Deer Valley
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| It really is difficult to overstate how beautiful the views are. From the top of Deer Valley Resort |
Deer Valley is the fanciest of the fancy pants resorts in the area. Ethan woke up feeling less-than-perfect so Kim, Christina, and I headed to nearby Deer Valley. Carol's condo is significantly closer to Park City and its resorts (Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley) than it is to the Cottonwood Canyons (Solitude, Brighton, Snowbird, Alta) and it was nice not having to drive 50 minutes away.
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| Deer Valley is much bigger than we remembered. |
We started skiing quite early, about 10:05, and made our way from the base over to Empire Canyon. Deer Valley was something of a gamble, as Park City is at a much lower altitude than the Cottonwood Canyon resorts and has received markedly less snow this season. But we haven't been in 5 years, as Deer Valley is (pretentiously) a no-snowboard resort so if Benjamin Bowman joins us on the trip, we cannot go. The same goes for Alta, actually, which is why we made sure to go twice.
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| The top of Empire Mountain |
The snow wasn't amazing but it was certainly good enough to reward our gamble. There were some closed trails in Empire Canyon, but there were plenty of open ones to challenge our tired legs. We utilized Empire Express, Lady Morgan Express, and Ruby all morning which afforded us rewarding trips down Orion, Solace, Supreme, Magnet, and Buckeye.
After that, it was time for an early lunch at 11:30 AM so we could all refuel and Christina could warm her numb extremities.
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| Nothing but the best for Truman the Snake |
Kim, Christina, and I dined at Empire Lodge, which easily qualified as the best food of the trip. I got my standard burger and fries, which was fancy, and Kim had an amazing turkey sandwich/salad combo. Christina and I drank more local beer and we coordinated our meet-up with Carol and Ethan. Oh, and we bought some emergency toe warmers for Christina.
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| Deer Valley Food |
By the way, one great aspect of spring skiing is the lack of crowds. Most of the resorts are closing for the season on or about April 8th, so everything is winding down. We enjoyed empty or near-empty slopes for much of the trip.
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| A typical wait-time for the lift. |
We met up with Carol and Ethan at 1:30 PM at the top of Flagstaff Mountain, which is where we took the picture at the top of this post. Ethan was more confident than ever and insisted upon following Christina and me through the trees. He fared better than we did:
(footage of Christina/Alex crash)
We managed to get somewhat off-trail and had a fun adventure through the Deer Valley woods. Christina and I expected the other three members of our party to be cross with us for leading them into difficult terrain, but everyone loved it.
(trail footage)
After our adventures in the woods, we skied almost until closing and, it being the final day of the trip for Carol, Kim, and Ethan, retired to the lodge to put our feet up and enjoy some beers and hot chocolate.
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| Mission accomplished. |
Après-ski
Ski trips come and go, but two things stay the same: (1) we go to Snowbird on the last day and (2) we go to Grubsteak for dinner on the last night of the trip. Well, Christina and I are headed to Snowbird tomorrow after the rest of the party flies back to Maryland so all that's left to do is head to Grubsteak tonight.
Grubsteak is a cowboy-themed steakhouse in beautiful downtown Park City. They serve irresponsibly large cuts of beef and a salad bar that would tempt the most prejudiced carnivore.
Grubsteak is a cowboy-themed steakhouse in beautiful downtown Park City. They serve irresponsibly large cuts of beef and a salad bar that would tempt the most prejudiced carnivore.
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| Ethan went crazy for the salad bar, which meant more cartoonishly sized prime rib for me. |
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