The Olympic Ski Runs
Of course, some expansion of Snowbasin Ski Area really was necessary for the Olympics. The Olympic ski runs lie mostly to the north of the former ski area boundaries, on very steep terrain. For the sake of a two-week event, this area has been bulldozed, contoured, strung with ski lifts, plumbed with snow making equipment, and civilized with assorted structures including a mountaintop restaurant.
The photos at right show the ridge-top hut at the start of the men's downhill run (about the only new structure that is tastefully modest in size), the construction zone at the top of the John Paul lift (during construction of the restaurant), and the race finish area (complete with jumbotron).
Despite the environmental destruction, it's important to realize that all this could have easily been accomplished without an Act of Congress. The Olympics were awarded to Salt Lake City in 1995, giving organizers seven years to plan and develop the new ski runs. In the year and a half that it took to get the Snowbasin Land Exchange Act passed by Congress and signed by the President, Snowbasin and the Forest Service could have just as easily gone through the usual NEPA review process normally required for ski area expansions on public land.
