Deer Valley Ski Trails and Lifts Added to Google Mapping Program

By Nancy Barth

Mar 13, 2013

According to a recent article in the Salt Lake Tribune, four Utah resorts are part of Google’s initial venture into making maps of ski-area trails and lifts available online and on smartphones.

Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain Resort, Brighton and Snowbasin are among 38 North American resorts whose trails and lifts are shown on Google’s free mapping site. The runs and lifts are displayed in color. More resorts are expected to be added to the list soon.

“Power up Google Maps on your Android device or iPhone and the mountain information you need is right there,” said Ryan Poscharsky, the strategic partner manager for Google Maps. “Blue, green and black runs are shown as solid colored lines and ski lifts are red, dotted lines.”

Squaw Valley was one of the first resorts involved, and Deer Valley was also an early adapter, agreeing two years ago to let Google film “street view imagery” of its runs. The images were enhanced with the mapping data added this winter.

According to Deer Valley spokeswoman, Emily Summers, the maps are “more user-friendly, seeing the color-coded runs.”

Now while vacationing in Park City, Deer Valley skiers can drop a pin on their favorite run and share their experiences with their friends!

Tags: Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain Resort, Utah Ski Resorts, Brighton, Deer Valley, Snowbasin, Squaw Valley, Google Maps
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UTAH SKI RESORTS AND SKIERS ENJOYING THIS SEASON

By Nancy Barth

Jan 11, 2013

According to a recent article in The Salt Lake Tribune, resorts across the state of Utah are reporting a strong showing of skiers and snowboarders this year. The resorts are crediting this to “a bountiful deposit of the trademark Utah powder, most of which arrived in December.”

Andy Miller with Park City Mountain Resort noted that the resort had over 6½ feet of snow in December, which was almost exactly 50% for all of last season’s snowfall. “We opened the Jupiter Lift 43 days earlier than last season and we have had all the lifts open for a week. That didn’t happen until Jan. 27 last year.”

Deer Valley Resort is also enjoying better ski conditions. According to Emily Summers, communications manager at Deer Valley Resort, reports of steady storms have led to last-minute inquiries. “We are still booking arrivals as early as next week. People were definitely keeping an eye on our snow situation after last year and booking their vacation much closer to their arrivals," Summers said.

Families typically plan trips based on their experience the winter before and last year was strong for bookings based on the exceptionally snowy winter of 2010-11. Despite the weak winter of 2011-2012, Summers said occupancy at Deer Valley Resort is proceeding even to last winter.

The article also noted that locals in addition to destination skiers have been very enthusiastic about this ski season, and both types of skiers have been posting their experiences on social media sites. According to Nathan Rafferty, president of Ski Utah, getting early storms in November helped drive interest initially, but the instant notifications via social media has continued the positive promotion. “Really, social media can’t be overstated, it plays a huge part," Rafferty said. "They are all bragging about another great day on the slopes in Utah — both locals and destination guests. January is the biggest booking month so the Christmas week of Facebook, Twitter and Instragram is a great help. Social media just tells it like it is and more often than not it’s pretty darn good in Utah."

Let’s just hope the snow keeps falling!

Tags: Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain Resort, Utah Ski Resorts, Ski Utah
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Forbes Rates Skiing in Utah Awesome

By Nancy Barth

Dec 11, 2012

According to a recent article in the Salt Lake Tribune, Forbes.com thinks Utah Ski resorts are “awesome,” and included seven of Utah’s resorts – Alta, Snowbird, Park City, Deer Valley Resort, Canyons Resort, Brighton and Solitude – in its list of “The Top 10 Ski Resorts in the United States for 2013.” The rankings are based on a “Pure Awesomeness Factor,” or PAF.

"We only rank one thing: Awesomeness," the site said of its measuring algorithm. "It’s the most important thing we can measure. If you can know a place’s awesomeness, do you need to know anything else?"

First place went to Jackson, WY for its continuous fall line, terrain and backcountry skiing. Deer Valley, Park City and Canyons Resort as a group came in fifth place, praised not only for the level of skiing but also for the fact that they surround Park City, a place that is “picture perfect in every sense.”

According to the Forbes site, Deer Valley “packs in some great shots of terrain, including the Daly chutes.” The site refers to Empire Canyon Lodge as the greatest ski lodge in the world, and names Deer Valley’s Turkey Chili as “the greatest single dish served mountainside anywhere.” The rankings also note that powder lasts a little longer at Deer Valley than other places.

The rankings did not include any resorts east of the Rocky Mountains because the website prefers the powder in the west over the ice in the east. According to the site, "No resort east of the Rockies has the snow or terrain to crack our Awesomeness rankings — something that matters for both beginners and experts.

To read more about the Forbes.com ski resorts ranking, please click The Top 10 Ski Resorts in the US for 2013 article.

Tags: Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain Resort, Canyons Resort, Utah Ski Resorts, Skiing, Deer Valley, Park CIty Utah, Deer Valley Utah, Empire Canyon Lodge, Forbes.com
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Power Brokers Join Together To Endorse Ski Link

By Jim Barth

May 04, 2012

Connecting the seven ski areas in Salt Lake and Summit counties, including both Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort, starting with a gondola between Canyons and Solitude resorts, would be an economic boon for Utah. But only if it is done in an environmentally responsible manner.

