Evren
New member
Another day in Park City, CA. Blue blue skies, dry as a bone and not a leaf stirred. Reminded me of Steve Martin's character in LA Story who wanted to record the weekend weather report in advance before he left for a trip, because it's Southern Cal and why would the weather change?
Now, I may not be the best skier on this forum but I stand out when it comes to parking, lately. Today, I scored the primo spot in the SnowPark lot. As in, the best space bar-none, right by the shuttle cul-de-sac. When there is no powder stash to be sniffed out, these are the small victories that make one's skiing day.
First was a leisurely lunch at SnowPark lodge. Their Natural Buffet is the best ski hill food I've ever had. It's tasty, very nutritious, plentiful, albeit cold. After perusing the day's papers I headed out, knowing full well I had ingested all my vitamins and trace minerals for the day. One perk of having a season pass is all the things you can afford to linger doing on a ski hill, other than skiing.
Today I wanted to sample some of the more-recently-opened terrain, which took me to the far side of Bald Mtn. DV's ski guns had surely worked their magic there. Not a spot missed; but more importantly, this is not the man-made snow of my youth. Frankly, on the groomers, one can't tell the difference. Some spots were very hard-packed, others loose granular but no ice. Especially if you stuck to the edges (sidecountry!) you could carve with abandon. The recent discussion here about the newer snow guns may explain this. I know DV purchased some top-of-the-line guns this past summer. And now, pictures:
Later I headed towards Flagstaff Mtn. and the pistes that see much more traffic were in just as good shape. Again, not sure if this is the low skier density, the cold night-time temperatures for snowmaking or the newer snow guns. For example, Ontario, third below, is one of the most heavily used trails at DV but was very carvable if lame.
Briefly contemplated heading for Sunset trees but then remembered I just bought my skis
And now, the weekly perks-of-Deer-Valley segment. One can demo Rossignol skis all day every day at Deer Valley, FOR FREE. Only catch is you have to return them roughly every two hours and take out a new one. This is how I discovered Rossignol's great line of freeride skis last season and ended up purchasing both the S3s and S86s. The S7s were great until I hit some flat terrain and their weight (on top of mine) became a liability -- sorry, Admin. This here is the Yurt where it all goes down:
Lest some of you think I am some DV marketing employee planted here, I will post an unflattering picture. Now, this is some South facing hill that is never skied but still, not the kind of thing one wants to see when skiing:
God, that brush oak is ugly.
Well, that was my afternoon at Deer Valley. Before I go: spoke to a couple of people who had skied PCMR earlier in the week and both opined that it was the dumps compared to DV. Exposed rocks and detritus on open terrain was the main point of dissatisfaction. Also spoke to one guy -- decent skier -- who had been to Solitude, Brighton and Alta this week and enjoyed each one. When I asked him which area had the best conditions on-piste, he didn't skip a beat: "Here!"
Now, I may not be the best skier on this forum but I stand out when it comes to parking, lately. Today, I scored the primo spot in the SnowPark lot. As in, the best space bar-none, right by the shuttle cul-de-sac. When there is no powder stash to be sniffed out, these are the small victories that make one's skiing day.
First was a leisurely lunch at SnowPark lodge. Their Natural Buffet is the best ski hill food I've ever had. It's tasty, very nutritious, plentiful, albeit cold. After perusing the day's papers I headed out, knowing full well I had ingested all my vitamins and trace minerals for the day. One perk of having a season pass is all the things you can afford to linger doing on a ski hill, other than skiing.
Today I wanted to sample some of the more-recently-opened terrain, which took me to the far side of Bald Mtn. DV's ski guns had surely worked their magic there. Not a spot missed; but more importantly, this is not the man-made snow of my youth. Frankly, on the groomers, one can't tell the difference. Some spots were very hard-packed, others loose granular but no ice. Especially if you stuck to the edges (sidecountry!) you could carve with abandon. The recent discussion here about the newer snow guns may explain this. I know DV purchased some top-of-the-line guns this past summer. And now, pictures:
Later I headed towards Flagstaff Mtn. and the pistes that see much more traffic were in just as good shape. Again, not sure if this is the low skier density, the cold night-time temperatures for snowmaking or the newer snow guns. For example, Ontario, third below, is one of the most heavily used trails at DV but was very carvable if lame.
Briefly contemplated heading for Sunset trees but then remembered I just bought my skis
And now, the weekly perks-of-Deer-Valley segment. One can demo Rossignol skis all day every day at Deer Valley, FOR FREE. Only catch is you have to return them roughly every two hours and take out a new one. This is how I discovered Rossignol's great line of freeride skis last season and ended up purchasing both the S3s and S86s. The S7s were great until I hit some flat terrain and their weight (on top of mine) became a liability -- sorry, Admin. This here is the Yurt where it all goes down:
Lest some of you think I am some DV marketing employee planted here, I will post an unflattering picture. Now, this is some South facing hill that is never skied but still, not the kind of thing one wants to see when skiing:
God, that brush oak is ugly.
Well, that was my afternoon at Deer Valley. Before I go: spoke to a couple of people who had skied PCMR earlier in the week and both opined that it was the dumps compared to DV. Exposed rocks and detritus on open terrain was the main point of dissatisfaction. Also spoke to one guy -- decent skier -- who had been to Solitude, Brighton and Alta this week and enjoyed each one. When I asked him which area had the best conditions on-piste, he didn't skip a beat: "Here!"