Known to locals as an adventurer’s playground, the canyon contains several of the area’s premier ski resorts.

For years on end, the traffic up the canyon has been a issue in the skiing community.

For years on end, the traffic up the canyon has been a issue in the skiing community.

Avalanches, collisions and cars sliding off road while driving in the canyon during winter can not only be unpleasant for tourists, but dangerous as well.

The Utah Department of Transportation has been working on cost-effective solutions for years now, but in 2020 the department came up with a game-changing solution that will forever alter the future of the canyon.

The solution: an air gondola. Common in many European ski resorts,

The solution: an air gondola. Common in many European ski resorts,

The air gondola provides a long term solution that will provide safe transportation across Little Cottonwood Canyon

It would stretch eight miles, making it the longest in the world. The lift would begin at the base of the canyon and reach all the way to Alta Ski Resort.

Each lift cabin would be able to hold up to 30 passengers and operate with sustained wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour. Being in the air, the gondolas would be able to avoid avalanches on the road that have previously left skiers and boarders snowed in.