Snowbird celebrates 40 years of powder skiing

LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON — Thousands of skiers and snowboarders celebrated four decades of powder skiing at Snowbird on Friday.

The day's events included a hula hoop contest, dancing and a raffle that awarded a popular brand of skis to winners, among other prizes. There was also a competition to identify the person with the most Snowbird season passes, two of which had 42 passes each, one for each season the resort has been open, including two from a year when Snowbird issued both winter and summer passes.

Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, which relies almost entirely upon revenue from patrons because it is largely based on U.S. Forest Service land, opened in December 1971. It boasts 11 ski lifts, an aerial tram and a first-of-its-kind tunnel that provides easier access to additional terrain.

As of Friday, there is approximately 32 inches of snow on Snowbird's ski hills, although the resort set a record in May of almost 776 cumulative inches through the last ski season.