Top of the heap: Utah ski resorts rank among nation's best

No one knows for sure when the first skis made tracks in Utah's snow. There are pictures of early miners holding 12-foot-long skis back in the late 1800s.

There were several groups from Europe, primarily from Sweden and Norway, who got involved in cross country and ski jumping in the early 1900s.

Then came ski jumping, and in 1936 a rope tow was put in at Brighton, and in 1939 Alta opened with the second known chair lift in the world. Sun Valley introduced the first.

Skiing back then wasn't easy. Skis, or wooden staves with turned up tips, were good for delivering mail or reaching the mines during winters in Park City or Alta, and for sliding downhill for as far as a skier was willing to hike uphill.

But with the lift, suddenly, skiing was more fun. No more long hikes uphill for a short ride down. People could comfortably ride up and ski down — or at least try. Early skiing legends — like the late Alf Engen and Junior Bounous — helped teach people to ski.

Before long, Utah had world-class resorts, and with them a loyal, albeit smaller-than-expected, following of skiers. Back in the 1955-56 ski season, only 121,000 passes were sold. It wasn't until 1971-72 Utah hit the million mark and nine years later the 2 million mark. Utah hit a record 4 million in 2005-06 and upped that to 4.1 million last season.

Few can argue that Utah does, indeed, have the "Greatest Snow on Earth."

All of which, of course, has not gone unnoticed by skiers.

In the latest skier poll by SKI Magainze, five Utah resorts made the list of top 10 on the "best snow" list. There are roughly 700 ski resorts in North America. The five are Alta (1), Powder Mountain (2), Snowbird (5), Solitude (6) and Brighton (9).

Today's skiers, though, want more than just good snow.

And there, said Nathan Rafferty, president of Ski Utah, Utah's 13 resorts have responded.

"Good snow is important to skiers, but they also want resorts that offer things like groomed runs and high-speed lifts and an enjoyable meal," he noted.

"And that's where Utah resorts have responded by spending millions each year on upgrading and improving. Again, skiers have responded. Utah has had record seasons for the past four years."

And skiers have come to recognize these efforts.

Among the accolades given out this year:

Alta — best weekend escape (1), best powder skiing (1), best overall skiing (3), best overall satisfaction (1) and best backcountry (5).

Brighton — best value (5), best snow (9), best powder (4) and best overall (6).

The Canyons — best overall (13 and 18), best access (6), best weather (16) and best on-mountain food (19).