"Like the day we tore out the old Alpenglow Restaurant. It was dark, sunken, steamy, and there was not enough room. People had to stand outside as they waited in line. Why would anyone be disappointed with a nice, spacious restaurant that was light, airy and had room to sit down? But there were those who loved the old place and said we never should have torn it down."

This summer there are plans to tear down the old Watson Shelter, another Alta icon, and Wieringa expects there will be those who will call it a mistake.

"It was built in 1950 and, I think, there have been 12 additions, none of them done well. But we have to be careful with change," he continued.

"I constantly tell people here that no one comes to see us. They come to Alta for the skiing. We have the most consistent snow in the world, great terrain and are in a beautiful canyon. That's why they come here.

"It all goes back to our philosophy that we need to make things as easy as we can for people. Anytime we have a problem, and we don't have many, it's usually because we're standing in the way of them doing what they came to do — ski. People who come to Alta are focused on skiing, and we just need to stay out of their way. They don't want to deal with us. They want to go skiing."

Snowboarding is another issue Wieringa deals with. Snowboarders are not allowed on the lifts at Alta, but it's an issue that is always on the table, he admitted.

"It comes down to a business decision. We've made the decision that we are a ski area and that we're good at what we do. We've been good at it for a long time . . . and our customers are happy with things as they are," he explained.

Oh, there will be changes made in the ensuing years. And, it will be Wieringa's duty to make sure none interferes with or takes away from the skiing experience.

The very best compliment he could ever receive is if no one notices the changes, "and then we know we've done things right," he said.

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E-mail: grass@desnews.com