With a winter storm arriving in the Wasatch Back, Deer Valley Resort launched the season Friday, Dec. 5, as snowflakes swirled around the early-bird skiers.
Gerimae Sih, 80, and her husband were on hand for the Snow Park festivities. She said they are thrilled to begin another ski season at Deer Valley.
"Favorite part? It’s fantastic!" she said of the resort. "You know, you just kind of follow the snow."
Sih said she’s been skiing Deer Valley for as long as she can remember, and she’s looking forward to finding good snow all winter long.
Lexi Banks came to opening day from Heber City, holding her infant son bundled in a snowsuit. Her daughter and husband were ready to ski, too.
“My daughter is six, and she’s a better skier than me already,” she said. “And this guy is only five months old, so he’ll probably be skiing next year.”
Banks said she’s excited that her family will be able to more easily access the mountain this winter thanks to the East Village expansion.
“I love Flagstaff Mountain,” she said. “My husband’s pretty hardcore, so he loves Empire Bowl and all of that stuff. But we love it all. We’re excited for the new stuff, too, to explore it.”
Peter Kidd and three friends got in line early Friday morning to be the first chair up the mountain. He said that’s a typical winter morning for the group.
“It’s these four people that are here every day, first chair, 95% of the time,” he said.
Kidd said he skied 134 days two winters ago.
He has already explored East Village on his bike and looks forward to experiencing the terrain on skis in just a few weeks.
The season began with three lifts and three trails. Deer Valley was just open to season passholders Friday and welcomes all skiers Saturday.
Resort spokesperson Emily Summers said Deer Valley will open more ski runs as snow keeps falling in the Wasatch Back. The resort tentatively plans to open East Village the week of Dec. 22, weather permitting.
The expansion will add 80 new ski runs to the map this winter.
“It’s kind of unbelievable what the team has done this year,” Summers said. “I mean, no one puts in seven lifts in a summer and 10 in a year. It’s incredible, and it’s exciting.”
Summers said advanced snowmaking technology is helping Deer Valley make the most of the cold weather.
About 3,000 employees will staff the mountain this year, including nearly 600 ski instructors.
Sih, the octogenarian, said she’s traveled elsewhere to hit the slopes – even as far as New Zealand – but nothing compares to Deer Valley.
“Driving in this morning, I asked my husband, I wonder how it’s going to be today, compared to how it was in New Zealand – which was not fantastic,” she said. “Absolutely, of course it’s going to be better! This is home.”
Deer Valley is a financial supporter of KPCW.
