When the snow flies, nothing is more extraordinary than venturing outside to experience the transformed landscape. Arguably, one of life’s most fun pastimes is sliding through deep, fluffy flakes. Here are two offbeat winter sports along with one that is a bit more familiar to most, and where to try them in Park City and Heber Valley.
Powsurfing
Albeit niche, powsurfing continues to advance with boarders ascending mountain faces and floating on binding-free boards.
“My favorite thing about powsurfing is the feeling of flying on the snow and having my feet connected to the board but not bound,” says Trent Hickman, owner of Park City SUP and a powsurf instructor. “As a lifelong snow sports enthusiast, powsurfing has given me new excitement. Slopes that might not be as engaging on traditional equipment are super exciting.”
Among the brands on the powsurf train like Burton, Asmo, Jones and Weston is a pioneer: Utah-based Grassroots Powdersurfing founded by Jeremy Jensen in a tiny garage in Logan. Jumping from Grassroots’ beginnings in 2007 to today, the company has more than 50 varieties of powsurfer designs. Grassroots innovated the splitsurfer circa 2009 so that powsurfers can separate their boards into two short skis for uphill travel.
While some Utah ski areas allow powsurfers inbounds and on ski lifts — like Snowbasin and Cherry Peak Resorts — powsurfing excels on ungroomed, untracked snow. Stateside powsurfers Chris Croft, Mike Wall, Jon Schofield and Chase Burch are among the Utahans exploring the Wasatch Mountains alongside Jensen. Though experienced athletes explore deeper backcountry zones, mellow faces below and away from 30-degree slopes can be found in backyard hills, parks, sledding hills, golf courses and gullies that are ripe with opportunities.
If you don’t take a lift or skin with a splitsurfer, plenty of other modes exist to reach the top of a drop-in: boot packing, snowmobile and snowcat. You can hike with Drift boards, a lightweight snowshoe-ski combo handmade in Salt Lake City. Or consider the more compact Verts that feature a symmetrical cougar paw-shaped, snowshoe-style design that efficiently climbs soft snow. Verts were developed in Utah by backcountry snowboarder Pete Carney in the late 1990s, and the design was later resurrected in partnership with Spark R&D. Case in point, powsurfer Jonas Thoresen took on a 5,000-foot vertical face in Norway’s Lyngen Alps utilizing Verts Ultra for the climb and a Grassroots board on the carve down.
Enticed? Park City SUP offers powsurf lessons and tours guided by Hickman, which come bundled with instruction, gear and photos. “Newcomers usually start the lesson with concerns about their ability to be able to control the board without bindings. Once they’ve taken a couple runs on perfect powder, they realize how well it works. They’re super stoked that they can surf the mountain with confidence and control, given the right slope for their abilities and the correct equipment. Once they link turns together, it’s pure magic,” explains Hickman.
Students select a demo from the shop’s fleet that features nine Grassroots models. Surfers can opt for a half- or full-day outing. Rates reflect the preferred method of ascent, whether hiking with Verts or going by snowmobile or snowcat. To learn more about this surf-inspired sport, check out “White Waves,” a powsurfing documentary by Grassroots that can be found on YouTube.
Biathlon
With the 2026 Winter Olympics around the corner, there’s ample time to familiarize yourself with biathlon, the winter sport with the highest European fanfare. Rooted in Scandinavian survivalism, the practice is inspired by the tradition of hunting via skis with a rifle slung over one’s shoulder.
Only a handful of locations in North America offer certified instruction including Midway’s Soldier Hollow Nordic Center, headquarters of the United States Biathlon Association. Soldier Hollow offers winter biathlon sessions on skate or classic Nordic skis or snowshoes that are directed by head coach Gerrit Garberich. Committed competitors and never-ever skiers or shooters alike are welcome, and summer options are available.
Nordic Center Supervisor Mark Burnham describes biathlon as “unusual, very cool and not well known in the United States” as well as a sport that “combines the endurance of skate skiing and technical marksmanship into a single contest.” He adds, “The sport has roots in military training exercises from hundreds of years ago and roots dating back to the birth of skiing thousands of years ago.”
Soldier Hollow has one of the nation’s few shooting ranges that’s certified for Biathlon World Cup. Students learn to operate a niche .22 caliber Anschütz rifle — the model used in the Olympics — that works well for rapid and precise cold-weather shooting. Folks can opt for a mini-competition with five Oreo-size targets or a longer competition in a relay or individual format.
Beyond lessons, the center hosts junior and pro races as well as the National Guard Bureau Biathlon Championships. “At the World Cup at Soldier Hollow last winter, it was awesome to see the world’s best and for Team USA to have their best-ever finish in the men’s relay,” says Burnham. Soldier Hollow is hosting the Biathlon Junior World Trials on December 27-31, alongside youth and citizen races.
“We will host the 2034 Olympics and expect regular top events in the lead-up,” confirms Burnham.
Snow Tubing
Thrilling yet stable, snow tubing is an amusement ride on snow. Even the gentlest slope can spike your heart rate. A memorable and accessible pastime for friends and families, there are several locations in the Park City area that offer groomed laps.
A top-tier playground is resurrected each winter at Woodward Park City with seven lanes and 1,200 feet of descent — the longest tubing lanes statewide, a tied record with the lanes at Solider Hollow Nordic Center. For a more intimate experience, Montage Deer Valley offers private tubing lanes at Powder Park with optional hillside hot cocoa and s’mores.
At each host location, the tubes are provided for reservable one- to two-hour sessions. Between drops, visitors step onto a conveyor lift for transit back to the top. One of the most unique offerings? Woodward provides illuminated sessions until 6 p.m., so you can snow tube during sunset.
