Having an entire mountain to yourself is the stuff of ski dreams – nobody in front of you at the lifts; no powder pigs stealing your lines; and no-one beating you to beers at the bar. However, unless you can afford to buy your own mountain or you limit yourself to obscure resorts which nobody else actually wants to visit, you’ll struggle to find a mountain you can genuinely call yours and yours alone.
But, there is a way and it’s called Eagle Point Resort in Utah. Located three and a half hours’ drive south of Salt Lake City (and thirty minutes from the sleepy town of Beaver, whose biggest claim to fame is being the two-times winner of the best tasting water in the US), the resort boasts around 240 hectares of terrain (38 pistes), spread across two lift-connected mountains. A network of sunny, tree-lined green and blue runs spans the higher of the two hills while several black diamond trails drop over 300 vertical metres off the long ridge opposite, which affords beautiful views across the desert and Puffer Lake below. There are also five backcountry gates, which offer access to untouched terrain best explored with a local guide. All this is typically doused in 11m of light and dry snow each winter – average for Utah, the state that owns the trademarked “Greatest Snow on Earth”, but a bumper year for most other resorts in the world.
Uniquely, Eagle Point Resort is open to the public Friday to Monday yet up for exclusive grabs Tuesday through Thursday (with the exception of Christmas and New Year). When booked exclusively for a day (or three if you really want to push the ski boat out), up to 200 guests can have the entire resort to themselves, with ski equipment thrown in for good measure. You don’t, of course, have to invite 199 mates along – you could always enjoy some prime me time on the hill and foot the $10,000 bill yourself. Although après-ski in the 16-person hot tub in the Canyonside Lodge is definitely more fun with mates than on your own…
The Lodge is one of two in the resort, both comprising condominiums, a restaurant, bar, disco, grocery shop and rental shop. For something a little more worthy of a private mountain experience, there are also individual cabins available to rent, but there’s no doubt that the best way to “do” Eagle Point is to book yourself into the super swanky Amangiri hotel in Canyon Point, a twenty-minute scenic helicopter ride over the Utah desert from the resort. The intimate property has space for just 68 guests, which strikes us as the perfect number of friends to invite to share a mountain with for the day…
Top price: $10,000/£8,200 per day for one person
Bargain price: $50/£41 per day, based on 200 people skiing together
