Snowbasin withdraws backcountry request

OGDEN — Snowbasin Resort has withdrawn a request to expand a program to guide skiers on trails outside its boundaries.

The resort submitted the request to the U.S. Forest Service Ogden Ranger District last month. The resort wanted to be able to take skiers on more backcountry routes outside the ski area on public land managed by the forest service.

But members of the Ogden chapter of the Sierra Club said the plan could lead to commercialization of the west face of Mount Ogden.

Snowbasin Manager Denzel Rowland says he made the proposal to give guides a chance to build their experience outside the resort because the Snowbasin ski patrol is usually called to help when a skier gets into trouble outside resort boundaries.