marzNC
Angel Diva
A couple years ago—how time flies—Alta made big news when a proposal was submitted to the U.S. Forest Service with 12 projects including upgrading Sunnyside and Wildcat, as well as installing a small tram for ski patrol to access Mt Baldy and building a Flora lift to make the EBT unnecessary. It was the start of detailed planning for projects already listed in the Alta 2012 Master Development Plan. A major milestone was reached recently when a Draft Decision to approve 10 projects was published. There are still many tasks to do before any construction starts so it’s unlikely any major construction will happen until 2020.
The project list in 2017 did not include two projects. The project that was dropped from consideration was the idea of restoring the lake at the top of Glory Hole. The other project no longer under review is the replacement of Cecret and the Supreme triple with one high speed detachable quad. That lift project was pulled out as a separate proposal and approved in time for construction to happen during 2017. The new lift was completed in time for the 2017-18 season.
Below are links to the Forest Service documents related to the 2017 proposal.
Alta MDP Improvement Projects: Scoping, Analysis, Decision Documents
https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=48903
Draft Decision for approval - April 2018
https://www.fs.usda.gov/nfs/11558/www/nepa/103726_FSPLT3_4286002.pdf
Environmental Assessment - April 2018
https://www.fs.usda.gov/nfs/11558/www/nepa/103726_FSPLT3_4286628.pdf
There is a required 45-day comment period for objections. Assuming the Forest Service ultimately approves the proposal, it will be a while before all of the projects are completed. The timeframe for the proposal is five years, based on the original request submitted in December 2015.
As I understand it, once the overall proposal is approved, it will be up to Alta Lifts to prioritize the order of the projects. It’s hard to know how much design work and construction planning has already been done.
List of projects from Page 2 of the April 2018 Draft Decision to approve:
The project list in 2017 did not include two projects. The project that was dropped from consideration was the idea of restoring the lake at the top of Glory Hole. The other project no longer under review is the replacement of Cecret and the Supreme triple with one high speed detachable quad. That lift project was pulled out as a separate proposal and approved in time for construction to happen during 2017. The new lift was completed in time for the 2017-18 season.
Below are links to the Forest Service documents related to the 2017 proposal.
Alta MDP Improvement Projects: Scoping, Analysis, Decision Documents
https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=48903
Draft Decision for approval - April 2018
https://www.fs.usda.gov/nfs/11558/www/nepa/103726_FSPLT3_4286002.pdf
Environmental Assessment - April 2018
https://www.fs.usda.gov/nfs/11558/www/nepa/103726_FSPLT3_4286628.pdf
There is a required 45-day comment period for objections. Assuming the Forest Service ultimately approves the proposal, it will be a while before all of the projects are completed. The timeframe for the proposal is five years, based on the original request submitted in December 2015.
As I understand it, once the overall proposal is approved, it will be up to Alta Lifts to prioritize the order of the projects. It’s hard to know how much design work and construction planning has already been done.
List of projects from Page 2 of the April 2018 Draft Decision to approve:
- Albion/Wildcat base parking improvements.
- Tram from Germania Pass to Mt. Baldy.
- Gazex or other equivalent technologies to replace artillery and Avalaunchers.
- Sunnyside lift replacement.
- Wildcat lift replacement.
- Flora lift construction from bottom of Sugarbowl to the top of Collins lift.
- Supreme summer ski run work.
- Alf’s restaurant building addition.
- Watson Shelter building addition.
- Equipment storage facility construction.
