Deer Valley Resort

On today's Local News Hour:

( 00:40) Billed as an affordable housing fix. Sean Higgins let's us know how HB 82 affects Park City.

( 05:14) Steve Issowits and Rich Wagner from Deer Valley Resort talk about plans to develop the Snow Park parking lots.

( 24:50) Chair of the Oakley City Planning Commission Zane Woolstenhulme talks about the commission's CUP approval for the Newport Academy at the site of the old Oakley School. 

Deer Valley season pass prices are increasing next season. Most notable is the Senior Citizen's pass, which is increasing in price by 71% from last year.

Deer Valley President and CEO Jeremy Levitt said in his keynote at the annual Park City Leadership lecture on Monday that he consulted peer organizations about the senior pass program.

While Vail Resorts has announced that it will discount the prices on all of its ski season pass products next winter, Deer Valley is forging ahead with a price increase on its passes. 

The topic was discussed in detail at Monday night’s annual Leadership Park City lecture, which was headlined by Alterra Mountain Company CEO Rusty Gregory and Deer Valley CEO Jeremy Levitt.

Today on the Local News Hour:

(02:15) Utah Avalanche Forecast Center Report

(03:51) - KPCW Winter Pledge Drive welcomes Deer Valley Resort's Director of Marketing Coleen Reardon and Food and Beverage Director Jodie Rogers.

(28:06) - University of Utah Head Coach and Park City resident Justin Johnson talks about his ski career from athlete to coach.

Deer Valley Ski Patrol Director Chris Erkkila explains the resort's new policy on uphill skiing.

Erkkila says with a rise of backcountry skiers in the area, the resort's boundaries have been increasingly encroached upon. 

Today on the Local News Hour:

(02:09) - Nikki Champion has today’s Utah Avalanche Forecast Center Report.

(07:03 ) - Summit County Manager Tom Fisher discusses the agenda for Wednesday's county council meeting.

(21:13) - Deer Valley Ski Patrol Director Chris Erkkila explains the resort's updated policy on uphill skiing.

( 38:12) - Recycle Utah director Carolyn Wawra has a monthly update.

U.S. Ski and Snowboard Communications Manager Lara Carlton updates us on the lastest team results. She is joined by aerials skier Winter Vinecki who was among three Americans who podiumed in Saturday’s Freestyle World Cup at Deer Valley Resort.

On today's Local News Hour:

(01:54) Nikki Champion with the Utah Avalanche Forecast Center Report.

(07:13) Park City High School Interactive Club Vice President Grace Plavacos and Park City Rotarian Lola Beatlebrox have details about the new Interact Speaker Series.

(19:21) U.S. Ski and Snowboard Update with Communications Manager Lara Carlton. She is joined by aerials skier Winter Vanecki who podiumed in Saturday’s Freestyle World Cup at Deer Valley.

When Deer Valley’s former president, Todd Shallan, announced that he was leaving, Alterra Mountain Company tapped Jeremy Levitt as his replacement. While Levitt has given up deep powder skiing in Canada for groomed runs in Utah, he says with two young children, it was important to be close to family.

Before coming to Deer Valley, Levitt served as the president of CHM Heli-Skiing & Summer Adventures, also owned by Alterra.  He said his previous work prepared him for his new position. 

For those looking for the best snow to ski and ride - they may want to know about a forecasting service that is very specific to certain terrain. OpenSnow.com fills that need, offering limited free access as well as a subscription service.

Evan Thayner studied meteorology in college – and before he heads up to ski, he spends his mornings studying the weather models, looking at a number of variables like temperature, elevation, and which way a storm is moving into Utah to prepare his forecast for opensnow.com

With unemployment still high amid the COVID-19 pandemic and resort communities like Park City particularly hard hit, ski areas have seen an increase in job applicants this winter in a traditionally under-employed industry.

Unemployment in Summit County hit an all-time high of over 20 percent at the start of the pandemic, according to data compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That number has rebounded to a current rate of about 5.5%, but is still well over the pre-pandemic average of just 2%.

  There will be a change in leadership at one of Park City’s largest employers. Deer Valley Resort announced they are appointing a new President and Chief Operating Officer. 

The current president and COO, Todd Shallan, released a statement to staff Tuesday that he is changing positions within the company. 

Today on the Local News Hour: 

(03:51) -  Summit County Manager Tom Fisher discusses the agenda for Wednesday's county council meeting.

(20:58) - Carol Loomis, founder and board chair of PC Tots and Brandi Rasmussen owner of Creekside Kids Academy talk about opening up childcare programs in the COVID-19 period.

Ski Utah announced on Wednesday that despite losing the last couple months of winter to COVID-19, the 2019-20 ski season in Utah was still the fourth-best season on record for skier visits.

Skiing and snowboarding in Utah came to an abrupt end in mid-March when the first resorts in the state began closing due to COVID-19. Ski Utah CEO Nathan Rafferty says the early closures were devastating for the industry with over $232 million in lost revenue.