Advice on ski trip to Park City in Feb. 2008

B

Berkshire Skier

New member
Hi: My wife and I and our ten-year old daughter are planning a ski trip to Park City/Deer Valley in February of 2008. We'll be there for five or six nights. I have some basic questions about lodging options. We're looking to rent a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo. Are we better off to spend the extra money ($200 to $400 extra per night for a similar property) to stay in Deer Valley or should we rent a condo in Park City? If we rent in Park City, we'd like something within walking distance of downtown and the "town lift". Does anyone know of any condo's that would meet this criteria. My wife would like a fairly nice condo with a private hot tub, if possible. Also, do we need to rent a car or can we rely on the shuttles and town bus? I'd greatly appreciate any advice that anyone can give to us. We have booked the flights, and I need to book the condo in the next month or so. Thanks, Berkshire Skier
 
Gee, a little advance planning going on here? :wink:

Prior to moving here we stayed in 2004 at the Park Station condos, which are about a half block from the town lift and meet your criteria. Personally, I think that's the way to go over staying at DV or PCMR. You have quick and easy access to the mountain in the morning, you can practically ski to your door, and all of the shops, restaurants, etc. on Main St. are within walking distance. When you wish to go further afield, PC's shuttles are excellent and frequent -- no need for a rental car in PC, IMO, unless you wish to sample the resorts in the Cottonwood Canyons, Snowbasin or Powder Mountain.
 
I stayed in PC with my family this past Feb :) . Not knowing your skiing ability the runs that return to the towne lift are a bit of a challenge for beginners. I would save the money and stay in PC not DV.. DV is so close..Also with out a doubt rent a car.. The buses are convenient , but you could find your self waiting around a bit.. Also the car lets you explore other areas..ie lcc and bcc
 
Thanks for the quick responses. Yea, I realize that we're planning far in advance, but we're using our frequent flyer miles to purchase the airline tickets and we're going during the Presidents' holiday week, so I had to call as soon as possible to book the flights (and I still had trouble getting the flights I wanted). I've looked online at the Park Station condos and they do seem to meet our criteria and are not that expensive by Park City/Deer Valley standards (I was sort of shocked by how expensive lodging is in these two areas). I don't think we'll be skiing at the other areas other than PCMR or Deer Valley, so I don't think we'll need a car or SUV to get to Alta or Snowbird. We're all good, experienced skiers, so I don't believe the trails back into town will be a major problem. Is it possible to get any deals on life tickets during the holiday week? Again, thanks for the advice.
 
I know of no holiday week deals other than the ski shop vouchers available only in the Salt Lake Valley. Savings on the PC-area resorts in particular can be considerable with these vouchers, but if you're riding an airport shuttle you won't be able to stop to buy them. Perhaps a shop will take a phone order and mail them?
 
Berkshire Skier":3knd2nji said:
Is it possible to get any deals on life tickets during the holiday week?
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Check directly with your lodging property or the Park City Chamber of Commerce. There are usually lodging/lift ticket package deals available. As Marc said, the other option is to purchase discount lift tickets at one of the ski shops or REI in Salt Lake City. Those discount lift tix are not available in the Park City shops.
 
i forgot to mention we stayed at the Park Plaza Resorts. Great place with condo style rooms and a great indoor pool and hot tub.. they also have their own free shuttle to pc or dv.. reasonably priced too
 
Thanks for all of the info. Having never skied at PCMR or Deer Valley, I find it somewhat confusing figuring out the best area to rent a condo in. I think we'd like to be in walking distance of the lifts, so either around the town lift or at the base seems like the best options. I realize that these areas also tend to be more expensive than farther away. Also, thanks for the information about the lift tickets. I'll call around prior to the trip to see if I can get any deals in SLC or elsewhere.
 
The last time I looked the above-referenced website had a helpful property map.
 
We're all good, experienced skiers
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If this is true, it's almost criminal to spend a week in Utah and not ski the Cottonwood Canyons. If you can afford a nice condo, you can surely afford the rental car. At least your mid-February timing is the peak season when the disparity in snow conditions between the Cottonwoods and the Park City group is at its minimum.
 
