Background

Unsightly Olympic Poles Coming Down, Crews to Clean Up Snowbasin Debris link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune July 11, 2002.  A piece -- make that pieces -- of Utah's Olympic legacy lie strewn across the mountain at Snowbasin.

Traffic causes triple trouble for Snowbasin
Deseret News February 11, 2002.  Triple trouble caused significant delays and traffic congestion Sunday at Snowbasin's debut as an Olympic venue, causing some spectators to miss the start of the men's downhill competition.

Olympics and a Disputed Land Swap Bolster a Utah Resort's Prospects
The New York Times (free registration required) February 5, 2002.  ...[Salt Lake C]ity's Olympic bid gave Mr. Holding the political leverage to make a disputed land exchange with the Forest Service that added more than two square miles to the resort's base.

Reynolds: On top of the mountain
Ogden Standard-Examiner (free registration required) January 31, 2002.  It was while he was regional forester, and then as deputy chief of the Forest Service, that [Reynolds] got involved in the land swap at Snowbasin.

Snowbasin Races the Calendar link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune November 28, 2001.  Snowbasin may have enough snow to open this week, but the ski hill, which is being transformed into a resort fit for the Olympics, probably won't.

METAMORPHOSIS on the MOUNTAIN link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune September 23, 2001.  Construction crews are racing the clock to complete the metamorphosis of Snowbasin from a family ski hill into an Olympic resort.

9 Compelling Reasons why the Snow Basin Land Exchange Act is Bad Public Policy
Save Our Canyons 1996.  Text of a handout by SOC on the Snowbasin land exchange

Articles

Drain System to Help Stop Snowbasin Road's Buckling link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune July 6, 2001.  Workers are about to install a drainage system to stop the new Snowbasin Ski Area access road from additional slipping and buckling.

Snowbasin Road stops sliding down
Ogden Standard-Examiner (free registration required) May 15, 2001.  Test holes dug and monitors installed

Section of Snowbasin Road still sliding down link removed*
Ogden Standard-Examiner (free registration required) May 3, 2001.  Experts don't know what it will take to fix the problem

Geologist: Snowbasin road may get worse link removed*
Ogden Standard-Examiner (free registration required) April 28, 2001.  The first engineer and geologist to work on the new Snowbasin Road said Friday he was not surprised that a huge chunk of it has started to slide down the mountain.

Cracks Block Venue Access, Road to Snowbasin is shifting link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune April 27, 2001.  Engineers knew that building a new access road to Snowbasin Ski Area over two active landslides was risky.

New highway to Snowbasin is state road link removed*
Deseret News April 22, 2001.  With the completion of the new road from Trappers Loop to Snowbasin Ski Resort comes changes in road jurisdiction in the area.

Snowbasin Ready for World Cup link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune February 22, 2001.  ... Holding's makeover of the ski area he purchased in 1984 has been dogged by bitter battles with environmentalists and no-growth advocates who fought his plan to turn the area into a resort like Sun Valley.

Two Crucial 2002 Goals Coming Into Sight link removed*
http://www.sltrib.com/2000/oct/10222000/utah/35591.htm The Salt Lake Tribune.  October 22, 2000

New Snowbasin Road Nearing Completion link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune September 1, 2000.  Six weeks of mostly warm, dry weather and the new Snowbasin access road should be ready to carry traffic to pre-Olympic test events this winter at the Ogden-area ski resort.

Guest: West becoming a theme park for the rich link removed*
Ogden Standard-Examiner (free registration required) July 3, 2000.  Guest Commentary by Alex Roth

Blaeloch: In Snowbasin trade, Utahns got short shrift link removed*
Ogden Standard-Examiner (free registration required) June 1, 2000.  Guest commentary by Janine Blaeloch

Land swap gets some grumbles link removed*
Ogden Standard-Examiner (free registration required) May 29, 2000.  Members of Top of Utah's environmental community hate the idea that the Snowbasin/Forest Service land swap took place.

Snowbasin land swap a done deal link removed*
Ogden Standard-Examiner (free registration required) May 24, 2000.  Taylor Canyon included in transfer with no provisions for tram

U.S., Snowbasin finalize land deal
Deseret News May 24, 2000.  After calling off the wedding a month ago, the on-again off-again relationship between oil tycoon Earl Holding and the U.S. Forest Service was quietly sealed Tuesday when the two sides finalized the controversial Snowbasin land exchange.

Snowbasin Land Swap Finally Signed link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune May 24, 2000.  The ski resort land deal that has seen more ups and downs than a bunny hill was finished late Tuesday, as Earl Holding gave 11,575 acres of property he owns in northern Utah to the Forest Service to get 1,377 acres of public land around his Snowbasin ski area.

Snowbasin Land Exchange Is a Scandal link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune May 19, 2000.  Commentary by Ann Wechsler

Forest Service can't accept canyon swap link removed*
Ogden Standard-Examiner (free registration required) May 17, 2000.  Exchange with Holding would be illegal while title remains encumbered

Holding Brings Shrewd Business Game to Utah link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune May 14, 2000.  KETCHUM, IDAHO -- Folks in this tony town at the bottom of Sun Valley's ski mountain have some advice for a sleepy Ogden Valley: Better get your game faces on.

Land Swap Under Fire Again link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune May 12, 2000.  The breakdown of the Snowbasin land exchange has reinvigorated the objections of environmentalists to the congressionally mandated swap.

Romney: Land swap snag won't stop downhill link removed*
Ogden Standard-Examiner (free registration required) May 11, 2000.  Salt Lake Olympic organizers' budget would take an upward jump if the Snowbasin land exchange falls through, but the 2002 downhill races would proceed regardless.

