COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah — A new way for skiers and snowboarders to get to the mountain kicked off this weekend.
The "Cottonwood Connect" shuttle service is now taking riders to and from Alta Ski Area, Snowbird, Solitude Mountain Resort and Brighton Resort.
"We know that there have been quite a few congestion issues," said Kaitlin Eskelson, the president & CEO of Visit Salt Lake, "So it's just our way at offering one more service to help alleviate that."
The public and private partnership was funded in part by the four resorts, Visit Salt Lake and Utah Transit Authority in the wake of the recent reduction of ski bus services provided by UTA.
"It saved the day; it saved the whole trip," said Glenn Salzman, who took a Cottonwood Connect shuttle to get to Snowbird with his son Saturday.
"We flew out, so we only had two days here," said Salzman, "So if we missed this day, like if we didn't get up, we were out one of our two days of skiing."
He said he's glad they took the alternative service after seeing the long standstill line of cars to get to the mountain.
"I mean, the road was completely backed up and they weren't letting anyone through," he said, "And we got on the 7 o'clock and there was a police escort for a couple of buses so we got to get on the road even before it opened up."
Some skiers and snowboarders even thought about paying for the $10 round-trip service in the future after experiencing Saturday's traffic.
"I would pay $5 for the Cottonwood Connect if it gets me there in 10 minutes rather than an hour and a half," said skier Tim Matthews.
Cottonwood Connect rider Raresh Gosman had nothing but good things to say about taking the service to Snowbird.
"The shuttle just takes you right up to the steps and the central lodge right there," said Gosman. "We just got off and we started skiing. No time wasted parking. It was pretty cool."
He noted the atmosphere inside the shuttle was a great way to wake up for a day of skiing.
"The music they were bumping, some 'Roxanne' by the Police. It was amazing. We were doing karaoke in the shuttle," he said.
Gosman and his friends said they are ready to hop on the new service again Sunday.
"It was just really nice to have somebody else drive you up and not have to be behind the wheel," he said.
The service runs on Thursdays through Sundays, as well as on holidays, until April 16.
A press release sent by Visit Salt Lake said the fleet of mini-coaches and large passenger vans will ramp up their frequency throughout the season, starting with a weekly capacity of 736 passengers and ending with a 1,120-passenger capacity.
Booking times can be found here.
