) Preparations at Snowland ski area near Fairview on Dec. 11, 2025.
Last week, Fairview Canyon had 10 inches of snow depth. By Friday, it had dwindled to half a foot.
“It’s just melted down into practically nothing in some spots,” Lange said Friday.
Lange said Snowland doesn’t have a new opening date set yet, but he expects that they’ll be running the rope tow for skiers and snowboarders on Saturdays in January and February, and into March if the snow sticks around that long. The ski hill, he said, is on a north slope and usually gets ten feet of snow in any given year.
(Brent Lange) A grooming machine at Snowland ski area near Fairview on Dec. 11, 2025.
This is Snowland’s second go-round as a lift-accessed ski area. The first Snowland Ski Resort operated from 1964 to 1980. After it closed, Wasatch Academy, a private boarding school, took over the permit from the Manti-La Sal National Forest to use the hill to train its ski and snowboard teams. The school donated the cabin to the Snowland Foundation nonprofit and is letting it operate Snowland under its education permit this season.
That’s why lift access is free this winter, Lange said. That likely won’t be the case in future seasons, but the nonprofit has committed to keeping lift tickets inexpensive.
Lange said that those working to open the tiny ski resort are all volunteers who have other jobs — and none of them realized how much work it would be to open a resort. (“All new respect for ski resort owners and proprietors,” he said.)
But he said they’re prepared to open as soon as the final permits are approved, and more snow falls. They have a snowcat up there and snowmobiles ready. They’ve hired a mountain manager, and volunteers have been trained on the equipment. The lodge has power, water and heat.
“We’re ready to go,” he said.