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The Ski Bum finds piles of powder at Park City Mountain Resort

By Hannah Ballard - Daily Herald - | Jan 17, 2014

PCMR is my favorite place to ski for a lot of different reasons. Though I learned to ski at Brian Head (a southern Utah ski resort near Cedar City), Park City was a special treat for my family when we were growing up. I love skiing other resorts, but Park City feels like home for me now.

While I am biased — I’ve been going to Park City for years — here are a few of my favorite tips for conquering the mountain at Park City.

Though most of the resorts are lacking snow pack, Park City received a bit of nice powder this last week. Though I like nice groomed runs, like most skiers, a whole lot of powder is too much fun to resist.

If you are looking for some fun powder runs, look no further than the top of Crescent lift. Just off the left side of the lift, a short drop is just enough fun for those unfamiliar with powder.

Thaynes and Motherlode lifts are also great places to find nice, untracked powder runs, according to ski instructor Jon Hammond.

“I love the Motherlode Meadows trail and any runs on Thaynes lift because not a lot of people get over to that side of the mountain,” Hammond said. “The runs stay untracked and fresh for much longer than Jupiter lift.”

A word of caution: Though regular skis are great for all-mountain skiing, I would highly recommend renting, or demoing, powder skis on the days with lots of snow. Last week, I had the privilege of trying a brand new set of Nordica powder skis, thanks to Nyman’s Ski and Snowboard in Orem (www.nymans-ski-shop.com) — and they were way too much fun!

This little drop into some deep powder (depending on the day, of course) connects you to one of my favorite runs — Silver Queen. This double blue run is fairly easy, but tends to be groomed and decently steep. It’s a good starter run for any beginning or intermediate skier looking to break into harder runs.

Sarah Ballard, my favorite ski buddy, is also a fan of Silver Queen. “It’s my favorite run on the mountain. Sometimes it gets a bit icy, but it’s still worth the nice drop back onto the main mountain and back to Payday lift.”

McConkey’s is another great area to ski, accessed from the main Bonanza lift. It’s rarely crowded, and has some great intermediate to expert runs. McConkey’s also provides a breathtaking viewpoint of the resort and Park City itself. This is a must see for any outdoors enthusiast.

And, for a fun final adieu to the ski day, give yourself a push onto Widowmaker. It’s an easy access, PCMR Signature Run (groomed most days), just off the side of Payday lift. Widowmaker sounds intimidating, but it’s probably one of the easier black diamonds on the mountain. Give it a try, if you dare.

Sidebar:

HEAD: Ski and Screen

One of the best times to ski Park City is during the Sundance Film Festival. Most people are too busy people watching for their favorite stars, so the slopes are empty!

But, the Sundance Film Festival, which began Thursday and continues through Jan. 26, provides a great way to transition from a great ski day to a dinner and a movie night. See more about the Sundance Film Festival on heraldextra.com.


 Olympic-bound

For another great adventure at Park City Mountain Resort, try visiting the U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix, which begins today and continues through Saturday.

This event will highlight some of the best skiers in the world and will end with the naming of the Olympic Freeskiing team for the Sochi 2014 Olympics.

After the announcement, there will be a free concert by O.A.R. For more information, visit PCMR’s events page listed below: www.irideparkcity.tv/iridepc/events/event26

This is the first in a regular series of stories from the slopes. This Ski Bum column will spotlight the many popular ski resorts of the Wasatch Front. Coming up in two weeks: Snowbird.

From the airport:

Upon leaving the SLC Airport Exit, head east on Interstate 80 for 4.4 miles.

Merge onto I-15 South / I-80 east heading southbound for 2.5 miles.

Continue on I-80 Eastbound for 21 miles.

Exit I-80 at the Kimball Junction/Park City Exit #145.

Bear right heading southbound on UT-224 for 6 miles.

Turn right onto Empire Avenue and follow road up to the base parking facilities.

From Provo:

Start at the entrance to Provo Canyon. Continue on US-189 N. Turn left on S. Main St/US-40 W. Take Exit 4 toward Park City. Follow the signs to the resort. 

Park City has discounted tickets on its website. See deals.parkcitymountain.com/#all for purchasing tickets. 

1 Day Lift Ticket: $55.25

3 Day Consecutive Day Lift: $196.95

1 Day Lift Ticket + Ski Rental: $83.85

Hours: 9 a.m. through 4 p.m., Night Hours: 4-8 p.m.

Elevation: Base: 6,900 feet, Summit: 10,000 feet

3,300 acres, eight peaks, nine bowls

116 trails: 17% Easier, 52% More Difficult, 31% Most Difficult

1 Superpipe

1 Minipipe

4 Terrain Parks

Longest run: Homerun, 3.5 miles long

16 lifts

Total uphill capacity: 31,000 guests per hour

Average snowfall: 365 inches

Average monthly temperature for January: 31 degrees

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