What does the warm weather mean for Utah’s ski resorts?
Feb 4, 2025, 1:00 PM | Updated: Feb 6, 2025, 12:36 pm

People ride the lift at Brighton Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. (Ben B. Braun/Deseret News)
(Ben B. Braun/Deseret News)
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct Andria Huskinson’s title.
SALT LAKE CITY — Unseasonably warm weather doesn’t always mean bad news for riders heading to Utah’s ski resorts.
Director of Marketing at Brighton Resorts, Jared Winkler said most of the time warmer days on the mountain end up being just as busy as powder days.
“So, we don’t really fear warm weather so much … warm weather can bring skiers just as much as big storms can bring skiers,” said Winkler. “It’s the in-between when it’s really cold and cloudy and miserable where nobody wants to do anything on those days.”
Communications and PR Manager at Solitude Resort Andria Huskinson said warm days keep ski patrol busy with avalanche mitigation. She said their snow base could go down an inch or two but that the warm days haven’t stopped her from hitting the slopes.
“I was just out on the mountain and it’s skiing like mashed potatoes,” she said.
According to Winkler, most riders love a warmer day, just not a warmer season.
“So skiers are creatures of weather,” Winkler said. “They either like it snowing and just nuking, getting deep and powdery … or they like it the other way and that’s sunny and warm.”