Now all but untrammeled, this unique and verdant valley would become an exclusive destination resort complete with swimming pools, a golf course and hundreds of townhouses and condominiums. What is at stake is 1,320 acres of arguably the most beautiful land in northern Utah. From the quaint hamlet of Huntsville, hugging the shores of Pine View reservoir some 20 miles east of Ogden, a road winds west up the backside of the rugged Wasatch range. But as the road continues to wind up and around a bend, you find yourself on a ridge top, staring down into an almost hidden and breathtaking little valley. With the jagged Mount Ogden towering in the background, the sight is enough to take your breath away, just as it struck awe in the Mormon pioneers almost 150 years ago.
Snow Basin is now public land.
Hatch and Hansen have told the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives that the land must become Holding's if the Olympic downhill ski races are to take place at Snowbasin in 2002. In fact, Hatch, Hansen and Holding brought Salt Lake City Olympic officials, like Frank Joklik, to Washington to help convince Congress to make the deal. Presently Holding and his Sun Valley Company own three ski lifts on the mountain rising out of Snow Basin, perched on Forest Service land and leased as ski slopes. All of this, plus a golf course, is apparently necessary for the 2002 Olympic ski races, if we are to believe Hatch, Hansen, Joklik and Holding. By contract, Snowbird in Little Cottonwood Canyon operates ski lifts on Forest Service lands, like Snowbasin, but its lodges and hotels and its base operations exist on only 45 acres.