Snowbird introduces new tram on Hidden Peak

LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON, Utah — On this hot holiday weekend, a quick trip into the cool mountain air may be just what many Utahns need. Snowbird Resort can now whisk you up to 11,000 feet in a new and improved aerial tram.

At the end of the ski season, Snowbird took down its iconic red and blue aerial trams that took skiers, snowboarders, and summer sightseers to the top of the mountain for 50 years. One of the new trams is now ready to ride.

“It’s really exciting to see them actually functioning,” said Kelsey Johnson, creative marketing manager at Snowbird.

After two years of planning, Snowbird’s blue tram is carrying people to the top of Hidden Peak.

“I just wanted to get out of the heat and bring the grandkids up to ride the new tram,” said Robert Bringhurst, who was enjoying the summit area Friday.

Bringhurst has enjoyed Snowbird with his family for years and is impressed with the new tram.

“I think it’s fantastic,” he said. “The views out of the windows are great and you can see a lot more, and they like it,” he said, referring to his grandkids.

The tram windows stretch from nearly the floor all the way to the ceiling. There are even three windows in the floor of the tram.

“It’s just a really exciting way to kind of experience the mountain as you ride up,” Johnson said.

The new trams are about the same size as the old ones, with a new futuristic shape.

“The new rhombus shape just looks much more futuristic, and as we embark on our next 50 years, that cabin will really take us there.”

Snowbird is awaiting a new red cabin which was damaged during installation, needs to be replaced, and will be installed before ski season.

Next summer, when both trams are running, they will have balconies on the top.

“There will be an internal staircase and the balcony will carry about 11 to 16 people,” Johnson said.

As frightening as that might sound, people are eager to get out on the roof.

“I’ll be first in line,” Bringhurst said. “I think that would be fantastic.“

An all-day activity pass covers as many tram rides as you want and all of the activities at the base.

That’s $43 for kids and $58 for adults. If you just want to take the tram to the top and back, that’s $28 for kids and $35 for adults.

Johnson points out, it’s always much cooler at the Bird than it is in the valley.

”Our average temperature up here is about 20 degrees cooler than the valley,” she said.

In the upper basins visitors enjoyed those cooler temperatures, the hiking, and the wildflowers which seem to be peaking right now.