Utah Resort Wants To Add Decorative "Carousel Horse" to Ski Lift

Under the guidance of its new owner, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, Powder Mountain, Utah, has taken some unconventional steps.

The resort, for one, has adopted a unique private-public model, with some parts of its mountain being cordoned off for homeowners. The move, Hastings wrote in a letter in 2023, was meant to keep Powder Mountain independent and uncrowded, but has at times proven controversial.

Powder Mountain is also home to multiple open-air art installations, a project supported by the Powder Art Foundation that blurs the line between gallery and ski resort.

A new proposal submitted to the Utah Department of Transportation, which was first reported by the ski lift and ropeway news source Lift Blog, would push the artistic envelope further.

On the Lighting Ridge chair, installed in 2024, the Powder Art Foundation wants to add a hanging carousel horse. Yes, like the ones you’d see at a carnival or fair.

See below.

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As you might expect, the carousel horse wouldn’t be used to transport cargo or people—it is purely for show. 

“The Carousel Horse would be mounted in position of Carrier #77 out of 78 total Carriers on the lift. The lift will operate its regular schedule and speed during the ski season,” the proposal reads.

The proposal said that when the carousel horse arrives in the loading area, the automated loading gate will close and not open until the horse is gone, preventing skiers from hopping aboard. The horse will also include signage that says “NO RIDING.”

The Powder Art Foundation “will work directly with Powder Mountain, Powder Mountain’s Insurance Provider, Skytrac and the Utah Passenger Ropeway Safety Committee to ensure a safe and compliant installation,” the proposal continued.

The horse, if installed, would join several other Powder Art Foundation installations.

There is Daviana Semo’s Listener, Reflector, and Mother,which the foundation describes as “monumental bronze bells, perforated with holes” that allow “light to spill inside and distinctively disperse sound.”

Gerard & Kelly’s Relay, meanwhile, is a colorful tunnel surrounding a beginner surface lift. 

Per the foundation’s website, there are currently 11 installations to be found around the slopes of Powder Mountain. 

The art comes alongside a flurry of more standard ski resort development, including the installation of several lifts over the past few years.