SAM Magazine—Salt Lake City, Utah, Apr. 24, 2012—Twenty prominent business and community leaders have formed a coalition to support SkiLink, which would connect Canyons and Solitude via gondola. They hope the project will pave the way for additional links between resorts and the eventual creation of the largest multi-area “ski circus” in North America, one that could equal the scale of several European mega-resorts.

The coalition, co-chaired by former U.S. Senator Jake Garn, Sandy mayor Tom Dolan and Salt Lake Chamber president and CEO Lane Beattie, believes SkiLink will demonstrate that linking resorts can be done in an economically and environmentally responsible manner. SkiLink will be vetted through a local approval process that covers land use, water quality, wildlife, and other related environmental issues, according to the coalition.

Last month, Governor Gary Herbert signed a resolution passed by the Utah Legislature advocating an interconnect system to enhance the ski and snowboard industry’s contribution to Utah’s economy, jobs, and tax base.