Utah Court Blocks Park City Mountain Lift Upgrades
Park City Mountain’s push to modernize its lift system hit another major roadblock this week. A group of locals challenged the project in court through a 1998 development agreement that relates to the mountain's "comfortable carrying capacity." They argued that faster lifts, by delivering more people to the top of the slopes, would create an over-crowded mountain.
On August 28, the Utah Court of Appeals sided with a citizen appeal to block two proposed lift upgrades on the Mountain Village side of the resort. The decision at least temporarily shuts down a project Vail Resorts has been trying to push through for more than three years.
The plan was straightforward: replace the Silverlode Express with an eight-pack chairlift and upgrade the Eagle lift into a six-pack high-speed quad with a mid-station. But the fight over these projects has been anything but simple.
Community Pushback on Capacity
Back in 2022, the upgrades were approved by a former planning director. But local opposition quickly followed. A citizen group challenged the project over “comfortable carrying capacity” (CCC), a ski industry metric that measures how many guests a mountain can handle without overcrowding runs, lifts, and base infrastructure.
The concern? Bigger, faster lifts would push more skiers uphill, funneling even more people onto already-packed trails and into the gridlocked base-area parking lots.
This week, the appeals court agreed, ruling that the lift expansion doesn’t align with Park City’s 1998 development agreement, a nearly thirty-year-old plan that still dictates what can and cannot be built on the mountain. Until the agreement is amended, Park City Mountain’s lift infrastructure remains locked in place.
A Pattern of Friction with Vail
The ruling is only the latest chapter in what has been an ongoing uphill battle for Vail Resorts at Park City. The company has faced resistance on multiple projects, including the new Sunrise Gondola and an upgrade to the historic Town Lift. Earlier this summer, there was even a chance the Town Lift wouldn’t spin this season until Cloudflare CEO and Park City resident Matthew Prince stepped in and bought the Town Lift Plaza, effectively saving it from closure.
Prince eventually went a step further, offering to buy the entire resort from Vail. Vail CEO Rob Katz quickly rejected the offer, noting that Park City Mountain plays a central role in Vail's brand. Since then, Prince has continued to push for changes at the company level, aligning himself with frustrated locals and disgruntled investors.
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Vail Responds
In a statement, Park City Mountain Vice President Deirdra Walsh said:
“We are disappointed by today’s decision, especially after we initially received approval for these lifts after months of work with city staff and community input. We successfully implemented the 2022 parking plan, which, as we expected, has resulted in significant improvements to the arrival and departure experience at the resort.”
What’s Next?
For now, Park City’s lift system remains frozen in time, even as skier numbers keep growing and chairlift wait times remain a sore spot. Vail indicated it will re-submit its plans and continue efforts to mend its relationship with the Park City community.
But after a inflammatory 2024 Christmas week that saw a ski patrol strike, multi-hour lift lines, and a class-action lawsuit, local trust is running thin.
One thing’s for sure: the tension between locals and corporate ownership is far from over, and Park City skiers are caught in the middle.
