Deer Valley plans to begin construction on five lifts this summer as part of its major expansion into Wasatch County, according to director of mountain operations Garrett Lang.
“Not all of them are intended to be open,” Lang said. “With needing to get nine lifts built for the 25/26 season, we’ve got to take every opportunity to make progress that we can.”
Lang said there’s a chance they could open one or two lifts out of the new East Village base for the 2024-2025 season.
“You know where Star splits to the right to go back to Mayflower and then you split to the left to go to the bottom terminal of Sultan? That knob right there is what has always been known as ‘Sultan’s Nose,’” Lang said. “If you notice that it’s been graded and cleared, that’s where the top of that lift three that we’re working towards potentially opening next year lands. And then the bottom terminal of lift three is basically right in front of the MWR hotel.”
Lift three will be a six-pack bubble lift with a base at the Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) hotel, which will offer discounted rates to veterans at East Village.
The base of another six-pack, set to be installed by winter 2025-2026, will be at the confluence of the Ontario and Trump runs. It will offer high-elevation beginner terrain, and the start of a 4.7-mile green run down to East Village.
Some locals have questioned whether Deer Valley’s new terrain will get enough snow. Lang said the expansion area will largely mirror Deer Valley conditions today… with a little help.
“It’s really the same because Park Peak, South Peak, those are comparable to Bald Mountain; you’re 9,300-plus feet,” he said. “So same terrain, lots of north-facing stuff. And even the lower stuff, the state-of-the-art automated snowmaking system we’re putting in, that’s going to be able to combat that and the terrain will be just fine.”
Deer Valley President and COO Todd Bennett said the street-level view of the new terrain doesn’t show its full potential.
“When you’re at Deer Valley East Village or on U.S. 40 driving by, when you’re looking up, you’re looking up at maybe 20% of the expanded terrain,” Bennett said.
Standing on the Homeward Bound run looking south toward the Heber Valley, Bennett explained his vision for the future.
“The top terrain here is two big kind of canyon drainages, one which starts with between us and Park Peak… and the next one is between Park Peak and South Peak,” he said. “I kind of think that looks a bit like Canyons... That bowl… feels a little bit Mineral Basin to me. So we’re getting some more of the terrain that’s kind of tried and true Deer Valley, and we’re getting some terrain that we just don’t have here, which is really exciting.”
As part of the 2025-2026 plan, a 10-person gondola will connect East Village to Park Peak, which will have a new south-facing lodge.
South Peak, offering mainly expert terrain, is part of the full buildout plan. So far, no completion date has been set. In total, Deer Valley could get another 15 lifts, but Lang said that’s not yet final.
Deer Valley season pass holders have a chance to tour the expanded terrain in early April.
Pass holders with intermediate to advanced skills can ski the new area the first week of April from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. No registration is required.
