It was a mail route back when miners dug with pick and shovel by light from a kerosene lantern. Figuring in time for jawin', it was a good day's ride. Longer in the winter. Weren't easy in snow deep enough to bury a herd of horses.
But it let people know friends were close. Imagine, a century ago, same-day delivery from Park City to Alta.The route hasn't changed much since. It's still as rugged and remote as it was back when the canyons held mining camps and not ski areas. Except now people follow the old mail route for fun and excitement, not to make deliveries. Imagine, for fun.
Twelve years ago, the Utah Ski Association, following the European lead, came up with a rather novel idea on how to sellthe closeness of Utah's ski areas - ski from one to another. Europeans take days for skiing tours. Here, in Utah, it wasn't possible. Besides, if mail carriers could, why not skiers.
So it became a one-day trip, from area to area to area. And today, the Interconnect is the only such program of its kind on the North American continent.
It has, in fact, been separated into two such tours.
Mark Menlove, president of Ski Utah, says one reason is that two tours lessen impact and thus help maintain the wilderness experience. It also breaks into two parts one of the most unique skiing experiences available anywhere.
The five-area tour begins at Park City, drops down from the peak behind Jupiter Bowl into Big Cottonwood Canyon for stops at Solitude, first, then Brighton. Upon returning to Solitude, skies lunch. Then it's over "Highway to Heaven," a 300-yard gentle climb to Katherine's Pass, which overlooks Little Cottonwood Canyon. Skiers stop at Alta first, then traverse downhill to Snowbird. A shuttle from Snowbird returns skiers to Park City.
Five-area tours are taken on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
The four-area trips begin at Snowbird, then traverses over to Alta. From there a second traverse takes skiers to Brighton and Solitude. The trip ends with a return from Solitude to Snowbird. Four-area excursions travel on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Each tour takes about eight hours, and includes runs at each resort, lunch and quite time to absorb some of the countryside.
Safety is, of course, of utmost importance and if conditions are in the least threatening, tours are canceled.
Tours are limited to 14 skiers and at least two guides. Skiers should be of at least advanced intermediate and physically able to withstand a day of hard skiing with some hiking.
It is, first, a remote backcountry skiing experience. There are bowls of deep powder and areas of untracked snow. At each of the areas, too, there are turns on groomed runs.
And it does, as noted by earlier mail carriers, show just how close these seemingly distant areas are.
"When you drive up one canyon and around the mountain to another, they all seem so far apart when in fact they aren't. They're very close together. You see that on the Interconnect. The most frequent comment, from both locals and out-of-state skiers, is about how close of the major ski areas are," says Menlove.
Since it began, numbers have grown steadily. Actually, not a lot is mentioned about the Interconnect in advertising promoting Utah skiing.
"One reason is we can only take so many people. There are days when we turn people away," he notes.
"A lot of the people we get heard about the trip from friends or acquaintances who had taken one of the tours, liked it and recommended they go on it."
Cost is $95 per person and includes guide service, lunch, access to lifts at the different areas, an Interconnect pin and in the case of the five-area tour, transportation back to the starting point.
Reservations are, of course, required. The earlier, says Menlove, the better.
"Sometimes, at the last minute, we do have openings. But then there are days we turn people away. We will only take 14."
Reservation number is 534-1907.