Utah ski industry gets jump start from Vail

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) ― Skiers and snowboarders traveling to Utah this winter will find the same jagged mounting peaks looming just east of Salt Lake City and many familiar trails at the state’s 15 resorts. But they may also notice a few signs of the significant changes that occurred in the off-season.

The most prominent was Vail Resorts Inc.’s purchase of the state’s largest ski area, Park City Mountain Resort. The $182.5 million acquisition resolved a messy legal battle between Vail and Powdr Corp. that threatened to cancel the ski season at the resort.

It also paved the way for the creation of what could be the country’s largest ski area. Vail plans to build a connecting chair lift to link Park City Mountain Resort and the adjacent Canyons Resort it already owns in the 2015-2016 season. This season, skiers can buy one ticket good for both, allowing people to hop-scotch between both, even on the same day.

Vail’s expanding footprint in Utah also means that people who buy the company’s well-known Epic Pass can now ski at two Utah resorts among the 22 global ski areas included in the pass, sold for $769 for adults. An Epic Local Pass that offers access to a smaller list of U.S. resorts is being sold for $589 for adults.