Mayor of Alta speaks out against Little Cottonwood gondola

Alta Ski Area in the summer is awash in iconic mountain scenery making it a popular destination in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Photo: Tim Peterson // Unsplash

LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON – Roger Bourke, the mayor of the Town of Alta and Spencer Shaver, the executive director of Save Our Canyons, nonprofit dedicated to the protection of the beauty and wildness of the Wasatch Mountains, have shared an analysis of the costs all Utahns would bear if UDOT proceeds with its plans to build a gondola through Little Cottonwood Canyon, one of Utah’s most iconic natural landscapes.

In an opinion piece published by the Deseret News the leaders estimated the proposed gondola, a UDOT project, would cost Utahns $1,000 per household.

“As resort skiing costs rise, Utahns shouldn’t subsidize out-of-state skiers’ vacations,” they wrote.

Bourke and Shaver emphasize the Wasatch Front is blessed with natural beauty that is both spectacular and highly accessible.

“We often overlook the fact that these places are both finite and fragile. Once they are gone they are gone forever, not to be enjoyed by future generations or even the current one. Do we really want to sacrifice the beauty of the future for the expediency of the present?” they wrote.

UDOT’s proposed Little Cottonwood Canyon gondola could cost taxpayers between $750 million and $1.4 billion, according to data anazlyzed. At a conservative estimate of $1 billion, the project would average around $1,000 per Utah household.

Read the full editorial here.