Park City Post Mortem

It might seem silly to leave Colorado to ski in Utah, but every once in a while, that's what I do, especially if I'm going to meet up with people from other time zones. It is an astonishingly easy hop: an hour and change from Denver International Airport, a quick van ride to the mountains, and with a morning departure (my Southwest Airlines flight left at 8:20), it's possible to be on the slopes before noon.

It was even easier for me this time, because my rental equipment from Ski Butlers, a three-year-old service, had well-tuned skis waiting for me at the hotel. I wouldn't dream of using rental boots, and Ski Butlers adjusted the bindings to my boots while I quickly changed into my ski clothes. (They also rent snowboards and kids' gear, and as a parent who once lugged my and my son's skis through airports, I can tell you it's worth renting children's equipment rather than carrying it to distant slopes.)

There were no lines anywhere. I racked up more than 50,000 vertical feet skiing Tuesday afternoon and until lunchtime Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. That comes out to an average of 12,500 vertical feet per half-day. Impressive!

My Utah friends were whining about the snow, which over three-and-a-half days at three ski areas was hard in spots, groomed to corduroy in others, and spring-soft in still others. But let me tell you that Europeans and Easterners would kill for the kinds of conditions that Utah skiers were complaining about. A good part of the terrain at all three areas -- The Canyons, Deer Valley, and Park City Mountain Resort -- was open. A bit of vegetation showed here and there, and on connector roads, the groomers had churned up a few rocks. But by and large, the cover was better than decent. But Utah skiers weren't satisfied. They were looking for the big storm moving in from the northwest. They didn't have long to wait after I left.

In the last 24 hours, the three Utah resorts that I just skied were blessed by the promised dump: 20 inches reported at Park City Mountain Resort, 10 inches at The Canyons, 12 inches at Deer Valley. Since these three resorts are in the same valley, I am guessing that PCMR measures its snow in a prime deposition zone -- the only way I can explain such accumulation differences within just a few miles. Meanwhile, most of the ski areas in the East are either not open at all or have minimal terrain open, much as the Alps did when I was there a bit over a week ago (and continues to experience).