It looks like you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
There is a pretty cool and very detailed article in Conde Nast Traveler about some of the finer things which Park City, Deer Valley, and The Canyons has offer from this author’s point of view.
How about dinner in a yurt? Anyone had dinner in The Viking Yurt at The Canyons? If so, let us know in the comments. Enjoy.
Deals! Deals! Deals!!! I was reading this article on Forbes and saw a deal that was pretty amazing. Forget those dang baggage fees with the airlines (at least on the first leg of your ski trip to Utah).
Book a reservation for 7 nights or longer this ski season at the Silver King Hotel in Park City, UT and they will BUY YOU NEW SKIS, BINDINGS & POLES!
That is right, they will buy you a brand spankin new set of skis, bindings and poles from Rossignol.If you are not a skier, they will buy you a new snowboard and bindings instead. The ski package has a retail value of $790! All you need to do is stop by Nordas in Park City on your day of arrival. They will size you to your skis, set them to your boots, and wax them up. You will burning up the slopes on your new skis in no time at all!
With room rates starting at just $199 nightly, a $790 ski package practically pays for the reservation! Word.
The 28th annual Jans Winter Welcome starts Saturday, Oct. 25, at 6 p.m. at Silver Lake Lodge at Deer Valley. For more info visit www.ywsa.org.
It costs $250 to attend the event at Silver Lake Lodge. Festivities include a champagne reception, dinner, a silent auction and an opportunity drawing in which the winner will take home a 2009 Nissan Rogue from Tim Dahle.
The auction offers a considerable number of items to support about 15 sports. Proceeds from the Jans Winter Welcome benefit the nonprofit programs and junior athletes from the Youth WinterSports Alliance. They are AXIS Freeride, Figure Skating Club of Park City, FLY Freestyle, Ice Miners Youth Hockey, Park City Freestyle Ski Team, the Park City Nordic Ski Club, the Park City Ski Team, Park City Snowboard Team, the Park City Speedskating Club, Summit Ski Team, the Utah Athletic Foundation Bobsled and Skeleton Development Program, the Wasatch Freestyle Foundation, Deer Valley Freestyle, and the Wasatch Luge Club.
It’s a big claim: Catch a morning flight from almost anywhere and you can be on our slopes the same afternoon. The Park City Quick START (Ski Today and Ride Today) Vacation lets you convert your airline boarding pass into a same-day lift ticket to the Park City resort of your choice. It’s your chance to get a free same-day lift ticket at The Canyons Resort, Park City Mountain Resort or Deer Valley Resort.
You will need to bring the completed, required redemption voucher, along with your same-day boarding pass and out of state photo I.D., to the resort ticket window, to receive your same-day lift ticket. You’ll discover the best skiing and riding you’ve ever experienced, not to mention the most conveniently located resort town in the West. Park City is located just 35 short minutes from Salt Lake City International Airport.
Quick START offer valid: Respective resort opening - 12/24/08, 1/4/09 - 2/13/09, and 3/29/09 – 4/12/09.
Deals for lodging on the mountain in Deer Valley are usually few and far between. Maybe it’s just my perception of the mountain, but the majority of Deer Valley lodging options are multi-million dollar homes and condos. This year promises to be a bit different with the economy as it is. I noticed this pretty sweet deal for the Stein Erikson Lodge. You can’t beat the location nor the people watching. It has a who’s who list of movie stars that cycle through there. Plus the lunchtime Skier’s Buffet will put you on time out (in a very good way).
From December 9-25, 2008, guests can be treated to an unsurpassed, luxurious vacation with all that a Five-Star, Five Diamond mountain resort has to offer for $350 per room, per night. This rate includes Deluxe Bedroom accommodations and buffet breakfast. A minimum of a two night stay is required. Guests who book 4 nights will receive the 5th night free of charge. This rate is subject to availability based on double occupancy. To book reservations online visit http://www.steinlodge.com or call 800.453.1302
Are you looking for something to do during Halloween? A few of the resorts in the area are getting into the spirit and here are the details:
Date: Oct. 25
Event: Masquerade on the Mountain - Halloween Dinner Buffet & Dance
Description: We have heard that Needles Lodge is haunted at night . . . join us for a hauntingly fabulous evening with a Bewitching Hour (cash bar), our fantastic dinner buffet, dancing (live music provided by Voodoo Box), costume awards and of course some good old fashion mingling. Costumes are optional, but encouraged. For more information, view the flyer, dinner buffet menu and dessert menu all in PDF Format.
Time: 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. Bewitching Hour; 6:30 p.m. Dinner Buffet; 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Dancing; 8:30 p.m. Costume Awards; 10:00 p.m. Event ends - don’t turn into a pumkin!