Thanks for the advice, Tony. I agree with you. I'd like to ski Alta/Snowbird for at least one day, but I may have a hard time convincing my wife and daughter. My wife has skied Snowbird before and I think that my daughter, although a good skier, would be intimidated at a mountain like Snowbird. I do have ten months to try to convince them to ski another mountain besides PCMR and Deer Valley. Is it worth even trying to ski The Canyons?? I never hear much about that ski area. Thanks again to everyone for the helpful information.
 
Berkshire Skier":2p6byy98 said:
I'd like to ski Alta/Snowbird for at least one day, but I may have a hard time convincing my wife and daughter. My wife has skied Snowbird before and I think that my daughter, although a good skier, would be intimidated at a mountain like Snowbird.
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Where do you usually ski? What kind of terrain? Trees? What trails at which ski areas do you folks enjoy? Which ones do you find difficult or intimidating? This can help in getting more specific suggestions.

As far as The Canyons goes, there's actually a lot of good terrain there. They do tend to suffer in warmer/low snow years because of their aspect and lowest base elevation of the Park City and Cottonwood resorts. There are good steeps on 9990 and off of Lookout ridge, great pine forests on Lift 5, some excellent aspen glades all over the place, a multitude of bumps, some great cruisers, and ultra easy side/back country access (assuming you have good avalanche assessment knowledge and the requisite safety/recovery gear). Again, what kind of terrain/experience are you looking for?
 
Thanks for the reply, Marc. My wife, age 52, is a strong intermediate/lower expert skier who mostly likes skiing on groomed trails. My daughter, age 10, has been skiing for 6 years and participates in the junior race program at our local "mountain" (or what qualifies as a "mountain" in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts). She is a fairly strong skier for her age, but she gets nervous when he gets on anything too steep or too difficult for her. I'm a stronger skier who is willing to venture off-trail. I've skied all over New England and at a few places out West (Jackson Hole, Tahoe).
 
Honestly, then, I'd place Alta on your "hit list" for that trip. It's on average significantly less steep than Snowbird, but the skiing is fantastic and the scenery even more stunning, IMO.
 
The obvious suggestion would be Alta. The blues are comfortable. But to get the most out of it you have to be willing to wander off the trails some, which might require local guidance for your wife and daughter. Solitude could be good. Steeper groomers than Alta, off-trail is a bit more "what you see is what you get" than the lurking surprises at Alta.

On an absolute scale The Canyons has interesting and expansive terrain. But it has tough competition in its neighborhood, particularly with respect to snow conditions. Terrain-wise I suspect all of you would like Snowbasin a lot. Powder Mt. is worth your consideration if you get new snow and want to learn powder in a less intimidating and competitive setting than the Cottonwood areas.

My strongest advice to you (and all Utah visitors) is to rent the car so you can be flexible. Don't commit to weeklong ticket packages at the Park City group either. Daily ticket prices are higher at the Park City group than the other Utah areas. When you have the car buy the discount tix for all areas at SLC ski shops.
 
Thanks Tony, Admin, Marc, Jason and everyone else for all the advice. I would love to ski Alta while I'm out there - especially if the conditions are good. I'll have to work to convince my wife and daughter to ski there. How long a drive is it from Park City to Alta? Call me sick but I'm already starting to try to get in shape for the trip. Although I ski every weekend out here, I'll need to be in better shape for the bigger mountains and higher altitude. Thanks again
 
Berkshire Skier":25m49do8 said:
I'll have to work to convince my wife and daughter to ski there.
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What's to convince? Some of the best green circle and blue cruising terrain in the state. Some of the blacks are occasionally groomed. There's lots and lots of terrain where you can do just a little, or a little more, or lots more of off-trail and easily get back on the groomed if it exceeds comfort level. What's more, that option exists for all ability levels - green, blue, black, and expert. Add in consistently better snow quantity and quality compared to PC (yeah, I'm grossly generalizing) and it's a no brainer. Our friends who moved here from Wisconsin 3 seasons ago and live in Park City buy season passes for.....Alta.

How long a drive is it from Park City to Alta?
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About 50 minutes, more or less.
 
It's obvious that I side with Marc_C on this one. Tony's suggestion of Snowbasin, too, is a good one for that time period if it hasn't been warm and dry for a while. Snowbasin has incredibly long blue groomers off the Strawberry gondi. It's curse is that elevation is low and it faces east, much like a lot of the PC-area terrain but even lower, so if it's been warm and hasn't snowed in a while it has a tendency to bake.
 
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