02/26/2025
CELEBRATING 85 YEARS OF SNOWBASIN! BUT....., NOT NECESSARILY THEIR PRICES!
Every once in awhile, as time goes by and you're getting older, we think to ourselves– Sheesh! Things just aren't like they use to be! And, occasionally there are those times when that realization hits us like a ton of bricks! “How could things have changed that much? How did we get from there to here so fast?” Suddenly, you find yourself not only remembering, but appreciating your dad's wistful longing for the good old days. This post will likely induce a similar response.
Snowbasin, one of Utah's oldest ski resorts opened 85 years ago in 1940. In 1948, as you will notice from the attached lift ticket photos, the cost of an adult day pass was $1.00. Adjusted for inflation that same ticket today should cost $22.00. Not so. Today's $219.00 day pass is nearly a 2200% increase! Granted, skiing has come a long ways since 1940. There is far more fabulous terrain available, better equipment, lifts and amenities, but.... seriously! To put this in better perspective, the median cost of a home in 1940 was $3,000.00, today $420,000.00. That's only a 1400% increase by comparison. And we complain about the high cost of housing? Park City and Deer Valley have topped $300 for their day pass. That should make us feel better?
Not to unduly single out Snowbasin, as more and more ski resorts trend towards privatization, like Ogden Valley's Powder Mountain, affordability for locals is simply out of the question. Longing for the good old days yet?
Did you know that Snowbasin is the only ski resort in the United States to have been originally owned and operated by a government municipality- Ogden City? We need government to step in and regulate pricing? Like a broken leg!
