Park City Mountain Resort Blog

Starting off, Thanksgiving 09

So it's again November and we're back; I'm back. About half the patrol is on right now working the 3 runs we have open (thanks to the snowmakers!). I must say those 3 runs are in pretty nice shape and the folks out there seem to be having a fine time. The one joy of a high pressure ridge parked over the Wasatch is it makes for lovely sunny days like today. We are of course longing for snow and the adventures into our upper mountain terrain it provides. Colin, Dave and I (the Snow Safety team) would love to take some walks up high to check things out, but right now I think we're all just happy to be working.

I would like to take a moment to hop on my soapbox and mention something about safe riding habits. Remember that the terrain is limited and many people are out there of all abilities and interests. Please dial it down a bit and be aware of where you are and what's around you. It's a bad scene to get hurt or have your pass pulled this early in the season.

The snow will come and we will get busier doing what we love. In the meantime, we're all gearing up for a big Patroller's Thanksgiving feast tomorrow after work. Kris and Jimmy are hosting the event at their new house in Heber (I trust they know what they are in for!). Happy Thanksgiving, stay safe, and we'll see you out on the hill.

More openings!

Woohoo, we're opening more terrain tomorrow, including 2 runs and the PayDay Jib Park, and Gorgoza Park will open on Friday for the Holiday Weekend. Here are some details (from a note we sent to our Team Members earlier this afternoon):

PayDay and Treasure Hollow runs will open, thanks to the hard work from our dedicated snowmaking and grooming teams. We will also be opening additional terrain park features on PayDay. The park crew plans to open one jump and three new jib features on PayDay. The existing features will remain on Homerun as well.

Gorgoza Park will open for the upcoming weekend, Friday, November 27 - Sunday, November 29. Gorgoza will operate seven tubing lanes and three rope tows. Gorgoza Park hours will be from 12:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Regular tubing rates will apply over the weekend. A two-hour ticket for ages seven and older is $20. A two-hour ticket for kids ages three to six is $10. Mini Snowmobiles and Fort Frosty will not be operating this weekend. Gorgoza will close Monday, November 30 - Friday, November 4 to complete snowmaking operations for the season. Gorgoza will reopen for the winter season as originally scheduled, Saturday December 5 and remain open through April 4, 2010.

Snowmaking temps are looking decent into next week and with some help from Mother Nature we hope to open to the Summit area next, perhaps as soon as the end of next week. Pray for snow!

Operations Update With Video

This season opened so smooooth thanks to cold temperatures, dedicated personnel and good attitudes. We took advantage of the cold temperatures we had a couple weeks ago and made a lot of snow. Even though the temps soared over 60 degrees the base hung in there quite well. With the latest cold snap the snowmaking department put us over the top with great snow coverage. Throw in a lot of hard work and professionalism from every department and we ended up with exceptional results for opening day. Thank you to all our guests that made opening day a success.

We're making snow on First Time, Payday, Treasure Hollow, Pick 'n' Shovel and the half pipe. We think we'll have Payday and Treasure Hollow by next Wednesday if not sooner. We shot a little video to give you a first hand look.

First Chair of the 2009-2010 Season

Opening day was a huge success thanks to the hard work of the entire Park City Mountain Resort team. Our slope maintenance team did a fantastic job ensuring that the open runs had excellent conditions. Plus, our terrain park crew built what many were calling the "best opening day park ever!"

The morning started off really early for those who wanted the honor of being on the first chair. Interested in being on the first chair for the 2010-2011 season? This year's "first chair team" has some advice:

And in case you are interested. Here's a video showing "How to turn a six-pack chairlift into a seven-pack lift". It's pretty comical:

If you were up here today, I'd love to hear what you thought of opening day conditions.

Opening day details!

Fresh off the presses from our media release, here are the details on what we're going to be opening for this Saturday:

The Resort is scheduled to have two runs available to guests on opening day. These include Homerun, serviced by PayDay lift, and Turtle Trail, serviced by First Time lift, with additional terrain available as conditions permit. Park City Mountain Resort will also open with an early season terrain park on Homerun including two jumps and 10 features.  Lift ticket pricing on opening day is as follows:

• Adults (ages 13 and up): $50 full-day/$35 half-day
• Children (ages 7-12): $30 full-day/$20 half-day
• Children six and under ski free with a paying adult

Additional Park City Mountain Resort operations scheduled to begin on Saturday, November 21 include the following:
Legacy Sports: 8:00 am. – 6:00 p.m.
Alpine Coaster: noon – 4:00 p.m.
Kristi's Coffee Café: 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Legacy Café: 10:30 a.m. –  3:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. (updated)
Legends Bar & Grill: 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. 

I hope to see everyone up this weekend for the first turns of what will be a great season! And, be sure to check our blog and our Twitter account as we will be posting details on terrain openings and any other operating changes as they are announced.

Grooming for opening day.

Groomers are "gitin er done".  Check out the preparation for opening day.

 

Opening Day is This Saturday!

Sorry that the blog has been dark the last two weeks. We have been busy preparing for opening day, which is this Saturday, November 21. Let me just say that our snowmaking team rocks! They have made 200 percent more snow this year than they had by this same time last year. Of course the cold temperatures help out too! As of today, we are planning to open both PayDay and First Time lifts on opening day. The number of runs open has yet to be determined but we will for sure have Homerun from the top of PayDay down. We will have a couple "park" features on Homerun thanks to the hard work of our new terrain park manager, Jeremy Cooper, and his team.  Check back later this week for more details on opening day.

Remember that the first six people in line at the PayDay lift on Saturday morning not only receive the honor of being on the "first chair" of the 2009-2010 season, they also receive cool prizes. Will you be one of the six? I'll see you bright and early Saturday morning! 

Record or Not , The Thriller Snow Dance Brings Snow

We had nearly 100 people show up for the Thriller Snow Dance, which is a bit shy of what we needed to get into the Guinness Book of World Records. But one thing is for sure, the "Thriller" snow dance will bring amazing snow to Utah for the upcoming season. We are confident next year we will make it in the books. Plan on being there!

In the meantime, check out the first-ever "Thriller" Snow Dance: