Snowbird Utah International Ski Team PatchSnowbird is a multi-facility winter and summer resort located in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah. Primarily known for its winter powder skiing and snowboarding, Snowbird also hosts hikers, mountain bikers, fishermen, sightseers, and mountain vacationers in other seasons. Set among spectacular crenellated granite mountain peaks, facilities include ski lifts, hotels, condominiums, spa facilities, restaurants, skiing and mountain-resort-related retail businesses, medical services and others. Snowbird was imagined, named, and developed by Ted Johnson. For nearly a decade, Johnson managed the Alta Lodge in the town of Alta at the head of Little Cottonwood Canyon. During that period he explored the terrain below Alta in the Peruvian Gulch and Emma Mine/Gad Valley watersheds that later became Snowbird. Vision, drive, and fortuitous acquaintances made at the Alta Lodge made it possible for Johnson to begin development of the Snowbird Resort. Johnson, who was well suited to managing rapid development cycles, was also fixated on the central theme of the project, having fun on the mountain. During the development cycle, he, together with a number of the area's more adventurous skiers including Junior Bounous, Eddie Morris, snow ranger Peter Lev and others scored first descents on pitches that were to become essential to the Snowbird legend. Johnson met Dick Bass, a Texas oilman, in 1969, and the two of them opened Snowbird in 1971. In 1974, Johnson sold his interest in Snowbird to Bass. Bass's achievement is remarkable in that Snowbird, which operates almost entirely on National Forest Service land and has ownership rights to a very small holding, relies for revenue on skiers, snowboarders and other visitors, unlike so many ski resorts that are little more than real estate developments.Iron on or sew this vintage badge on your jacket, backpack or a hat. Or give as a gift to any Utah skier.Size - 4 x 3 3/4
