Little Cottonwood Canyon is a holy grail for skiing, having two highly rated resorts and a stellar backcountry, it truly is the “Greatest Snow on Earth.” Which recently has been harder to reach due to the increasing traffic up and down the canyon. A gondola has been the leading option to solve the traffic issue, yet it has received loads of push-back from locals. The gondola would be very invasive of the woods, and even destroy/remove famous bouldering spots.
As of now there is no concrete solution that will benefit everyone, but I have one I see as the best fit.
The solution I see working best is having a three-lane road going from top to bottom. Switching from two lanes up in the morning, to two lanes down in the afternoon. It would not be perfect, but I think it would work best considering portions of the canyon have already been extended to three lanes. It would also not invade as many bouldering spots or as much of the forest as a gondola would.
Andrew Frey, Salt Lake City
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