The company that owns Solitude Mountain Resort at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon may be moving its corporate headquarters closer to the mountain.

Alterra Mountain Company, the Denver-based operator of 19 North American ski resorts including Solitude and Deer Valley, is considering relocating its headquarters to Salt Lake City, Building Salt Lake reported on Tuesday, July 28. The report cited unnamed sources and a separate investigation by BusinessDen.

An anonymous Utah source told Building Salt Lake they attended a meeting where Alterra's CEO said "it would make more sense for the company to be in Salt Lake City than in Denver." That source added that a move did not appear imminent based on the CEO's tone.

Nothing is confirmed.

What it means for the canyon

Solitude, at 12000 Big Cottonwood Canyon, is the ski area most directly accessible to Cottonwood Heights and Holladay residents. A corporate headquarters relocation would not change on-mountain operations or Solitude's seasonal workforce, which is managed locally. But a Salt Lake City headquarters could bring corporate-level jobs to the region and put the company's decision-makers closer to the resort they own.

Alterra currently employs about 400 people at its Denver headquarters and also operates the Ikon Pass, which provides access to more than 70 mountain destinations worldwide.

Colorado fighting to keep Alterra

The potential move has triggered an aggressive response from Colorado officials. The Colorado Economic Development Commission approved nearly $4 million in incentives for "Project Odysseus," Alterra's codename in state filings, at an emergency meeting on Monday, July 27, according to the Denver Post. The package included a $1 million loan, a $1 million grant, and $1.9 million in job-creation tax credits tied to 106 new headquarters positions paying an average of $131,071 per year.

Sean Gould, deputy director of financial analysis at Colorado's Office of Economic Development, said at the July 27 meeting that the initiative was contingent on Alterra signing a long-term lease in the Denver metro area.

Days earlier, on Thursday, July 23, the Denver Downtown Development Authority approved a separate $7 million low-interest loan for Alterra, conditional on the company moving to Upper Downtown Denver.

Colorado officials called the emergency meeting because Alterra's board was expected to meet soon to finalize headquarters plans, the Denver Gazette reported.

Alterra denies it's leaving

Alterra has denied interest in moving out of Colorado, according to BusinessDen, and confirmed it met with Denver Mayor Mike Johnston in late June. However, Colorado state filings for "Project Odysseus" list Salt Lake City as the competing location for the headquarters. The company did not respond to the Denver Gazette's request for comment as of July 27.

Building Salt Lake filed an open records request with Utah's Governor's Office of Economic Development to determine whether the state had offered Alterra tax incentives to relocate. The office denied the request. Utah and Salt Lake City officials told Building Salt Lake they were unaware of any potential relocation.

Adding to the uncertainty: Alterra's CEO departed the company in March 2026, according to the Denver Business Journal, and no confirmed successor has been named publicly.

A growing Utah ski hub

If Alterra did relocate, it would join Powdr Corp., the Park City-based owner of Snowbird in Little Cottonwood Canyon, as a major Utah-headquartered ski resort operator. Colorado officials told the Denver Gazette that Alterra's board is expected to meet soon to finalize its headquarters plans, though no specific date has been disclosed.