Ok, I know that you may have read this post's headline a few different ways, but it is in regards to the 2011 Ski Area Report Card from the Ski Area Citizens' Coalition in which we were graded as the 2nd greenest ski resort in their yearly ranking of western ski resorts. This an awesome achievement (well done PCMR Green Team) and one you can read more about on ESPN.com's article, "10 greenest (and dirtiest) ski areas".
For more details what we've been working on for this season, see our post "PCMR Receives Green Business Award for Workplace Initiatives" and keep reading our blog for updates on what we're doing to help keep our winters cool!
A few of us have been working for Park City for quite a long time; 15, 20, even 30+ years. Occasionally we sit around the office or the pub and talk of life "back in the day." You know, "back in the day before a chairlift was in McConkey's, the cornice was 20 feet high" or "back in the day there was so much snow, we used to ski down Main Street for lunch." Often the younger patrollers will sit and listen to our tales, and just as often they'll roll their eyes and walk out of the room. Well, so far this season is shaping up to be one of those "back in the day" years; as in "back in the day we could open the WHOLE mountain by Thanksgiving." Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration as Turkey Day has past and the whole mountain isn't quite open, but it's not far off.
The last few years, we've been limited to a few runs on artificial snow well into December; those lovely yet lonely strips of white on hillsides of brown. This season, all was white weeks ago. In fact, snowfall for the month of November at Summit Patrol added up to 63 inches, well above our 36 year average of 47 inches (the last five years we barely topped 30). So far all this snow has (fortunately) not been our typical light, fluffy, Utah powder, but more Sierra-like. Not so good for powder skiing but PERFECT for laying down a stout base. Over this last weekend we opened the McConkey's area and the Pinion Ridge side of Jupiter Peak; the earliest date in recent memory. We have been working hard to keep up with all the openings and we're not done yet...
If you've been around the last couple days you've no doubt heard the explosives of snow safety work in Jupiter. Other than one rather impressive avalanche we pulled out of West Portuguese, overall the snowpack has been behaving. If all continues on track, we are scheduled to have Jupiter open Thursday morning. While it isn't "in your face" powder skiing (again, our dense snow), I can say conditions are pretty darned good. We spent the last two days working the Scott's side and coverage over there is great. Those of you who have been in McConkey's or the Peak over the last few days will most likely agree that the Upper Mountain looks better than it has in years at this pre-holiday point of the winter.
Before you all go charging out of the Jupiter gates though, I do need to get on my soapbox a bit. As good as things are, we still need to remember that early season conditions do exist up here. This is not the time to drop aggressive lines through steep trees or blindly huck every bump, rock, cliff, or cornice. We are not even two weeks into what we hope will be a long and snowy season; it would be a shame to end yours now with an injury. By all means enjoy this wonderful early snow, just take the time to step back and perhaps dial things down a bit.
Be careful and I hope to see you out there. Stay tuned for additional terrain openings expected for Saturday.
Thanks to amazing early season snowfall (over three feet in the last week) and perfect snowmaking temperatures (it's been really cold!), Park City Mountain Resort has the most November terrain open since the snowy November of 2004. We would like to invite local Park City Area pass holders to experience these excellent early season conditions with specially priced lift tickets.
Beginning Monday, November 29, pass holders from our neighbor resorts, The Canyons and Deer Valley Resort, can purchase $40 lift tickets at Park City Mountain Resort. Pass holders are required to present their 2010-2011 season pass at any ticket window located in the Resort Base Area to purchase. One lift ticket per pass holder/per day, excludes coupon book holders. These tickets are available for Deer Valley pass holders through Friday, December 3, 2010 and The Canyons pass holders through Thursday, December 9, 2010.
Park City Mountain Resort is currently operating seven lifts, 48 runs, two bowls and one terrain park. The terrain park includes 15 features and two jumps. A winter storm watch is in effect for the Park City area, calling for up to a foot of snow by Monday morning. Conditions on the mountain are fabulous. We encourage everyone to get up on the mountain and enjoy the snow.
We snuck out of the office first thing this morning to shoot this video about the terrain openings that we are planning for this weekend:
Here's a quick summary of our additional openings:
Thursday, November 25
7 additional runs served by PayDay Lift
Friday, November 26
Bonanza Lift - serving 6 additional runs
Summit House Restaurant: 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Serving limited lunch menu from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Saturday, November 27
Lifts: Silverlode, Pioneer, McConkey’s Thaynes - serving 27 additional runs and two bowls
Snow Hut Restaurant: 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Serving limited lunch menu from 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Lift ticket prices will increase on Saturday, November 27.
