By May Hunter, For Iron County Today
While Brian Head serves as a premier destination for adventure and relaxation, it has a rich history.
The Early Days
The area known as Brian Head was first discovered by the Fremont Tribe and later settled in the mid-1800s.
One of the most interesting parts of Brian Head’s history is its name. Brian Head was originally known as Monument Peak and was used by early surveyors and expedition leaders as a point of reference. Some say as early as the late 1800s and early 1900s it was named after William Jennings Bryan. Some say that the famous explorer John Wesley Powell named it after an official in the Geographical Survey Office named Bryan.
Brian Head was incorporated into the Dixie National Park in 1906. In the early 20th century, the area was known as “Little Ireland,” named after the Adams family of Irish heritage. They used the area for dairying and a summer grazing range for sheep and horses. It was also the site for logging along with a cheese factory. By 1920, it had a hotel, restaurant, and a dance hall operated by Minnie Adams Burton, known as “Minnie’s Mansion.” It was really popular for huge breakfasts, fireworks, and dancing. In 1924, the state re-purchased selected parcels of land from the original folks who had previously been allowed to develop them as homesteads. In the late 1930s, brothers Thomas and Joseph Holyoak along with Will Lyman and P.A. Clark purchased the land.
The Making of a Ski Resort
In the early 1960s, two men, Burt Nichols and Homer Vasels, had interest in the mountain property. They wanted to build a ski resort. They liked the area as it was close to Interstate 15, the airlines, and Union Pacific Railroad. Nichols was the general promoter and Vasels was busy getting investors. Brian Head Corporation was founded in May 1964. In January 1965, locals Milt Jolley, D.W. Corry, and Pat Fenton purchased 640 acres from the Holyoaks and Mitchells.
The first two permanent buildings were a clinic owned by Dr. David Wilkerson of Cedar City and Georg and Stefanie Hartlemaier’s home and rental shop.
The first season, two mobile homes were leased to be warming houses, restrooms, and an eating area. In January 1965, the resort made its first chairlift. A four-week ski training program was set up to familiarize Iron County youth with ski lessons every Saturday for $6 a month.
Two men came to the high schools and announced the opening of a chairlift in Brian Head.
Brian Head was opened in the winter of 1964–65, as a one-chairlift resort. Currently, the resort has 8 chairlifts, 71 runs, and over 650 skiable acres. It also has a bridge between its two skiable mountains. Base elevation is 9,600 feet; top elevation is 10,920 feet.
In 1966, Mac Ray Cloward became President and General Manager of Brian Head. He paid off the debts and set up a water system, telephone, and power lines. Subdivision land sales took place. The first condominium was built. Nichols’ next step was to recruit Georg Hartlemaier from Germany, who would give his expertise and knowledge to promote Brian Head as a ski resort. Georg originally came to Brian Head in 1964 as the resort’s first mountain manager and ski school director. He planned the runs, selected the equipment, and helped build the resort’s first ski lift.
During the 1969–70 season, the resort significantly expanded when a new 1,190-vertical-foot lift was installed running east up on the mountain that could handle 900 skiers every hour. Today, we know this lift as “Giant Steps” or Chair #2.
Anticipation builds as you turn from I-15 to Utah’s Patchwork Parkway National Scenic Byway (State Route 143) and begin the uphill drive to 9,600 feet.
Surrounded by evergreen, spruce, and aspen, Brian Head Resort has the highest base among Utah’s resorts and is the only ski and snowboard resort to showcase snow-dusted red rock hoodoos from the nearby Cedar Breaks National Monument and Bryce Canyon National Park.
Three hours of driving from Las Vegas and under four hours from Salt Lake City, you can get to Brian Head and 360 inches of annual snowfall in the winter, and an incredible range of summer activities in the cooler mountain air.
Brian Head Resort has Utah’s highest base elevation. The resort’s 650 acres over two mountains pack in 71 runs for every skill level, eight lifts, 71 runs, three terrain parks, two tubing parks—Navajo Tubing Park and Giant Steps Tubing Park—and tons of backcountry for cross-country skiing.
Summer activities include scenic chairlift rides, hiking trails, zip line, fishing, stargazing tours, avalanche tubing, outdoor concerts, and so much more.
This weekend, Brian Head is having a 50th Anniversary Celebration with a drone show, fishing derby, food, live music on the lawn, vendors, Former Mayor Deutschlander Dedication, and so much more. July 24–26, SCHEDULE OF EVENTS BRAINHEADTOWN.UTAH.GOV
Come Get Out of the Heat and Enjoy Cool Mountain Air in Brian Head – an Unforgettable Experience!