Bearclaw Cabin, perched at an elevation of 8,240 feet atop Sundance Mountain Resort, feels like it’s a stepladder away from heaven. From a lounge chair outside, skiers and snowboarders can soak their eyes in views of Utah Lake, the Heber Valley and the surrounding, rugged mountains.
The worst part about Bearclaw Cabin, aside possibly from the occasional stench of its pit toilets, has been getting to it. By next season, though, the trek should get a little easier.
Sundance announced Tuesday that by the 2026-27 season it plans to build a new, high-speed four-person lift and open up 165 acres of previously off-limits terrain. The lift, dubbed the Electric Horseman Express after the 1979 film starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, should provide easier access to Bearclaw Cabin for skiers and snowboarders who park in the Mountain Camp lots near the base of Jake’s Lift.
Alongside the terrain expansion, the ski area plans to unveil its 63-room Inn at Sundance Mountain Resort as soon as this Christmas. Chad Linebaugh, the resort’s CEO and general manager, called the two projects “milestones.”
“These are some of our biggest milestones,” he told The Salt Lake Tribune. “Probably a couple of the biggest pieces of Act II.”
“Act II” includes all of the changes to the mountain undertaken by Storyteller Canyon Investments since it bought the resort from Redford in December 2020. The actor and director founded the resort, located north of Provo Canyon near Orem, in 1981.
Sundance plans to preview the terrain expansion by opening up 60 acres next season. That includes nine new trails — seven advanced (blacks) and two intermediate (blues) — that will be reachable via Red’s Lift. The remaining 105 acres and six intermediate and advanced trails should open during the 2026-27 season. That terrain can be reached via either the Electric Horseman or Red’s lifts.
The lower end of Electric Horseman will be near the bottom of the Wildwood Lift on the southeastern border of the resort. Linebaugh said Electric Horseman will then likely become the main artery for Bearclaw Summit and the surrounding terrain. He said the Red’s and Flathead lifts will run when needed.
“On those busier days, busier weekends, we can still run those lifts as well,” Linebaugh said. “We may not run those lists on other days because the new lift will cover all that terrain.”
The expansion marks Sundance’s largest mountain expansion since 1985, Linebaugh said. However, access to the mountain has been growing steadily over the past four years.
Sundance installed its first high-speed lift, Outlaw Express, in 2021. The Wildwood area was added in 2022 and the resort has focused on snowmaking improvements the past two seasons.
(Sundance Mountain Resort) Sundance Mountain Resort plans to install a new high-speed quad lift for the 2026-27 ski season. The Electric Horseman will access 60 additional acres and nine new ski trails.
Meanwhile, off the slopes but within steps of them, the ski-in/ski-out lodging at the inn is expected to attract a wider spectrum of guests, Linebaugh said.
The inn is a joint project between the resort and the Military Installation Development Association. MIDA — which also was a partner in the construction of the Grand Hyatt at Deer Valley Resort — is a taxpayer-funded agency tasked with developing military land or land that benefits military members. Some rooms in the $35 million lodge will be offered for free to wounded veterans.
(Sundance Mountain Resort) With 520 inches of snow this season and a base of more than 100 inches still on the mountain, Sundance is taking advantage by opening up its back mountain for skiing in May this weekend for the first time. The Bearclaw Cabin will also be open.
“We believe it’s very much going to draw new national and international travelers who maybe previously wouldn’t have chosen to come here,” Linebaugh said. “And we believe now they very much will be coming here.”
Linebaugh emphasized, however, that in-state skiers remain important to the resort.
“We are very focused on the Utah market,” he said, “and we want this to be a place not just for Utah Valley, but people from (all over the state).”
The Electric Horseman, a Doppelmayr lift, will climb the Far East Ridge to the Bearclaw Summit. The ridge will become a groomer and cut through part of what will eventually be 165 acres with 1,850 feet of vertical. In addition to the 15 new runs, skiers and snowboarders will have access to a new bowl adjacent to Bishop’s Bowl.
