Utah Earns Top Spot in 11 of 20 SKI Magazine Reader Survey Categories

Seems we’re not the only ones with strong opinions on Utah’s amazing ski resorts. Many of the best Utah ski resorts have topped the charts of the 2012 SKI magazine reader survey. For the first time all three Park City resorts ranked in the top 10 overall, including:

Deer Valley Resort at number two, Park City Mountain Resort at number four and Canyons Resort at number 10. Joining them in the top 30 list, Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort ranked number 17, Brighton Resort ranked number 21, Solitude Resort ranked 22, Alta Resort ranked 25 and Snowbasin ranked 30.

The best Utah ski resorts received the top rating in 11 of the 20 category divisions including:

Alta Resort for “Snow”
Powder Mountain for “Value”
Brighton Resort for “Weather”
Park City Mountain Resort for “Off-Hill Activities” and “Access”
Deer Valley Resort for “Grooming,” “On-mountain Food,” “Dining,” “Lodging,” “Family Programs” and “Service”

“Utah’s resorts are committed to enhancing our natural strengths as a destination. Our resorts continue to rank higher and higher each year within the SKI category rankings and I’m proud to work with such remarkable resorts,” said Ski Utah President Nathan Rafferty. “Year after year, these rankings positively reinforce that our efforts are improving the Utah ski experience for local and destination visitors alike.”

Along with incredible representation in the overall rankings, Utah resorts dominated the categories Ski Utah considers its greatest assets – access, snow, weather and value.

Access
With 11 resorts less than an hour from Salt Lake City International Airport, seven of the top 10 listings for “access” were Utah resorts (#1 Park City, #2 Deer Valley, #3 Canyons, #5 Snowbird, #6 Brighton, #7 Solitude, #8 Alta).

Snow
Famous for its trademarked Greatest Snow on Earth® and average annual snowfall of 500 inches, seven of the top ten listings for “Snow” were Utah resorts (#1 Alta, #3 Powder Mountain, #4 Snowbird, #6 Brighton, #7 Solitude, #9 Snowbasin, #10 Deer Valley).

Weather
With world-renowned blue sky days, the top six of ten resorts listed in the “weather” category were Utah resorts (#1 Brighton, #2 Deer Valley, #3 Solitude, #4 Alta, #5 Snowbird, #6 Sundance).

Value
“Value,” another vital component of Utah’s wintersports product, had four Utah resorts in the top ten; #1 Powder Mountain, #3 Brighton, #7 Alta, #9 Solitude.

The SKI Magazine annual list leverages thousands of reader surveys to assign the rankings to roughly 400 eligible resorts in North America. The magazine is available on news stands nationwide.