Ever heard of Eagle Point Resort in Southern Utah? Few have. Hell, I hadn’t before a recent invite to the place. Located just up the hill from the town of Beaver, Utah, a town whose feet in elevation is greater than its actual population, Eagle Point is what you might call a small resort (it’s a total of 650 skiable acres).
Those who frequent the place probably prefer its obscurity. Because, in short, the snow is damn good, lift tickets are cheap, and if you’re on it there’s some serious potential to score some deep pow, especially given the season resorts across the West have had this year. And it’s not too late! Utah still gets plenty of snow this time of year!
Anyway, until this trip, I was a firm believer in the value of large resorts. Bigger is better, as they say. And I would often look down my nose at my peers heading to our local mountains over making the trek to a bigger resort with more acreage of ridable terrain, and better snow. I’ll admit, even on the first chair at Eagle Point, a sliver of me was thinking how boring it’d be to ride the same runs over and over, and possible ways to make it more entertaining.
How wrong I was. A week out from the most recent snowfall, we found a few pow stashes in thrilling, side country terrain that changed me. As ashamed as I am to admit it, I might have been a f****** snob. Bigger is not better. Not always. And here are six other reasons why you may want to rethink your preconceptions of small resorts everywhere. They may even save us from ourselves.
1. Cheaper
Wanna know the lift ticket price at Eagle Point? You really wanna know? It’s 55 bucks on Saturdays, $65 during the holidays, and $40 every other day (although they’re closed Tuesday-Thursday, see number 4). If you’re paying over $100 for a single day, this news should make your stomach hurt. A remedial understanding of the principles of economics might suggest that as price-per-day increases, the quality of experience increases. Maybe it’s time that general rule be thrown out the window.
2. Crowds/Lines
It’s difficult to explain why smaller resorts get less foot traffic. Is it because they’re often far from major metropolitan areas? Or is it that, as is the case with the cosmos, larger resorts have a gravitational pull that smaller resorts can’t match? Whatever the case, small resorts attract fewer people – the benefits of which I need not go into detail. Suffice it to say, more runs, less waiting in line.
3. A Personable Experience
Hardcore skiers and snowboarders may not think consciously about whether wait staff at the lodge remember their name from the previous day’s lunch or not, but small touches like that are certainly an added benefit of riding at a smaller resort. Some larger resorts, though, do pride themselves on hospitality and may feel similarly welcoming. But personable experiences are just a fact of nature at smaller resorts.
4. Only Open Four Days a Week
Eagle Point is only open four days a week – Friday to Monday. That may seem inconvenient, but it’s also an incredible opportunity. In other words, if it snows Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, you could score three days’ worth of untouched pow on a perfect bluebird Friday. And doesn’t that possibility just make you frothy to the gills? Other small resorts across the country have similar operating restrictions because of the cost per day to run them.
5. Breeder/Feeder
Ok, that’s enough beating up on big resorts. Just because small resorts have untapped potential doesn’t mean big resorts should fade into oblivion. The point is coexistence is key to growing wintertime mountain recreation. Small resorts see themselves as what they call “breeders and feeders.” The theory is the price point and accessibility is attractive to newcomers who might, once they’re confident in their ski or snowboard abilities, fork over the cash for a bigger trip to a large resort.
6. Core Focus
I won’t lie. The food at Eagle Point was good, not great. As far as I’m concerned, though, that’s part of the endearing nature of the place. It was focused first and foremost on the hill. No frills. Like the resorts of a bygone era, the most important aspect was the terrain, and the riding of it.