Salt Lake Chamber President Lane Beattie and several other speakers emphasized these points at a recent news conference in which twenty powerful business and government leaders announced the formation of a coalition to support both the Ski Link gondola and the concept of a wider ski resort interconnect.

“We can create a unique ski experience unmatched anywhere in North America,” said Beattie, recounting how the Salt Lake Chamber has supported the state’s ski industry since its birth. “But we have to do it absolutely right.”

According to an article in the Salt lake Tribune, Beattie said that in order to win the chamber’s support, Ski Link proponents must show the proposed gondola has to “be a net positive for the environment,” capable of standing up to rigorous local government reviews, complete with public hearings of impacts on land use, water quality, wildlife and other environmental issues.

But as Utah explores another possible Olympic bid, in keeping with a goal of becoming the country’s winter sports capital, now is the time, Beattie added, to consider the options, look at the costs and how to proceed.

Former Senator Jake Garn joined the chorus of support, predicting Ski Link would be a “great addition to our community. How great it would be to ski both sides of the Wasatch and not have to drive around the mountains.”

Tags: Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain Resort, Canyons Resort, Utah Ski Resorts, SkiLink, Ski Interconnect, Deer Valley, Winter Olympics
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PARK CITY FEATURED IN THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

By Nancy Barth

Apr 06, 2012

The Park City and Deer Valley areas were recently featured in an article in The San Francisco Chronicle, the leading newspaper in the San Francisco Bay area. Please click here to check out this great article about a few days spent skiing at our resorts.

Tags: Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain Resort, Canyons Resort, Utah Ski Resorts, Skiing, Deer Valley, Park City, Talisker, Winter Olympics, Waldorf Astoria, Ski Utah
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Utah’s Ski Butlers Named National Small Business Of The Year Finalist

By Nancy Barth

Apr 01, 2012

According to an article in the Salt Lake Tribune, Ski Butlers, an eight year-old Park City based company, will be honored in late May during America’s Small Business Summit in Washington, D.C., where the national Small Business of the Year award winner will be announced.

Unlike other ski and snowboard rental businesses, Ski Butlers delivers equipment to its customers, including those in Deer Valley, with a van that hauls extra items such as boots to ensure a good fit.

Founded in 2004, Ski Butlers has about 80 employees serving skiers at more than 30 resorts in Utah, Colorado, California, Wyoming and British Columbia.

To view the entire article, please click here.

Tags: Utah Ski Resorts, Deer Valley, Park City, Ski Equipment, Ski Rentals, Snowboard Rentals, Ski Butlers
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February Resort Booking Rose with Snow Arrival

By Jim Barth

Mar 26, 2012

At long last, winter’s belated arrival helped lift bookings out of the doldrums at mountain resorts in Utah and other Western states. According to an article in the Money Section of the Salt Lake Tribune, Denver-based Rocky Mountain Lodging Report said Monday that lodging establishments it monitors in Park City, Deer Valley and other Utah ski destinations filled almost 71 percent of their rooms in February. That was up from 67 percent a year earlier and 59 percent in February 2010.

Long-awaited snowfall boosted those numbers, said another group out of Denver, the Mountain Travel Research Program, based on data from 265 property-management companies overseeing 24,000 rooms in 15 resort communities in Utah, Colorado, California and Oregon.

"Reservations taken in February for arrival in February were up 6.2 percent compared to the same month last year," said Research Program Director Ralf Garrison. "Despite uncooperative weather patterns and the third warmest winter in the U.S.’s recorded history, skiers and riders still tracked the snow, and lodging rates and showed up when the snow flew," he added.

To read the article, please click here.

Tags: Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain Resort, Canyons Resort, Utah Ski Resorts, Skiing, Deer Valley, Park City
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Interconnect Receives Positive Federal Vote

By Jim Barth

Mar 06, 2012

According to an article in the Salt Lake Tribune, skiers moved a step closer to riding a gondola from Solitude to Canyons Resort late last week after a U.S. House Committee advanced a measure that would pave the way for the Forest Service to allow the new skier connection.

The House Natural Resources Committee voted to send the Wasatch Range Recreation Access Enhancement Act to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

As I have reported previously, while this federal legislation does not in and of itself directly affect Deer Valley^®, if the proposal receives final approval from both houses of Congress and passes environmental muster, it will mark a first step toward the long awaited connection of the seven resorts of the Wasatch Range, including potentially Deer Valley. In my opinion, an interconnect would have a very positive financial impact on the resorts of the Wasatch Range and most significantly, the greater Park City area resorts. We will continue to bring our readers and clients updates as the legislation moves forward.

Tags: Deer Valley Resort, Deer Valley Real Estate, Park City Real Estate, Ski towns, Park City Mountain Resort, Canyons Resort, Utah Ski Resorts, Skiing, Solitude, SkiLink, Ski Interconnect
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