Ski Area: Deer Valley, Utah
Dates: January 22, 2013
Conditions: Variable--FG/LG
Weather: Sunny, temps in the low 40's.
Report No: 14
MLK Weekend came and went and I had to go to Chicago for a funeral (my wife's grandmother). So that meant no skiing, but I had to go at least once
So I decided to cash in one of my Deer Valley tickets and enjoy the sun of Park City above the inversion.
I got up to Park City a little before 9am, but still got caught in some Sundance traffic. No worries, just sipped the coffee and staring at the frickin huge jumps that had been built at Park City Mountain Resort:
Look center-left:
I made it to Deer Valley just after 9am...later than hoped, but it worked. This was my second time visiting DV for skiing, and this time I found the underground entrance that was much easier and closer to my car. It led right straight to the locker rooms.
Got my ticket and hopped on Carpenter. Having been Deer hunting once before, I had learned some valuable lessons. First, DV is huge and as a day skier, you begin down at Snow Park and have to think about where you want to go and how to get back. While a look at the map, and our first instinct in March, would suggest Silver Lake Express, Carpenter would take you to the top of Bald Eagle Mountain and give you some skiing down to Silver Lake and with enough speed to get down to Quincy, since I wanted to get to Empire quickly. So Carpenter I went and my plan worked out, giving me ample speed to cruise right down Quincy with no walking at all.
My eyes spied a tasty looking cruiser to get warmed up on, so I decided to give it a shot. Blue Bell took me right down to Northside Express and to a small alley wall between the condos, Woodside, that let me right to Empire. Bingo.
Now on our first visit we scoped out the expert stuff on Bald Mountain, which on that day was pretty sticky and sun damaged, but fun. We did not leave enough time to get over to Lady Morgan, so I had the game plan set: ski Empire and Lady Morgan hitting some of the expert stuff I had sniffed out in the summer on my hikes. That leads me to Deer hunting tip number two: there is expert stuff at Deer Valley if you look off the groomers and venture just a little ways out, and it has ample room.
Hit Lady Morgan and proceeded to ski Dakota and Pearl to do some recon. The sun had not quite yet worked its magic, so the groomers were a good idea to warm up on.
On over to Empire I went and did a run down Supreme and Ore Cart. Empire is really nice:
Empire and Daly Bowl/Chutes Area from Flagstaff:
After a brief break, I headed over to Ruby and hit Lost Boulder and Lucky Star before heading back to Lady Morgan to see if the snow had softened. Both groomers were nice, but there is no doubt that Deer Valley, because of its extensive snowmaking, has more ice than other places and the Joes do not like ice.
Lost Boulder:
Woodside with the Montage looming above:
Off of Lady Morgan I pointed my skis down Magnet and watched a young woman slide down 100 yards of the upper portion. The trail was pretty firm and I skidded down to the bottom of Lady Morgan and then skied Pearl to do some recon of the other options since the trails facing E were not softened yet. So I figured to look towards the north facing slopes for some hopefully less damaged snow that might be better.
Off of Empire, I decided to cruise over to Lady Morgan Bowl. Good choice and confirmation that my instincts were right--go to the north facing slopes young man.
Lady Morgan Bowl:
The upper bowl was wide open with good bumps that funneled into a treed-in canyon. The only downside was the hike uphill out to Pearl, but it was just enough to keep most folks out.
That inspired me. The next target was to head to the Daly area, which I had scouted out over the summer. I skied down Orion, which was softening nicely, ducked into the wooded traverse and popped out right on the rim of Daly Bowl.
The snow was cold, firm, but edgeable. However, it had not been cooked by the sun the day before and was entertaining. And I was the only one over here.
Daly is short and sweet, but has some good trees, bumps, steeps, and technical lines. Just pick your flavor and go.
Cold, shaded goodness in Daly Bowl:
Dates: January 22, 2013
Conditions: Variable--FG/LG
Weather: Sunny, temps in the low 40's.
Report No: 14
MLK Weekend came and went and I had to go to Chicago for a funeral (my wife's grandmother). So that meant no skiing, but I had to go at least once
So I decided to cash in one of my Deer Valley tickets and enjoy the sun of Park City above the inversion. I got up to Park City a little before 9am, but still got caught in some Sundance traffic. No worries, just sipped the coffee and staring at the frickin huge jumps that had been built at Park City Mountain Resort:
Look center-left:
I made it to Deer Valley just after 9am...later than hoped, but it worked. This was my second time visiting DV for skiing, and this time I found the underground entrance that was much easier and closer to my car. It led right straight to the locker rooms.
Got my ticket and hopped on Carpenter. Having been Deer hunting once before, I had learned some valuable lessons. First, DV is huge and as a day skier, you begin down at Snow Park and have to think about where you want to go and how to get back. While a look at the map, and our first instinct in March, would suggest Silver Lake Express, Carpenter would take you to the top of Bald Eagle Mountain and give you some skiing down to Silver Lake and with enough speed to get down to Quincy, since I wanted to get to Empire quickly. So Carpenter I went and my plan worked out, giving me ample speed to cruise right down Quincy with no walking at all.
My eyes spied a tasty looking cruiser to get warmed up on, so I decided to give it a shot. Blue Bell took me right down to Northside Express and to a small alley wall between the condos, Woodside, that let me right to Empire. Bingo.
Now on our first visit we scoped out the expert stuff on Bald Mountain, which on that day was pretty sticky and sun damaged, but fun. We did not leave enough time to get over to Lady Morgan, so I had the game plan set: ski Empire and Lady Morgan hitting some of the expert stuff I had sniffed out in the summer on my hikes. That leads me to Deer hunting tip number two: there is expert stuff at Deer Valley if you look off the groomers and venture just a little ways out, and it has ample room.
Hit Lady Morgan and proceeded to ski Dakota and Pearl to do some recon. The sun had not quite yet worked its magic, so the groomers were a good idea to warm up on.
On over to Empire I went and did a run down Supreme and Ore Cart. Empire is really nice:
Empire and Daly Bowl/Chutes Area from Flagstaff:
After a brief break, I headed over to Ruby and hit Lost Boulder and Lucky Star before heading back to Lady Morgan to see if the snow had softened. Both groomers were nice, but there is no doubt that Deer Valley, because of its extensive snowmaking, has more ice than other places and the Joes do not like ice.
Lost Boulder:
Woodside with the Montage looming above:
Off of Lady Morgan I pointed my skis down Magnet and watched a young woman slide down 100 yards of the upper portion. The trail was pretty firm and I skidded down to the bottom of Lady Morgan and then skied Pearl to do some recon of the other options since the trails facing E were not softened yet. So I figured to look towards the north facing slopes for some hopefully less damaged snow that might be better.
Off of Empire, I decided to cruise over to Lady Morgan Bowl. Good choice and confirmation that my instincts were right--go to the north facing slopes young man.
Lady Morgan Bowl:
The upper bowl was wide open with good bumps that funneled into a treed-in canyon. The only downside was the hike uphill out to Pearl, but it was just enough to keep most folks out.
That inspired me. The next target was to head to the Daly area, which I had scouted out over the summer. I skied down Orion, which was softening nicely, ducked into the wooded traverse and popped out right on the rim of Daly Bowl.
The snow was cold, firm, but edgeable. However, it had not been cooked by the sun the day before and was entertaining. And I was the only one over here.
Daly is short and sweet, but has some good trees, bumps, steeps, and technical lines. Just pick your flavor and go.
Cold, shaded goodness in Daly Bowl:
Last edited:
