Day 10: Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!
I rolled into the Canyons Village Cabriolet lot shortly after 10 a.m., picked up my Epic Pass and after a few moments' delay loaded the Cabriolet before heading up the Red Pine Gondola. I quickly noticed the first change: every lift attendant, without exception, was friendly and asked how my day was. That's never been my experience here before. A guy who I'd ride a lift with later in the day referred to it as "Chik-fil-A" service -- almost artificially friendly, but very welcome nonetheless.
The white man-made strip on Doc's Run is pretty obvious
I also had to break it to a gondola companion from Rock Springs, Wyo. that no, his newly minted Epic Pass didn't include Brighton. He reacted like a kid who just learned that there's no Santa Claus.
I took a bunch of laps on the Canyons side, and all were pleasant man-made, low-angle groomers. Midway through I realized that the EpicMix app on my phone was auto-posting to my Facebook account by default and turned that annoying feature off. They seem to have made a ton more snow there than in previous early seasons, and unlike prior experiences there I wasn't hitting chocolate chips in the groomers. I can't remember the last time that I saw Doc's Run open to the base this early in the winter. It was also delightfully uncrowded.
Snowdancer
Snowdancer
Doc's Run
The straight line on the distant ridge beyond Iron Mountain is the liftline for the new Quicksilver Gondola that connects Canyons Village to Park City Mountain.
Doc's Run
As the two halves of the resort aren't yet connected I returned to my truck and drove over to Park City Mountain. The former PCMR side was noticeably more crowded than Canyons Village had been. At one point I stood at the top of Bonanza waiting for a sea of humanity to disperse down Home Run before pushing off myself.
The vibe at Park City feels like a different place now that Vail Resorts has stamped its name on it. From the obvious stuff like new lifts, to the subtle things like repainting existing lift terminals to match the new unifying color scheme, you're starting to notice the hand of Vail Resorts.
The "new" Motherlode detachable quad, which is merely the former King Con quad repositioned to replace the former Motherlode fixed grip triple. Say goodbye to overlooked fresh lines in Motherlode Meadows.
The loading area of Silverlode, now with the new Quicksilver gondola and the new Miner's Camp restaurant behind it. Notice how everything now matches?
The southern terminal of the new Quicksilver gondola, with the gondola line heading over Pinecone Ridge towards Canyons Village. They were slowly sending gondola cabins onto the line while I was standing there.
Today was the first day of operation for the new Miner's Camp mid-mountain restaurant.
I walked into the new Miner's Camp, past the obligatory Park City souvenir shop that guests have no choice but to funnel past, and bellied up to the bar to order a pint of Deschutes draft before returning to the lift $7.63 (plus tip) poorer. It felt like I'd wandered into a neighborhood watering hole with the familiar banter between bartender and customers, and the large-screen TVs playing sports, but this watering hole was situated halfway up a ski area. Looking at the food service, the best value looked to be the "Utah Lamb Miner's Pie," featuring braised local lamb, peas, corn, fresh herbs, red wine braising liquid, and Yukon gold mashed potatoes for $15.95. A burger was $12.95 (or $14.95 for an "Epic Burger"). So was the chicken fingers 'n fries. The most wallet-shocking was a slice of focaccia pizza or fried cheese curds for $10.95 each. I wasn't really hungry so I limited myself to the beer.
The new Miner's Camp includes a mid-mountain dedicated bar area.
The dining area inside Miner's Camp
The building is thoughtfully laid out. For one thing, everything's on one floor: the food, the seating, the bar, the bathrooms...and yes, the souvenir shop. Huge south-facing windows let the sun in and provide views of the mountain and the ski runs. The wood structure and warm carpet are both aesthetically pleasing. The condiment bar includes such things as sautéed onions for your burger.
I headed home at 2 p.m. after 13 runs and nearly 13K vertical feet (per EpicMix). I'm still not sure what to think about Vail's ownership of PCMR and two-thirds of the Park City ski scene, but the Quicksilver Gondola connection to Canyons Village is a welcome new feature. That will cut 10-15 minutes off the drive from Salt Lake City and save the hassle of driving into Park City. Further, it means that the first third of the "One Wasatch" conceptual interconnect has now been implemented. I was also suitably impressed by the new employee attitude and the splendor of the new Miner's Camp building.
Once snow starts falling again and they start opening some of the mountain's more interesting terrain, I'll surely log some more days on my pass.