Where: Needles Lodge
Price: $50 per person
Reservations: Required, please call (801) 620-1021.
Oct 31, 2008
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Snow Park Lodge
Employees of Deer Valley Resort will host their fifth annual “Transylvania Tea Party” blood drive on Halloween (Friday, October 31, 2008). The Transylvania Tea Party Blood Drive is the creation of Deer Valley employees who wanted to help local health care facilities augment their blood supplies. Members of the public are encouraged to show up in costume to donate blood at Deer Valley on Halloween.
The Scary Aerie Halloween Dinner
Friday, October 31, 2008
6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
$39 per person
Click here for a pdf of the menu.
The Aerie Restaurant
The Cliff Lodge, Level Ten
801.933.2160, in-house ext 5500
Reservations are recommended
Snowriders at The Canyons Resort will enjoy a new lift and gondola during the 2008-09 season. The new Frostwood gondola will transport guests staying in the Frostwood area, which includes the Miners Club, the currently under construction Dakota Mountain Lodge, and all other development projects in
the area to the resort base.
In addition, a brand new fixed grip quad chair will run from the Tombstone base to a location approximately one-half mile below the DreamCatcher lift base. The lift is the first step in the Iron Mountain expansion plans, and will initially be used to access the Tombstone lift at the end of the day.
Trees will be gladed in places such as Mystic Pines, off of the Peak 5 lift, opening up more tree-skiing and riding for guests. The Canyons will also upgrade snowmaking and grooming equipment guaranteeing a high quality ski experience.
Deer Valley Resort has invested $8 million in on-mountain improvements for the 2008-09 winter season. Improvements include the replacement of the existing Cushing’s Cabin at the top of Flagstaff Mountain, adjacent to the Northside Express, Quincy Express, Silver Strike Express and Ruby Express chairlifts. The new cabin will seat 40 to 45 guests, feature updated restrooms and house Flagstaff Mountain Ski Patrol.
In addition, Deer Valley has remodeled the Empire Canyon Lodge to allow more seating upstairs and improve the flow through the beverage and service areas. Deer Valley has also made improvements to snow making and maintenance equipment to ensure its signature excellence.
Park City Mountain Resort will unveil $10.5 million in improvements for the 2008-09 winter season including a new high-speed chair lift, terrain enhancements and renovation of the Mid-Mountain Lodge.
Park City Mountain Resort’s new high-speed quad chair lift, Crescent lift, will replace and realign the existing Ski Team lift. The lift will begin near the base of the Resort and extend to Crescent Ridge (also known as Ski Team Ridge). The new chair lift will significantly increase accessibility out of the base area as well as to the front-side runs, some of the Resort’s best advanced terrain.
To complement the new lift, the Resort is making terrain enhancements to improve the skiing/riding experience on the mountain, including a new run addition and expanded snowmaking. Park City Mountain Resort will also assume operations for Mid-Mountain Lodge in the 2008-09 season. The Resort will renovate the Mid-Mountain Lodge to further develop on-mountain dining.
Finally, as part of its environmental commitment, Park City Mountain Resort is offsetting 100 percent of its power consumption from renewable energy sources beginning in June 2008. This purchase of 13.9 million kWh of renewable energy credits (RECs) will avoid nearly 19 million pounds of CO2 emissions annually, which is equal to removing 1,853 passenger vehicles from the road or powering 1,100 average American homes for a year. For more information, visit www.saveoursnow.net.
Deer Valley Resort Director of Skier Services John Guay and other experienced Deer Valley ski professionals will be teaching a “Ski Instructor Training” course at Utah Valley University’s (UVU) Heber campus starting in October.
The course will include six hour-and-a-half classroom sessions at the UVU Heber campus and two full days on the ski slopes at Deer Valley. Guay, who has worked at Deer Valley since its inception in 1981, says,
“The course will include a brief history of the ski industry in general, and specific ski instructor training covering topics from PSIA certification to developmental theory to current philosophies of teaching children’s skiing and more.
We’ll be pulling from our Deer Valley staff of more than 40 experienced ski instructor trainers to assist with the class. Doing this class over a condensed period allows visitors or those with busy work schedules to participate and leave the course with a completion certificate from Deer Valley.”
The “Ski Instructor Training” course costs $349.00 and is scheduled to begin in October. Contact Utah Valley University immediately for enrollment, at 801-863-8012.
There was a great article written yesterday on thestreet.com about ways to save some money while still enjoying the legendary fresh powder which the Utah ski resorts have to offer.
Why Utah? The best reason to go is the snow. The ski resorts closest to Salt Lake City average 430 inches per year — many received 700 last year (58 feet!) — and it’s almost always light, fluffy powder. Colorado, the Sierra Nevadas and even the Pacific Northwest get plenty of powder, too, but Utah’s dry climate and the effect of Great Salt Lake means exceptionally dry snowflakes, containing as little as 4% water. The result? Ice, a staple for East Coast and Midwestern snow riders, is virtually nonexistent. And in February, the sun shines about 60% of days.
