Ski for the Gold in Park City, Utah
Written: Mar 21 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful scenery. Awesome powder. Low prices.
Cons: Not easy to access. Very interesting customs.
The Bottom Line: Utah is beautiful and I can say they have some of the best snow I have ever experienced.
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| lessaleigh's Full Review: Utah |
When You Merge a Hobby with a Vacation....The Result Is Dangerous
Two years ago I took up skiing. Actually, I had it forced upon me by my twin cousins. I was visiting my family for the holidays in Big Bear Lake, CA, and they insisted that I ski with them. "What?" I said with the incredulity of any sane adult. "You want me to strap some wooden sticks to my feet and go flying down a mountain in the cold? I don't think so..." was my reply.
Four hours later, I had taken my first lesson, plowed into some small children (still sorry about that) and had fallen for the bliss of gliding through snow on skis. Lots of tumbles on my tush, lessons and stories later, I was declared "ready for a vacation" with my cousins to a "real" ski town.
We Pick Utah:
Given our criteria, we wanted to ski where we would all find terrain that suited our abilities. Cousin Number One wanted to ski off-piste and jump from cliffs and tame double black diamonds. Cousin Number Two wanted to do the same, but she also wanted to be near a lively town area where we could go for apres-ski and possibly meet cute boys. I just didn't want to die.
We narrowed the field down to Whistler, BC; Aspen, Co and Park City, UT. Whistler fell by the wayside because we couldn't find affordable housing and it was too far for Cousin Number Two to travel. Aspen was next to be ixnayed. That left Park City and we were lucky to find a lovely condo across the street from the Park City Mountain Resort. Also, we had friends in Salt Lake City, so we could take care of all proverbial birds with the one stone.
Because I know you're dying to hear about the skiing, without further ado I will enlighten you...
PARK CITY MOUNTAIN RESORT....A GOOD PLACE TO MEET THE SKI PATROL:
Our first day out, we skied a half day at this resort. Of all the resorts located in Park City, this one may be the most challenging. A half day lift ticket was $48, and this was the only resort to use a funky plastic band to afix the ticket onto one's ski apparel.
We took the Eagle Lift up to a blue run called Temptation and headed down to the King Con Hi-Speed Quad. The first run was well-groomed and fairly easy. Taking the quad up, we saw a lot of mogul fields and many of them looked icy and over-skied. However, one run, High Card, looked liked it had soft, powdery snow on it.
We were wrong.
The moguls were huge and deceptive in the flat light. Cousin Number One, who both skis and boards, was boarding and her binding wouldn't stay. Cousin Number Two was amazed to find herself at the bottom of the run before her sister. I was amazed to find myself at the bottom of the run before her sister as well. After frayed nerves were calmed by lots of creative cursing, we took the same lift again. This time I did a green run, The Claim Jumper, and met my cousins at the lift for a go at a fourth run.
We found some other blue run mogul fields that were less tricky. Parley's Park was my favorite, but Single Jack provided a fun challenge. After several more runs, my right foot felt like it was going to burst, so we decided to take the easy green run, Homerun, to the base of the mountain and call it an afternoon.
I hate green runs.
Two-thirds of the way down this beginner run, I turned badly. My skis crossed. I defied the laws of physics and flew upwards and landed face down in the snow. It was not pretty, dear readers, so I will spare you the gory details, except to say that despite my protestations, the ski patrol came and took me to the base medical clinic. My only regret? That in the pain of my dislocated shoulder, I didn't open my eyes. According to Cousin Number Two, all the ski patrol people were hot, and I missed it.
Park City Resort. www.parkcitymountain.com 800.222.park.
DEER VALLEY RESORT...PAMPERED PEOPLE ON PERFECT POWDER:
Deer Valley does not allow snow boarders. This fact almost ruined our ski day. The fifth day of our vacation, I was ready to hit the slopes again, after watching my K2 skis get left behind for the previous three days. We picked Deer Valley because we had heard that they had nice groomed runs. Cousin Number One thought a whole day skiing there would be dull, so she lugged along her snow board in addition to her skis. Upon discovering that she would spend $63 for a full day and would have to ski the whole time, I thought WWIII might break out.
