Our home faces north, and with the snowfall we've received this year, I'm looking at 2½ feet of the white stuff that hasn't melted—and may not melt until summer at the rate Mother Nature is going. Skiers and boarders are in seventh heaven, as are snowshoers, cross-country skiers, tubers and snowmobilers.

I had to give up skiing in my early 30s due to a birth defect that came back to haunt my right leg, so all I can do is listen to how "fire the pow was!" from my friends who enjoy the winter sports. I also hear that the Ikon ski pass has caused a tremendous boost in skiers here, with the downside being congested traffic and long lift lines.

A full Ikon pass for the '22-23 season is more than $1,000, and you can't buy any more for this record-breaking season. The pass is owned and operated by Alterra Mountain Co., a group of 15 unique resorts with partners.

This international ski pass has no blackout dates, includes over a dozen unlimited skiing and riding destinations and up to seven days at 39 destinations. You can ski at certain resorts in Utah or adventure to Chamonix Mont-Blanc in France, Red Mountain in Canada or Lotte Arai Resort in Japan if you like. With this pass, you can go directly from the parking lot to the chair or gondola—no need to stop at the ticket window. Interestingly, if you ski in the Dolomiti Superski area in Italy, you must have liability insurance in order to ski or ride there (hmmm, now there's a concept ... insurance to ski?).

In Utah, Deer Valley Resort, Solitude Mountain Resort, Brighton, Snowbasin, Alta Ski Area and Snowbird all accept the Ikon pass (note that Alta and Deer Valley resorts are for skiers only).

But for those who ski by the day: Adult day passes at Snowbird and Alta are generally around $150 per day (higher on weekends). Brighton (established 1936 as Utah's oldest ski resort) and Solitude are just over $100 per day and also higher on weekends. Deer Valley is around $225 to $250 depending on the day, and they limit the amount of passes sold each day. Down south, Sundance is, on the average, $129 per day and Brian Head resort is $61 to $96 depending on what day of the week you want to hit their slopes.

Near Ogden, Powder Mountain's tickets are based on non-peak or peak times. A low would be $119 and a high at peak is $159. Snowbasin's weekday/weekend rates range from $155-$195.

We are blessed with 10 world-class resorts here within a one-hour radius of the Salt Lake airport and a total of 15 resorts in the state. Ziprecruiter.com reports that the average annual pay in the ski industry here is $45,326 per year, with a resort manager averaging $51,110 per year. Skiutah.com reported that out-of-state skiers accounted for 82% of all money spent here on skiing and snowboarding. It's a billion dollar business that's having a banner year!