Access and variety also separate Utah from the rest of the country. Seven ski areas lie within 38 miles of Salt Lake City International Airport, a major hub with 800 nonstop arrivals every day. There’s also the Utah Transit Authority, or UTA, a public transit system that can get you from the airport, downtown or just about anywhere else in the metro area to the lodge quickly and cheaply.
Alta, Brighton, The Canyons, Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort, Snowbird and Solitude, each with its own character (and price range), offer a combined 14,000 skiable acres, compared to 5,800 for the combined membership of Ski Vermont.
Here are some of the articles suggestions to save some money:
Plan ahead. From lodging to lift tickets and equipment rentals, everything is cheaper if you book early in the season, often before early December. Once you’re on the ground, remember that buying lift tickets and renting equipment before you get to the mountain can also save you money.
Stay in town. Try hotels and condos in Midvale, Cottonwood Heights or Sandy for easy access to the Cottonwoods. Downtown Salt Lake also works well, offering a short trip to Park City and a slightly longer one to the canyons. Check rates at the Residence Inn Salt Lake City Cottonwood or the Best Western Cottontree Inn. If you’re focused on Park City, poke around The Canyons resort and the town’s outskirts, because the town has a fabulous, free shuttle system that runs morning, noon and night.
Take the shuttle or city buses. Loading yourself, your equipment and your ski clothes onto a bus doesn’t sound like fun, but it’s cheap ($2.25 each way). Besides, even with a rental car, you may have to take public transportation to the Cottonwood resorts. Avalanches and avalanche prevention often shut down the roads, or restrict them to buses or four-wheel drive. If it snows overnight, call the resorts’ ski conditions hotlines for road information before you decide where to ski. If you do rent a car, consider your winter driving skills or an all-wheel/four-wheel-drive rental if you’re planning to drive up the canyons.
Scout out discounts. Deals abound, online and on the ground. Wherever you stay, they’ll likely offer discounted lift tickets for nearby resorts. Many offer the Salt Lake Super Pass, with discounts on one to six days of skiing at Alta, Brighton, Snowbird and Solitude (with a free day if you buy three days or more by Dec. 1). It’s also available from Ski-SaltLake.com, CheapTickets.com and other travel Web sites. The vouchers include rides on the UTA buses to the resorts. For the Cottonwoods and the Park City resorts (The Canyons, Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort), you can also buy tickets at area ski shops such as Canyon Sports or Ski ‘N See in Salt Lake (but not at Park City stores). You can save up to $18 — provided you buy before you head up.
You probably already know that Utah has the Greatest Snow on Earth ®, well once again we’re a the top of the pile in many resort rankings. Below are Utah resorts ranked according to Ski Magazine
Overall
#1- Deer Valley Resort
#5- Park City Mountain Resort
#13- The Canyons Resort
#22- Solitude Mountain Resort
#25- Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort
#28- Alta Ski Area
#30- Snowbasin
Snow
#1- Alta Ski Area
#2- Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort
#3- Powder Mountain
#5- Brighton Resort
#6- Solitude Mountain Resort
#9- Deer Valley Resort
Grooming
#1- Deer Valley Resort
Terrain/Challenge
#3- Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort
#4- Alta Ski Area
Value
#1- Powder Mountain
#3- Alta Ski Area
#5- Brighton Resort
#7- Solitude Mountain Resort
Lifts
#1- Snowbasin
#4- Deer Valley Resort
Service
#1- Deer Valley Resort
#3- Snowbasin
Weather
#1- Deer Valley Resort
#2- Solitude Mountain Resort
#4- Alta Ski Area
#5- Brighton Resort
#8- Park City Mountain Resort
Access
#1- Park City Mountain Resort
#2- Deer Valley Resort
#4- The Canyons Resort
#5- Solitude Mountain Resort
#6- Alta Ski Area
#7- Brighton Resort
#8- Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort
On-Mountain Food
#1- Deer Valley Resort
#2- Snowbasin
Lodging
#1- Deer Valley Resort
#8- Park City Mountain Resort
Dining
#2- Deer Valley Resort
#9- Park City Mountain Resort
Apres-Ski
#8- Park City Mountain Resort
Off-Hill Activities
#6- Park City Mountain Resort
#9- Deer Valley Resort
Family Programs
#7- Deer Valley Resort
Terrain Parks
#9-Park City Mountain Resort
Overall Satisfaction
#1- Alta Ski Area
#4- Deer Valley Resort
#6- Solitude Mountain Resort
