Deer Valet 3/14/14

[jojo_obrien]

Somedays you're in the mood for on-piste groomers and a little something different.

I figured I'd enjoy the cloudless day in the sun over at Deer Valley and see how the other half live........it's always impressive.

Lots of bling -- really shines and is noticeable on a sunny day like today. High end gear abounds at Deer Valley.... (nobody would ever dare be caught wearing Columbia at Deer Valley) ...

I skied all over the mountain today -- every lift from Jordanelle to Lady Morgan. I was honestly surprised how crowded it was, although, I heard the phrase "I bet half of these people are from California"..........

The conditions included hard pack and machined groomed pack powder (kindof a mix). I talked to an old timer at DV who said that DV raves about their grooming but in reality it "sucks." I have yet to be really impressed with the conditions of the runs at Deer Valley. It's a beautiful mountain, but as my second time skiing there, it seems like hard pack is the norm. Lots of crusty moguls to ski off groomer trail if you're into that kindof skiing. Maybe I should try it on a powder day to see how it skis. It has been 3 days since it last snowed, and I'm guessing they only got 6" inches at DV from Tuesday's storm that was baked on Wednesday and Thursday.

Nothing like the amenities at DV - its first class all the way. (I'd hope so for $108 a ticket!) It's not really about how fast or good you ski, but rather, how much fur you can don. It's really something to witness. Great people watching.......the only limit on your fun is limited by how much dough you have in your wallet. Fun to hear people oogle at the houses w/ 8 chimneys (yes.....a house with 8 fireplaces)......

Skiied from 9:15 to 3:30. Beautiful day out, in the 40's. Enjoy the pics.

 

[Admin]

Sonny, get the spelling right - that's Dear Valet.

 

[jojo_obrien]

LOL........you got me .....

nothing worse than being Catholic......at Dear Valet on a Friday during Lent. I had to pass up the venison and the fire roasted lamb for a tuna sandwich...........ugh....

 

[Admin]

You could've gone to the Mariposa for the Nori and Sesame Seared #1 Ahi or Fresh Dungeness Crab Meat, or any of their other seafood specialties:
http://www.deervalley.com/Dining/WhereToEat/Mariposa
Yeah, it's still tuna but...

Friday night sushi club is in effect tonight if you're interested.

And did you get a date?

 

[jojo_obrien]

that sounds VERY expensive.........i actually trolled the empire canyon lodge for half eaten sandwiches or maybe some lukewarm fries, but, seeing as though it's DV and renowned service, the busboys are so quick to bus tables, i couldn't find anything....enraging!!!

 

[Admin]

$16 - about the same price as a burger, fries and fountain soda at GMD, or far less than that same combo at Mid-Gad. And you may have missed my last edit. :wink:

 

[Marc_C]

nothing worse than being Catholic......at Dear Valet on a Friday during Lent. I had to pass up the venison and the fire roasted lamb for a tuna sandwich...........ugh....

Um, no, you didn't have to. Didn't those nut jobs do away with that nonsense decades ago?

 

[Admin]

nothing worse than being Catholic......at Dear Valet on a Friday during Lent. I had to pass up the venison and the fire roasted lamb for a tuna sandwich...........ugh....

Um, no, you didn't have to. Didn't those nut jobs do away with that nonsense decades ago?

Not during Lent. Although it's acknowledged that the primary motivation for the whole fish on Fridays edict was enacted centuries ago solely to prop up the Italian fishing industry.

Signed,
Catholic Nutjob
(I still enjoyed a massive burger for lunch today)

 

[Marc_C]

The conditions included hard pack and machined groomed pack powder (kindof a mix). I talked to an old timer at DV who said that DV raves about their grooming but in reality it "sucks." I have yet to be really impressed with the conditions of the runs at Deer Valley. It's a beautiful mountain, but as my second time skiing there, it seems like hard pack is the norm. Lots of crusty moguls to ski off groomer trail if you're into that kindof skiing. Maybe I should try it on a powder day to see how it skis. It has been 3 days since it last snowed, and I'm guessing they only got 6" inches at DV from Tuesday's storm that was baked on Wednesday and Thursday.

DV grooms a lot of terrain, but they still can only work with what they're dealt. The passages of your post that I bolded and italicized kinda say it all. One of the best days I've had here was DV on a day that got 3" overnight *after* they had groomed - and they had groomed what was packed powder to begin with from a 12" storm a day earlier. The experience was not unlike velvet.

What they do excellently is seamless grooming - when you can't see any junction lines/ridges on a slope that is 6 cats wide. But when it's the same trails groomed every night (meaning the air gets beaten out of the snow) and there's been not much in the way of new plus some sun and/or temperature damage (aided by their lower elevation than the Cottonwoods), yeah, it's going to be hardpacked like anyplace else. I've yet to see the blue ice that is so prevalent in the Northeast - that crap they try to sugarcoat by calling it "frozen granular".

 

[jojo_obrien]

there were definitely East Coasters on the mountain today ....kinda frustrated...they made comments like "I could have skied this back at home"............

 

[Admin]

You're ignoring me, so I'm guessing no date. :lol:

Dude, it's Deer Valley. Do the terms "cougar" and "sugar mama" mean nothing to you?!

 

[rfarren]

I've been to DV a few times. I have to say it's more about luxuriant awesomeness, than the skiing for me. That being said, the first time I was there it had snowed a foot the day before, and the mountain skied beautifully. The last time I went, was February 28th this year, and it snowed 6 inches while I was there. Anywhere off the groomers was ridiculous in that nobody else was there. I would assume that if you can nail it on the right day you can get some pretty great terrain without the competition that you find in the LCC. All the other times I've been there it's been sunny and scratchy... which is meh, but the Stein Erikson has killer fondue.

 

[rfarren]

there were definitely East Coasters on the mountain today ....kinda frustrated...they made comments like "I could have skied this back at home"............

NYC hedgefund managers could use a little hardship in their lives.

 

[jojo_obrien]

You're ignoring me, so I'm guessing no date. :lol:

Dude, it's Deer Valley. Do the terms "cougar" and "sugar mama" mean nothing to you?!

I managed to engage in conversation with a cougar from Newport Beach .........I'll divulge the details to you on the chairlift vs this public forum

ps sushi is for wealthy people (with jobs) ..........i might splurge and treat myself to a filet-o-fish at McDonalds Sugarhouse this fine Friday..............

 

[Admin]

ps sushi is for wealthy people (with jobs)

That's what cougars from Newport Beach are for.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I'm not super impressed with Deer Valley groomers either. If you want to see the standard of what can be done with grooming (not to mention a lot of manmade snow), try Sun Valley. Sun Valley is also a much steeper mountain than Deer Valley, so even more impressive to keep groomers away from the frozen granular stage.

Vail has impressive grooming too, over vast acreage, but they have much better natural snow to work with than either Deer Valley or Sun Valley.