The ticket lady took one look at my DMV photo and another look at me and reminded me that it was spring skiing and to wear plenty of sun screen.
Trouble was averted and we started our day. I was skiing with a little trepidation, as I didn't want to re-enact my first day. The cousins took off for parts unknown after we agreed to meet at 1:30 at the Silver Lake Lodge for lunch.
The runs were all a little icy due to the thaw/freeze cycle in spring and the mini-blizzard that had passed through town the day before. My first run, a blue called Birds-Eye, I almost cart-wheeled, but fortunately, good balance and luck saved me. I skied down and went back up the lift and took a green run, Sunset, to the Quincy chair lift. From the top of Flagstaff Mt., I skied down a blue run, Hawkeye, three times in succession, since this run was not icy and was also not crowded.
The cousins and I met for lunch, and we had a lovely buffet at the lodge. The food and service at Deer Creek is impeccable.
For the afternoon, we skied together and did a few runs from Little Baldy Peak. Mountaineer is a challenging blue and Jordanelle is a double blue that I actually liked better than Mountaineer, even though it was harder. The end of Jordanelle leads to a gondola, which was fun to take back up the hill.
We skied to the base and decided to have a drink before heading to the condo for the evening. There is a lovely sun deck at the Snow Park Lodge which serves drinks until six pm. We ordered the worst margaritas I have ever tasted and managed to skate past a Utah liquor law that requires a food purchase with liquor.
www.deervalley.com 800.424.3337
THE CANYONS....LET IT SNOW:
On the sixth day, my cousins left me to fend for myself while they went to Snowbird. I decided to try out the Canyons. For a full day ticket price $58, I was free to test this huge resort.
Let me repeat: this huge resort.
It was snowing heavily and I decided to try out the new addition to the resort known as the Dreamscape area. Just getting there was an adventure. I took the gondola up from the base, skied down a blue run, Chicane, picked up the aptly named Tombstone Express lift, skied down the blue runs Another World to Ripsaw, picked up the Peak 5 lift, skied down a scary blue run, Harmony, picked up the Dreamscape lift...finally got to where I wanted to be.
The snow was phenomenal. Super powdery and full, this area was the least icy place in the resort. I skied several blue runs and accidently did a black diamond run, the Seven Sisters. I also fell a lot, but the snow was so soft, I felt like a little kid again just sliding down the hill.
After about four long runs, I was starting to get tired and cold, so I headed down the Harmony run all the way to the Tombstone Express. I took that back up and did a double blue known as Sidewinder. At this point, my shoulders were killing me and I decided to take the gondola back down. This is the second time in my life that I haven't skied down the hill on my own volition, but the conditions were rapidly getting too snowy for me to handle well. Discretion is the better part of valor.
www.thecanyons.com 888.canyons or 435.615.3456
Final Thoughts:
All resorts offered free bus/shuttle service. The Park City Resort and The Deer Valley Resort are served by the City of Park City's transit. The Canyons offers a shuttle bus and picks up skiers from the other resorts and some local hotels.
Except for Park City Resort, the other two resorts mapped out the blue runs better, listing blues and double blues, which allow a skier to be aware that a run may be slightly more difficult. Park City Resort did not do this.
I enjoyed all the resorts for different reasons. Park City is more hard-core skiing. Deer Valley is great for being pampered and if you have kids, you can throw them into the Reindeer Club and essentially forget about them for the rest of the day. The Canyons is huge and offers beautiful vistas and terrain.
Now if only I had taken a good look at the ski patrol when I had the chance....
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
lessaleigh
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Member: Alessandra
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Reviews written: 45
Trusted by: 55 members
About Me:
My game improved once I lost the pink balls.
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