Page "Wasatch Range" Paragraph 6

Since they top out just below, Wasatch peaks are not especially high compared to the Colorado Rockies or even the Uinta Mountains, the other main portion of the Rocky Mountains in Utah.

However, they are sculpted by glaciers, yielding notably rugged, sweeping upland scenery comparing well with other prominent ranges of western North America.

They also receive heavy falls of snow, in many places over per year.

This great snowfall, with its runoff, made possible the Mormon success story here, leading to a prosperous urban strip of some 25 cities along nearly of mountain frontage.

The Wasatch Range is home to a high concentration of ski areas, with 11 stretching from Sundance in northern Utah County to Powder Mountain and Wolf Mountain northeast of Ogden.

There is also one ski resort in the Bear River Mountains ( Beaver Mountain ).

Park City alone is bordered by three ski resorts.

Due to the low relative humidity in wintertime, along with the added lake-effect from the Great Salt Lake, the snow has a dry, powdery texture which most of the local ski resorts market as " the Greatest Snow on Earth ".

The high concentration of ski resorts located close to a major urban area, as well as the famed light, powdery snow that's often considered good for skiing, were prime reasons for Salt Lake City's hosting of the 2002 Winter Olympics.