Brian Head to Open All Runs This Weekend, As Storm Dumps 23 Inches of Utah Powder, Pushing the Resort’s Season Total to 80 Inches

Brian Head, UT (December 3, 2010) – With this week’s storm dumping 23 inches of the “Greatest Snow on Earth” at Southern Utah’s Brian Head Resort, this coming Saturday, December 4, the resort plans to open all of its 650 acres for skiing and snowboarding, including 65 runs and nine lifts. Also open will be a terrain park with 11 features, rails and boxes. Lifts will be open all season from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with regular ticket prices: adult $45, child $32.

With an 80-inch season total, Brian Head is ahead of its normal snowfall accumulation compared to past seasons, when the average season total was approximately 60-inches at the beginning of December, according to the Western Regional Climate Center. (http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ut0900) 

“The snow conditions are fantastic and we are very pleased to offer our guests Brian Head’s entire ski area so early in the season,” said Brian Head General Manager, Henry Hornberger, who added that last year Brain Head had over 400 inches.

Frequently associated with families learning to ski and snowboard on Brian Head Resort’s Navajo Mountain, a growing number of skiers and boarders have come to understand that Brian Head has much to offer intermediate, advanced and even expert skiers. Beginner and intermediate runs account 40 percent each, while 20 percent of Brian Head’s runs are advanced, including a dozen-plus black-diamond runs on the generally-sunny, northwest facing Giant Steps Mountain. Giant Steps Mountain sits just below 11,307-foot Brian Head Peak, where expert-level skiers and snowboarders enjoy hike-accessed, powder stashes found in backcountry bowls.

At Giant Steps Lodge rental equipment is available at Brian Head’s High Mountain Outfitters retail shop, which offers the finest brands including Burton, Smith, Skull Candy, Elan and Atomic. Sold are helmets, goggles, jackets, pants, sun glasses, gloves, sunscreen, lip balm, sweatshirts and more –including gift items, accessories, and Brian Head Resort logo-wear. The grills at Giant Steps and Navajo Lodges, each featuring Starbucks Coffee, will be open too.

About Brian Head Resort: at 9,600-11,307 feet above sea level, it is the highest ski resort base elevation in Utah. It averages nearly 400 inches yearly of the "Greatest Snow on Earth," has three terrain parks, eight lifts, 65 ski trails and 650 acres of ski terrain for downhill skiing, snow tubing and snowboarding from mid-November through mid-April. There are also assorted options for après ski dining and drinking, entertainment and ecotourism, as well as cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and much more. Brian Head’s very family-friendly atmosphere includes an uncrowded setting with no lift-lines, an award-winning, all-inclusive children's program for ages 3-12 at Navajo Lodge Learning Center, an entire mountain and facility dedicated to kids and newcomers to winter sports.  There is also a state licensed day care facility. Brian Head’s location is perfect for combining a skiing or snowboarding trip with a visit to Las Vegas. Likewise, Brian Head is likely closer to more national parks than any other ski resort town in North America; Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, The Grand Canyon, and Great Basin are all within easy reach. Cedar Breaks National Monument is two miles from Brian Head.