Powder Mountain is above Eden, Utah, in the Ogden Valley. The summit is James Peak at 9,422 feet, and the vertical is 3,380 feet from there to the base of the Paradise Express. Hidden Lake sits at 8,900 feet. The resort counts 5,000 skiable acres, reached by lifts, buses, hiking, skinning and guided tours. Six public chairlifts, led by the Paradise Express and Hidden Lake Express high-speed quads, serve 163 named runs, and the resort rates 56% of them advanced. Powder Mountain gets over 360 inches of snow a year and makes none of its own.
The resort opened in 1972 on land the Cobabe family had used as sheep range. In the 1984-85 season it became the first resort in Utah to allow snowboarding. It limits daily lift ticket sales. It usually opens with limited terrain by the first weekend in December, reaches full operations by early January and closes around mid-April.
Lightning Ridge, Paradise and Timberline each show one of the lift areas, so together they give a view across the mountain. Since the resort runs on natural snow only, the cams are the quickest way to see how much cover there is early and late in the season. Before you drive, check the resort’s conditions page, which has a UDOT road camera on SR-158 and the resort’s road conditions report.
Powder Mountain Road, SR-158, is the road up. The resort says it holds a steady 14% grade, and that conditions can change a lot between the bottom and the top. Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) is about an hour away, and the resort also lists Ogden-Hinckley Airport. UDOT says trips to the Ogden Valley use at least one of SR-39 through Ogden Canyon, SR-167 (Trappers Loop), I-84 through Weber Canyon, or SR-158. The UTA Ski Bus is free with a Powder Mountain ticket or pass.
Utah’s Traction Law can apply on SR-158. When it does, four-wheel and all-wheel-drive vehicles need at least M+S tires on all wheels. Two-wheel-drive vehicles need tires with the three-peak mountain snowflake on all wheels, or chains or other traction devices on at least two drive wheels. UDOT Ogden Valley posts road status.
Powder Mountain isn’t on the Epic, Ikon or Indy Pass. The resort says it doesn’t accept multi-resort passes.