Over the past two years, Sundance Mountain Resort has quietly undergone a major overhaul that has smoothed the flow for skiers and riders around the 467-acre mountain. Sundance Mountain Resort

Nestled in the southern tier of the Wasatch Mountains, this summer Sundance installed it third new chairlift in two years, and cut new trails for 40 acres of brand-new novice/intermediate terrain. Located at mid-mountain on a southern wing of the trail map, the Wildwood area has a new fixed-grip quad that delivers skiers and 'boarders in five minutes to some 10 new blue and green trails.

The new Wildwood section fits conveniently at the top of Jake's Lift that serves the bulk of the green and blue runs on the lower, front half of Sundance. From the top of the chair, skiers and riders have another way to get to the mountain's backside Flathead chair (reportedly slated to be Sundance's next new chair soon) and all its black chutes and bowls.

Since actor Robert Redford sold the resort in 2020, the new ownership has poured cash onto the mountain and into the base area. Formerly all fixed-grip chairs, Sundance now has a high-speed Outlaw that reaches to the false summit on the front side, and a short, 1,000-foot Stairway triple that simplified getting from the front to the back -- and opens up about 15 acres of modest terrain as well.

Down below, the base lodge has gotten a remodel, and a trio of carpet lifts went in for a dedicated beginner area. There's more room for parking, and a higher capacity of snowmaking -- all aimed to make Sundance a more efficient and easy-to-use mountain.

Ticket-wise, Sundance is a partner with the Power Pass and its three-day reciprocal lift tickets with the southwest Colorado-based consortium of eight resorts, including Utah's Nordic Valley.

The 16 ski and snowboard resorts in Utah now welcome millions to their slopes every winter. The vast majority of them either head up the Cottonwood canyons to Alta, Snowbird, Solitude or Brighton, or hop on I-80 in Salt Lake for the half-hour drive to Park City and Deer Valley.

In essence, the 2,150 vertical feet and 515 acres of skiing and riding at Sundance seems to slip beneath the radar of most Utahns and visitors who flock to the state for its "greatest snow on earth." Yet it's only 50-minute drive from Salt Lake to Provo and then up into the hills to Sundance.

Resort officials have dropped the ropes on some of Park City Mountain's best Alpine terrain, which has been closed for more than three years.

A quartet of Colorado resorts in the Epic Pass system is set to show off improvements as the 2021-2022 ski and snowboard season gains momentum.

Purgatory Mountain officials say they will begin developing a new "low intermediate" section this summer, as the resort works to give its novice skiers and riders an on-mountain experience.

For almost 60 years, beginners from Colorado's Front Range have cut their skiing and riding teeth at Loveland Ski Area as one of the closest mountains to the Denver area. And, the Loveland Valley section of the resort -- separated from the main base area with its own parking and lodge -- has been the go-to spot from newbies to take their first turns and get the feel from sliding on skis or snowboards.

Though a "normal" future appears distant these days, three Western ski and snowboard resorts have gotten a clearer look down the road with U.S. Forest Service go-ahead for expansion projects.

Powderhounds who revel in the host of off-piste black-diamonds at British Columbia's Panorama Mountain Resort will be carving up new terrain next season.