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…
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…
