Park City Rendezvous

March 13 2014:

Today we scaled the canyons and mountains making the forty minute trek to Park City Utah.  Park City and the surrounding Wasatch fronts are considered some of the best skiing in the world: 'Greatest Snow on Earth.'  World-class Olympians like Gold Medalist skier Ted Ligety and Bronze Medalist (bobsledder) Steve Holcomb live and train in Park City.  It was home to the 2002 Olympics and continues to be a hub for international ski competitions.  On average the Wasatch Mountains receive 500 inches of snow - the snow is dry finely packed powder - known as the 'crown snow' of skiing.  I come from a ski town (Bozeman) and although my knee and neck injury prevent me from hitting the slopes I lived in a 'ski culture' of work to ski and ski to live (many Bozemanites follow this mantra; I am hike to live and work to hike :) Park City sits on a hilly bluff 8,000 feet above sea level with some runs in the 11,000-12,000 range.  Park City varies from Big Sky Montana in that it has numerous ski resorts, and is anchored by an actual town.  Big Sky Resort owns the majority of 'Big Sky' and although there are shops and houses it is not a livable town without making weekly runs into Bozeman.

I went up to Big Sky the day before we moved where the snow pack was deep - the deepest it has been in years.  Big Sky Resort (In Madisons/Lone Peak) stays open until Easter typically, Bridger Bowl (in the Bridgers) it depends on the weather.  So I was shocked to see next to nothing in terms of snow at Park City.  They had enough snow to ski, but most of the mountains even at high elevation were dry and bare of snow.  Apparently the drought has been bad this winter - contrasted to the extreme moisture we received in Montana.  So interesting comparison.  The Park City area has Park City Resort, The Canyons and Deer Valley Resort.  There are nearly a dozen ski resorts within an hour of Salt Lake City each with a different flare.  What I like about the town of Park City is its laid back rustic elegance.  You feel the vibrancy and life of the town, with the snobbery and smugness that go along with many high end ski resorts (Aspen for one).  The people were friendly and downtown is lined with art galleries, kitschy, yet fun tourist shops and lots of restaurants.  My favorite part - they have a ski lift that goes right to downtown - so you can go up or down the mountain - hop on or off from downtown - my klutz self took a picture here on the 'slope' and fell down on a piece of ice, hit by a skier not paying attention and I fell to the ground - so my ski injury of the day and the bruises to prove it.

My mom and I walked three miles through the bustling town before grabbing lunch at Irish Pub Flanagans; we wanted to catch the ACC tournament and also KU/OSU game.  I am a huge college basketball fan who has traveled across the country going to games and in a far off time maintaining a blog for The Sporting News, so carving out time for the ACC tourney is as essential as water is in the desert.

After lunch we splurged on homemade ice cream (praline-mint double scoop for me and maple and dulche de leche for my mom) at hip and fun Java Cow before descending back town the mountain.  The Wasatch are rugged and much drier than even the Bridger Mountains, yet equally inviting, with a raw splendor where the sun dances against the tall guardian peaks.  I hope to return someday to Park City.