Vail Resorts will create the largest ski area in the US for winter 2015-16 thanks to a $50m spend this coming spring/summer on their new acquisition of Park City Mountain resort, linking it to Canyons ski area, which the company also controls, with a new gondola.
With 7,300 acres of terrain the newly combined areas will be around 30% bigger than the next largest US area, Big Sky in Montana (which took the biggest area title previously held by Vail in Colorado itself) , and less than 1,000 acres smaller that North America's long-standing biggest resort, Whistler Blackcomb in BC, Canada.
An eight-passenger, high-speed two-way gondola, 'The Interconnect,' running from the base of the existing Silverlode Lift at Park City to the Flatiron Lift at Canyons. The gondola will also have an unload at the top of Pine Cone Ridge to allow skiers and riders the opportunity to ski into Thaynes Canyons at Park City via gated ski access or to the Iron Mountain area at Canyons through new trails that will be created from Pine Cone Ridge. This will mark the first gondola at Park City Mountain Resort since "The Gondola" was dismantled in 1983.
Canyons ski area will apparently lose its status as a separate area to some extent and be re-named "Canyons at Park City" so it appears Park City will now have 'two' ski areas. Canyons was originally a small locals' hill called Park West but has changed its name four times in the past two decades. Becoming first 'Wolf Mountain', then 'The Canyons,' then just 'Canyons' and now Canyons at Park City. It had been grown in to one of the largest ski areas in North America by the now defunct former owners, The American Skiing Company.
In addition to the new gondola the King Con Lift will be upgraded from a four-person to a six-person, high-speed detachable chairlift, increasing lift capacity. The Motherlode Lift will also be upgraded from a fixed-grip triple to a four-person, high-speed detachable chairlift, also increasing lift capacity.
There will also be expanded snowmaking, a new restaurant and many other improvements.