Deer Valley 3/18/09

NeedhamSkier

New member
Wednesday took us to Deer Valley. We felt sort of compelled to try it, but wasn’t sure I was going to like it. While it grew on me during the day, it’s probably the resort I would be least likely to go back to of the three we visited. This week was Spring Break for some parts of the country this week and perhaps because of that and being such a destination resort, Deer Valley felt way more crowded then either PCMR or Snowbasin. The first part of the morning was spent skiing Bald Mountain, where the crowds really detracted from the experience, as we were passed by many barely in control, once-a-year skiers going waaay too fast for their skill level. Not quite Mount Snow bad, but close to it. Grooming was okay – about the same as PCMR, in my view. And I found a lot of the terrain very similar – look-a-like trails, groomed flat, difficult to tell one from the other.

A little later than we should have, so we had already missed the better snow there, we headed over to Empire Canyon, passing through Flagstaff Mt. as quickly as we could (crowded and flat - like Stratton but with sun). Anyone who has been to DV recently will know that the whole place is one big construction site, (maybe that’s permanent) which is another thing which ticked me off about the place – you are constantly skiing over roads, under roads, round houses and through condos. The wilderness experience is not really close at hand…

So far I’m feeling pretty down on DV, but the day picked up from there. First we had a really good lunch at Empire Lodge – a little pricier than Snowbasin, but still good value, particularly compared to the overpriced junk food served at many resorts. Then we discovered the terrain off the Empire lift – steeper, less trafficked, more mountain-like. Had a couple of fun runs down Daly Bowl, which is steep enough to be interesting but not too intimidating, even with some good size bumps. Refreshed by that, we headed back with the intention of finishing with a couple of runs on Bald Mt. However, the crowds had now thinned out and the snow was holding up surprisingly well, and we had so much fun racing down Birdseye and Legal Tender that we ended up doing each of them about 3 times, before we finished with big grins on our faces, getting the last lift back over to the base area just before 4.

Overall – I think DV stresses the parts of skiing that don’t matter so much to me. Good grooming and consistent, predictable ski runs – I’ll take them, but it makes the whole experience just a little vanilla. Clearly DV is very successful (judging from the crowds in a ‘down’ economy) but for me, the high service levels don’t add too much, and weren’t really that apparent the day we were there. And some of the advice I got from the ski hosts was not that useful or accurate i.e. “ski Steins first thing in the morning, it will be great”. I’m not really interested in real estate opportunities, either. And so the expensive lift ticket makes me pay more for things that I don’t really want too much of. Overall, I’ll take my skiing a little more wild and a little cheaper please. But, I've got to say that the turkey chili was really good, and the fries were even better…
 
My sentiments exactly when I skied Deer Valley in February of 2008 (when snow conditions were great at all the Utah resorts). I didn't like the resort as much as Park City. Too many trails that seemed just like the others; crowded; tremendous number of condos and private homes right on the trails (got the impression that this is a real estate project with a ski area thrown in); construction cranes everywhere; too many "skiers" (who really can't ski) with their $2000 Bogner ski outfits; just seemed a little too "over the top" and over commercialized for my taste. I know Ski magazine has it rated the number one ski area in North America, but I would disagree with this. Admittedly, the lodges are very nice and the food is good, but I would not rush back to ski here.
 
I know it takes a beating on the boards, but I like Deer Valley - I ski there every year - it is my friends who live in Jeremy Ranch home mountain (and I usually score free lift tickets).

I skied DV this past week except for Sunday and PCMR was way more crowded - not sure how that correlates with your experience. I like the Bald runs and always have fun up in Empire. Lady Morgan and the Magnet run were also sweet last week. Stein's Way was really fun on Monday when I skied it. Empty (it is a long run and I encountered 5 other skiers maybe) and the snow was soft.
 
I guess maybe we stayed ahead of the crowds a bit more at PCMR than we did at Deer Valley. The problem was number of skiers on the runs, not liftlines, which were pretty much walk-on all day at both places.

Agree that Magnet is a nice run - I didn't mention but we lapped that a couple times also, just before lunch. And I could definitely see that with better snow, that whole Empire/Lady Morgan area would be worth exploring and would easily fill a day and more. But would I pay more to go ski there? Definitely not. Would I even pay the same to go ski there? - probably not, based on what I saw on Wednesday.

But we're not all the same (thank goodness for that) and I can absolutely see that for many people it's a great match for what they want - good snow, nice trails, a consistently pleasant experience. Back in Europe, where I used to live, that is what most skiers really like for their annual trip - cruising the blues, enjoying the sun and enjoying a great lunch.
 
Too true - the fact that I usually ski for free there does not hurt either. I started skiing fairly recently (last 7 years or so) and started 1 day a year, then 2 etc. and now only ski 11-12 days a year so I am not looking for the super-challenging terrain that everyone else here is looking for.
 
NeedhamSkier's report is similar to what admin and I experienced in January. We thought the slope crowding was due to people staying at DV during Sundance. There are numerous terrain pods with only one or two connecting trails (which are nearly always congested) between them. Within each pod the typical casual skiers tend to crowd certain runs while others remain relatively empty. Anything ungroomed (Empire, Daly, Ontario, Mayflower) will have plenty of elbow room. Unfortunately some of these sectors (Ontario on our visit) have less than ideal exposure so the snow can be unpleasant on a warm day.

Traffic flow at PCMR is far from ideal, but it's better than at Deer Valley or The Canyons.
 
I actually like Deer Valley.

Yes, it is full of posers. But what mountain is not? Even Snowbird/Alta had those types.

What I like about Deer Valley is that the runs are cut to the fall line. There are few ridges (ridge-500 vert run-runout/gulley). Ridges characterize Utah skiing - and generally are the greatest crime against Utah skiing. Vertical is destroyed by them.

I think there a lot of areas of Deer Valley excel in vertical without flats. And you need to get out of the core area. Flagstaff is awful/complete sh-t show and how not to do skiing. However, Bald/Balc Eagle/Empire are great for the most part.

Lift tickets? High for Utah. However Deer Valley is competing more with Vail, Aspen, Sun Valley, Telluride, Whistler and competes correctly. You can get discount tickets. However, they are definitely not a charity resort to local SLC residents. So what? They shouldn't be. Brighton II would not be successful in that locale. More class-warfare.

Food? Deer Valley is a much better value than 90% of places. The food rocks. And is prices only 20% higher than most ski crap.....and it is 200-300% better. So yeah....$10-15 lunch....but it is worth it.

Construction/Homes-on-Hillside/Overbuilt......it's getting a little high for my taste. It's a necessary evil. Most places 5-15% are home -lined. However, Deer Valley must be among the highest 20% or so.....crazy. They need to stop. Otherwise, I am skiing through a high-end Mall.....and I do not want to ski through Tysons/Stamford Galleria/Copley Place/etc.
 
What I like about Deer Valley is that the runs are cut to the fall line.
I agree. The Bald Mt. groomers are better than Park City's. If Park City didn't have Jupiter, I might even think Deer Valley was better overall.

Food? Deer Valley is a much better value than 90% of places. The food rocks. And is prices only 20% higher than most ski crap.....and it is 200-300% better. So yeah....$10-15 lunch....but it is worth it.
Nearly everyone who has been there agrees with this 100%.
 
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