Snowbasin Snag Spurs New Offers link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune May 9, 2000.  The Taylor Canyon title dispute that brought the Snowbasin land exchange to a screeching halt three weeks ago remains unsettled. But it has spawned surprising developments.

Snowbasin deal melting
Deseret News April 22, 2000.  The U.S. Forest Service had hoped to exchange deeds next week that would finalize a land trade giving Snowbasin ski resort additional lands around the resort in exchange for prime parcels elsewhere. Instead, the Forest Service on Friday pulled the plug on the deal, saying last-minute conditions had been added to the deed of one parcel that made the trade unworkable.

Snowbasin Land Swap Hits Obstacle link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune April 22, 2000.  They were standing at the altar Friday, the U.S. Forest Service and Earl Holding's Sinclair Oil Corp., ready to tie the knot on one of the most controversial public land deals in the nation after a long and rocky courtship.

Snowbasin swap talks still up in the air link removed*
Ogden Standard-Examiner (free registration required) April 22, 2000.  An indefinite hold on land swap talks between the U.S. Forest Service and Snowbasin Ski Resort's owners was still in effect Friday afternoon.

Godfrey revives idea for Mount Ogden tram link removed*
Ogden Standard-Examiner (free registration required) April 21, 2000.  Mayor's proposal will kill land swap deal, Forest Service says

Snowbasin land swap put on hold
Ogden Standard-Examiner (free registration required) April 22, 2000.  Last-minute filing on Taylor Canyon rejected by Forest Service

Holding: Maverick Entrepreneur Has Made a Fortune Through Hard Work and Patience link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune February 13, 2000.  Robert Earl Holding became a Western legend by parlaying a small stake in a Wyoming truck stop into a family empire... The Tribune also shows how Holding was able to wield unmatched political muscle in Utah, and how that clout and his iron will overpowered a federal agency.

Politicians Paved Way for Road to Snowbasin link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune February 13, 2000.  When it comes to political supporters, Earl Holding has Utah's heavyweights clearly in his corner.

Holding Gave Forest Service Employees Freebies: But Snowbasin owner denies buying influence link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune February 13, 2000.  Two years before the Olympic bid-city scandal erupted, a federal investigator met with Salt Lake Organizing Committee board member Earl Holding to question him about allegations of bribery related to the 2002 Winter Games.

Snowbasin gearing up for 2002 and beyond
Deseret News December 23, 1999.  Locals-mostly ski hill changing into a premier resort

North Fork excluded from Snowbasin swap link removed*
Ogden Standard-Examiner (free registration required) November 5, 1999.  A proposal to include more than 1,000 acres of land in North Fork Park in a land swap deal between Snowbasin and the Forest Service is dead and won't be revived.

Constructing the road at Snowbasin link removed*
http://www.standard.net/stories/local/10-1999/FTP0054@local@26basin@ogden.asp Ogden Standard-Examiner (free registration required).  October 26, 1999

Snowbasin swap won't include county land
Deseret News October 24, 1999.  Read the Weber County Commission's collective lips: A 1,068-acre parcel of county-owned land in the North Fork of Ogden Valley is NOT up for sale.

County Parcel Won't Be Part of Snowbasin Deal link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune October 23, 1999.  Weber County commissioners said Friday that county land adjacent to North Fork Park will not be sold to businessman Earl Holding for inclusion in the Snowbasin land exchange with the U.S. Forest Service.

Weber weighs land sale link removed*
Ogden Standard-Examiner (free registration required) October 14, 1999.  Snowbasin owner Earl Holding is offering to pay Weber County $854,000 to buy 1,068 acres of North Fork Park as part of a land exchange with the U.S. Forest Service.

Snowbasin owner's plan could remove Taylor Canyon from swap link removed*
Ogden Standard-Examiner (free registration required) October 14, 1999.  Earl Holding has taken action that protects forever his right to build a cable tram up Taylor Canyon, connecting Ogden and his Snowbasin ski resort.

Land Swap Almost Done link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune October 18, 1999.  The Snowbasin land exchange could be wrapped up early in 2000, almost three years after a completion date stipulated in federal legislation that put it on a fast track.

Floating dirt threatens Games road
Deseret News October 8, 1999.  After Congress appropriated $15 million to build a road for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, transportation officials say they need another million to protect it from colossal landslides.

Watchdogs back Snowbasin road contractor link removed*
Ogden Standard-Examiner (free registration required) September 8, 1999.  Environmentalists monitor steps, see positive developments.

Snowbasin Land Deal Is Slowing Down Resort Construction link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune June 1, 1999.  Building construction is stopped because the land exchange with the Forest Service has not been completed.

Lodge may mean extra $1.6 million link removed*
Ogden Standard-Examiner (free registration required) May 31, 1999.  Snowbasin Resort has been told to build a sewage system to protect the Wheeler Creek watershed from contamination from a new lodge being built for the 2002 Winter Games.

Road: Bill Would Ease The Way link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune April 19, 1998.  Describes a law proposed by Sen. Bob Bennett to

"ease the use of federal funding to build a new access road to the resort from Trappers Loop highway. Bennett's measure also would exempt the new Snowbasin road from strict compliance with wetlands-protection provisions of the Clean Water Act."

Getting Snowbasin Ready Is Not All Downhill link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune January 11, 1998.  

Summer start likely for work on Snowbasin
Deseret News December 27, 1996.  

*Link removed:   The original URL link for this article has been removed, as the article is either no longer available free of charge to public view (but may still be found by headline and/or date in a for-fee publisher website archive), or has been permanently removed from Internet access.