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- Skijoring returns to downtown Salt Lake City this weekend for the Winter Roundup.
- The free event, featuring skijoring and live performances, runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
- Five-hundred metric tons of snow are being hauled in to create the course.
SALT LAKE CITY — An outdoor sport regaining popularity — as it mixes two of Utah's favorite pastimes — is returning to an unlikely location this weekend.
Crews were working Friday to set up a Western scene and a skijoring course on West Temple, between City Creek Center and Abravanel Hall, ahead of an exhibition Saturday for the Salt Lake Winter Roundup.
The free event, a joint venture between the Days of '47 Rodeo and Visit Salt Lake, runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will feature vendors, live music and performances, including appearances by Ballet West and Utah Symphony performers. It'll also be capped with skijoring, an outdoor sport that combines elements of ski racing with rodeo, as horses pull skiers through a makeshift course in the road.
Meanwhile, Professional Bull Riders is holding two ticketed events at the Delta Center both on Friday and Saturday nights.
"Events like this not only connect visitors and locals to our vibrant culture but also play a vital role in supporting our visitor economy, from hotels to local businesses. We're proud to showcase what makes Salt Lake such a unique and thriving destination," said Kaitlin Eskelson, president and CEO of Visit Salt Lake, in a statement.
Tommy Joe Lucia, executive director of the Days of '47 Rodeo, explained that it aims to highlight Utah's "Western culture and heritage" with a winter twist. Day of '47 is no stranger to downtown, as it's the organizer of the city's annual Pioneer Day parade. It has also sponsored an event where horseback riders direct cattle through downtown streets to the Days of '47 Arena for Pioneer Day rodeo events.
Saturday's event is the second time that the Winter Round will take place, after the first time around drew large crowds last year.
Skijoring was the star of that show. While the sport's origin dates back hundreds of years to the Nordic region of Europe, and it was a demonstration sport in the 1928 Winter Olympics, it's grown in popularity more recently with competitive organizations like Utah Skijoring forming in 2017.
Getting a course ready this year wasn't easy, though, as it continues to pace toward one of its lowest snow collections on record, County officials said 500 metric tons of snow were to be hauled in from Solitude Mountain Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon to form a course this weekend, some of which was poured on by a strong downpour Friday afternoon.
Ryan Mack, a spokesman for Visit Salt Lake, said additional snow could be brought if too much of it melts. He added that all the remaining snow after the race will be cleaned up and dropped off by the Jordan River.
A full event schedule can be found on Visit Salt Lake's website.
