Little Cottonwood Canyon
Final EIS

On Wednesday, August 31st, 2022, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) released the Final Little Cottonwood Canyon EIS selecting the Gondola Alternative B (base station at La Caille) as the preferred alternative in the Final EIS.

Alta Ski Area would like to thank the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) for the mountain of work it poured into evaluating and refining the transportation alternatives and for Little Cottonwood Canyon. It has taken years of vetting multiple solutions aimed at reducing canyon congestion through exhaustive community and public comment periods.

Alta Ski Area applauds UDOT’s decision because the gondola alternative is the least impacted by weather, the primary cause of traffic congestion and delays in Little Cottonwood Canyon. The gondola alternative provides an option for canyon visitors to safely and efficiently travel in the canyon during adverse weather conditions that regularly snarl traffic and create delays.

Since Gondola Alternative B will take years to design, fund, and implement, Alta Ski Area will continue to work closely with UDOT in the phased approach to improve the safety, reliability, and mobility of transportation in the canyon. Specific interim solutions we are exploring with UDOT include:

1. Implementing winter-long traction laws
2. Minimizing canyon closure times
3. Improving the traffic merge for Alta and Snowbird skiers
4. Providing shoulders for vehicles to queue up while waiting for the canyon to open up, keeping traffic corridors open and flowing

While the weather is the biggest contributor to canyon congestion, recreational demand during peak periods is now exceeding the parking capacity and transportation capacity of the canyon. During the 2020–21 ski season, there were 15 days when Alta’s parking lots were filled by 9:30am and hundreds of cars full of canyon visitors were turned away. This led us to implement a parking reservation system for the 2021–22 ski season which reduced canyon congestion and improved the flow of traffic in the canyon, even during peak periods. We did not have to turn away vehicles away on any day last season.

"Recognizing that safety, mobility and reliability are issues on S.R. 210 today, and that it may take years to secure federal, state and/or private funding for full implementation of Gondola B, UDOT is proposing a phased implementation plan starting with components of the Enhanced Bus Service."

- UDOT, Final EIS statement

As an invested party and stakeholder in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Alta Ski Area will formally submit our comments within the EIS Comment Form during the current 45-day public review and comment period. We encourage Alta skiers to provide public comment and ask you to include the interim solutions we are exploring with UDOT.

Thank you for your passion for Alta and Little Cottonwood Canyon. It is truly a jewel in the Wasatch worth experiencing, sharing, and preserving. Now the decision has been made, let’s work together to implement interim solutions that improve transportation in the canyon until the Gondola B Alternative can be designed and funded.

Read the UDOT Final EIS | Utah.Gov >

Little Cottonwood Canyon Draft EIS (August 10th, 2021) | Alta.com >