This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
In "Alta Lodge, copter company team up" (Tribune, Jan. 17), Snowpine Lodge's Robin Cohen said, "We want to help guests book a seamless, all inclusive heli-ski adventure with all the luxury and glamor of more distant locations."
Applying this to the heli-ski service Wasatch Powderbirds is bunk. Its terrain looks down at Alta and the roads in Big and Little Cottonwood canyons.
Hundreds of people walk to the same locations in less than two hours. Daily conflicts arise as its helicopter flies low over the mountains and often lands near other people, spraying them with wind-drift snow as they try to enjoy the sunshine of the Wasatch.
For at least 30 years, those who value the solitude of our mountains have argued against carte blanche renewal of Wasatch Powderbirds' five-year Forest Service permit. Now, with the greatest number of canyon development proposals on the table in years, the Forest Service renewed its permit for 10 years!
This gives Wasatch Powderbirds no incentive to be a good neighbor, and it is exploiting this to the hilt, re-entering terrain it has not used in years.
Richard Steiner
Salt Lake City