In addition to opening additional terrain at the Resort, Gorgoza Park will open for the Holiday weekend Friday, November 26 – Sunday, November 28. Gorgoza Park will be open from 12:00 – 8:00 p.m. Gorgoza will close November 29 – December 3 and will reopen seven days a week beginning Saturday, December 4.
I hope to see you on the slopes enjoying the amazing early season conditions - Happy Thanksgiving!
Mother Nature helped us welcome the start of the 2010-2011 winter season today with energetic skiers and snowboarders, diverse terrain and natural snowfall! Guests camped out overnight at PayDay, First Time and Three Kings lifts to receive the coveted "First Chair" t-shirts, as well as the bragging rights that go along with riding the first chair. The three lifts serviced five runs, including the early season terrain park with 16 jib features and a 25-foot jump. According to the National Weather Service, a winter storm warning is in effect until Wednesday, November 24, with up to three feet of snow expected.
Check out what the crowd had to say about Opening Day.
Welcome to the 2010-2011 Winter Season!
Park City, Utah (November 18, 2010) – Park City Mountain Resort kicks off the 2010-11 winter season this Saturday, November 20, 2010. PayDay, First Time and Three Kings lifts begin turning at 9 a.m. sharp.
"Our entire Resort team has been working hard to ensure we deliver the exceptional on-mountain experience our guests have come to expect on opening day,” said Jenni Smith, President and General Manager. “We are excited to celebrate another incredible season with our passholders and guests."
The Resort is scheduled to have terrain off of three lifts available to guests on opening day. Runs include Bonanza Access and Homerun, which provides nearly two miles of terrain, serviced by PayDay lift; Turtle Trail, with learning terrain for beginners, serviced by First Time lift; and a variety of terrain park features on portions of Quicksilver and Three Kings run, serviced by the Three Kings lift. Additional terrain will be available as conditions permit. Lift ticket pricing on opening day is as follows:
To celebrate opening day, donuts, coffee and hot chocolate will be served in the Resort Plaza beginning at 8:00 a.m. In addition, the Resort will give commemorative t-shirts to each guest on the first chair of PayDay, First Time and Three Kings lifts.
Additional Park City Mountain Resort operations scheduled to begin on Saturday, November 20 include the following:
Park City Mountain Resort invites you to let the mountain conquering commence.
MEDIA NOTE: Video footage of snowmakers gearing up for the ski season can be viewed at http://bit.ly/dd4fyn or downloaded at http://Bit.ly/pcsnowmaking . Pictures from opening day can be downloaded at http://www.parkcitymountain.com/openingday beginning at 1 p.m. MST on November 20.
Go behind the scenes to meet some of the hardworking snowmakers and see how much snow they have made for Opening Day 2010.
We are ready for Opening Day this Saturday, November 20th. Our snowmaking team has been working hard to get more terrain ready for Opening Day than ever before. Over $800,000 was spent this past year to improve our snowmaking, adding 13 new snowguns between Three Kings and Assessment. The new snowguns are more efficent, using the same amount of water with less power.
What does this mean to you? It means we have been able to run more snowguns around the clock while being more environmentally friendly than ever. We will be able to open terrain in the Three Kings area as well as the terrain you've come to expect on Opening Day; Homerun, Bonanza Access and Turtle trail. Rather than squeezing in features on Homerun, Terrain Park Manager Jeremy Cooper will be able to build on portions of Quicksilver and Three Kings run.
The mountain is full of white and we can't wait to get the lifts turning. Opening day is this Saturday, November 20th. We'll see you there!
In a survey printed by The National Ski Club Newsletter, Park City Mountain Resort was tied with Big Sky for top destination of America's Ski Clubs for the 2010-2011 winter season. It's no surprise that seven percent of all ski club trips are headed to Park City Mountain Resort considering the accessibility and variety of terrain. Many ski clubs consist of expert skiers all the way down to novice. At Park City Mountain Resort we have runs that will cater to all levels of skiing and riding. In addition our Signature Runs give many people the chance to conquer their very first black diamond. "Growing up as a member of a ski club it makes me proud that so many other clubs have chosen my mountain," says Becca Sedler, PCMR's Marketing & Communications Coordinator.
About National Ski Clubs:
America’s ski clubs are located in all 50 states and the annually elected officers of just over 2,200 clubs have been reading The National Ski Club Newsletter since 1987. Those 2,200 or so clubs contain about 750,000 members. Approximately half of these clubs belong to one or more of 45 ski councils -- or umbrella organizations -- most of which are geographically centered (i.e., the Texas Ski Council, the Florida Ski Council, etc.) and 24 of those councils belong to The National Ski Council Federation.
I'm a world class resort in Park City, Utah.
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