Uphill Travel Policy

UPHILL TRAVEL PROTOCOL BEFORE OPERATING HOURS

Uphill Ski Travel Status is updated at 4:00 am each day to alert guests if the conditions are green or red and goes red at 9:00 am.  We are no longer offering night uphilling EXCEPT during the Full Moon each month.  Uphill travel is only open to skiers, snowboarders, and snowshoers. We DO NOT allow fat biking on our uphill route. 

RED DAY = No uphill traffic permitted (usually avalanche reduction days), if found on the mountain, there will be consequences. 

GREEN DAY = Uphill travel permitted if you abide by the following rules:

• When traveling uphill, please stay in the middle of the trail
• If you come to a sign that reads “Winch Cat Above This Point”, this ends your ascent. Do not travel around winch cats.
• All uphill travelers must be equipped with lights, front, and back
• Only stop where you can be seen from above and below
• Your uphill route is your downhill route
• All uphillers need to turn around by 9:00 am
• No dogs are allowed on the mountain

Only approved routes are Powder Puff - School Hill - Bear Hollow - Sweet Revenge - Needles Lodge or Powder Puff - Snowshoe Road - School Hill - Bear Hollow - Sweet Revenge 0 Middle Bowl Traverse - Porcupine Traverse - Strawberry Traverse - Needles Lodge. Use the same route downhill unless the mountain is open after 9:00 am. All uphill travel must cease by 9:00 am. Please do not go off the approved route, if found off the approved route there will be consequences. This is for everyone’s safety. The cache road that accesses Strawberry from Snowbasin Road IS ONLY for Employee Travel. 

Yield the right of way and stay clear of ski area machinery, i.e. grooming machines, snowmobiles, and snowmaking equipment. You are responsible for your own safety. Expect to always encounter ski area machinery and employees at any time and anywhere on the mountain. Mountain users should wear reflective clothing, headlamps and blinking lights on front and back. No pets allowed on the mountain. Adhere to Trail/Avalanche Closures. No person except a member of the ski patrol, an employee of the Forest Service, Sheriff or ski area operator employee working in the course and scope of his employment shall enter or go upon any closed area.  If you pack it in, please pack it out. Help us keep the Forest clean for future users.

As Partners in Recreation with the US Forest Service, Snowbasin Resort’s Uphill Travel Policy allows access for uphill travelers (i.e. hiking, snowshoeing, skinning, etc.) under certain conditions. Across the country, increasing uphill traffic within ski area boundaries has driven the implementation of uphill policies. While uphill travel within ski area boundaries may seem innocuous, it poses significant safety risks and concerns for uphill and downhill recreationalists, ski area operations and ski area staff. For this reason, uphill travel is not permitted in any fashion at many ski areas. Snowbasin Resort’s policy reflects our commitment to seek a balance between mitigating safety concerns of uphill travel as a recreational use within the downhill ski area/Special Use Permit area with the reasonable needs of operating a sustainable and successful alpine ski area, for which we have been granted a Special Use Permit from the US Forest Service. Snowbasin Resort continues to work closely with the Ogden Ranger District, Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest, and local organizations, to build awareness and provide public education regarding uphill travel and recreational uses. Our goal is to find a reasonable balance between and among user groups who share a common interest in recreating within the Snowbasin Special Permit area in a non-confrontational and sustainable manner while establishing safety rules for users designed to reduce the hazards and dangers related to such usage.

All uphill travel must follow these rules:

• When traveling uphill, please stay in the middle of the trail
• If you come to a sign that reads “Winch Cat Above This Point”, this ends your ascent. Do not travel around winch cats.
• All uphill travelers must be equipped with lights, front and back when traveling in the dark
• Only stop where you can be seen from above and below
• No dogs are allowed on the mountain
• Your uphill route is your downhill route.
• All uphillers need to turn around at 9:00 am.

Uphill Travel Status is updated at 4:00 am each day to alert guests if the conditions are green or red and goes red at 9:00 am. 

Snowbasin Resort Mountain Policy – During the Season 

Uphill travel by the way of foot, snowshoes, trax, or skis is not allowed between the hours of 9:00 am and 4:00 am of the next day unless the resort reflects green status. Outside of operating hours, there may be circumstances in which the ski area may prohibit uphill traffic, or limit or restrict uphill traffic by designating specific times, days or routes that will be available for such use. These circumstances might include safety, maintenance or operational needs; grooming operations; snowmaking operations; special events; avalanche hazard reduction work; wildlife or resource considerations; or other reasons. The ski area is authorized, with Forest Service pre-approval, to perform any or all of these actions as deemed reasonable and necessary by the ski area. There is no ski patrol available outside of normal operating hours. You are responsible for your own safety and rescue. All participants within the permit boundary are considered skiers and are subject to Utah Skier Safety Act. Daily updates of current uphill travel restrictions (RED DAY/GREEN DAY) will be posted within the snowbasin.com mountain report as well as listed on the (801) 620-1100 snow phone.

Snowbasin Resort Mountain Policy – Pre and Post Season

Safety considerations, maintenance or operational requirements, grooming operations, snowmaking operations, special events, avalanche hazard reduction work, wildlife or resource considerations, or construction, may cause public risk management issues to exist. To protect the public from potential hazards that may exist, prior to the opening of the ski season and postseason, the ski area is authorized, with Forest Service pre-approval, to close areas subject to those potential hazards and to post signs at typical uphill access points closing those areas.