I rolled into the Canyons Village Cabriolet lot shortly after 10 a.m., picked up my Epic Pass and after a few moments' delay loaded the Cabriolet before heading up the Red Pine Gondola. I quickly noticed the first change: every lift attendant, without exception, was friendly and asked how my day was. That's never been my experience here before. A guy who I'd ride a lift with later in the day referred to it as "Chik-fil-A" service -- almost artificially friendly, but very welcome nonetheless.
The white man-made strip on Doc's Run is pretty obvious
I also had to break it to a gondola companion from Rock Springs, Wyo. that no, his newly minted Epic Pass didn't include Brighton. He reacted like a kid who just learned that there's no Santa Claus.
I took a bunch of laps on the Canyons side, and all were pleasant man-made, low-angle groomers. Midway through I realized that the EpicMix app on my phone was auto-posting to my Facebook account by default and turned that annoying feature off. They seem to have made a ton more snow there than in previous early seasons, and unlike prior experiences there I wasn't hitting chocolate chips in the groomers. I can't remember the last time that I saw Doc's Run open to the base this early in the winter. It was also delightfully uncrowded.
Snowdancer
Snowdancer
Doc's Run
The straight line on the distant ridge beyond Iron Mountain is the liftline for the new Quicksilver Gondola that connects Canyons Village to Park City Mountain.
Doc's Run
As the two halves of the resort aren't yet connected I returned to my truck and drove over to Park City Mountain. The former PCMR side was noticeably more crowded than Canyons Village had been. At one point I stood at the top of Bonanza waiting for a sea of humanity to disperse down Home Run before pushing off myself.
The vibe at Park City feels like a different place now that Vail Resorts has stamped its name on it. From the obvious stuff like new lifts, to the subtle things like repainting existing lift terminals to match the new unifying color scheme, you're starting to notice the hand of Vail Resorts.
The "new" Motherlode detachable quad, which is merely the former King Con quad repositioned to replace the former Motherlode fixed grip triple. Say goodbye to overlooked fresh lines in Motherlode Meadows.
The loading area of Silverlode, now with the new Quicksilver gondola and the new Miner's Camp restaurant behind it. Notice how everything now matches?
The southern terminal of the new Quicksilver gondola, with the gondola line heading over Pinecone Ridge towards Canyons Village. They were slowly sending gondola cabins onto the line while I was standing there.
Today was the first day of operation for the new Miner's Camp mid-mountain restaurant.
I walked into the new Miner's Camp, past the obligatory Park City souvenir shop that guests have no choice but to funnel past, and bellied up to the bar to order a pint of Deschutes draft before returning to the lift $7.63 (plus tip) poorer. It felt like I'd wandered into a neighborhood watering hole with the familiar banter between bartender and customers, and the large-screen TVs playing sports, but this watering hole was situated halfway up a ski area. Looking at the food service, the best value looked to be the "Utah Lamb Miner's Pie," featuring braised local lamb, peas, corn, fresh herbs, red wine braising liquid, and Yukon gold mashed potatoes for $15.95. A burger was $12.95 (or $14.95 for an "Epic Burger"). So was the chicken fingers 'n fries. The most wallet-shocking was a slice of focaccia pizza or fried cheese curds for $10.95 each. I wasn't really hungry so I limited myself to the beer.
The new Miner's Camp includes a mid-mountain dedicated bar area.
The dining area inside Miner's Camp
The building is thoughtfully laid out. For one thing, everything's on one floor: the food, the seating, the bar, the bathrooms...and yes, the souvenir shop. Huge south-facing windows let the sun in and provide views of the mountain and the ski runs. The wood structure and warm carpet are both aesthetically pleasing. The condiment bar includes such things as sautéed onions for your burger.
I headed home at 2 p.m. after 13 runs and nearly 13K vertical feet (per EpicMix). I'm still not sure what to think about Vail's ownership of PCMR and two-thirds of the Park City ski scene, but the Quicksilver Gondola connection to Canyons Village is a welcome new feature. That will cut 10-15 minutes off the drive from Salt Lake City and save the hassle of driving into Park City. Further, it means that the first third of the "One Wasatch" conceptual interconnect has now been implemented. I was also suitably impressed by the new employee attitude and the splendor of the new Miner's Camp building.
Once snow starts falling again and they start opening some of the mountain's more interesting terrain, I'll surely log some more days on my pass.
