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Deer Valley

Coordinates: 40°37′22″N 111°29′22″W / 40.62278°N 111.48944°W / 40.62278; -111.48944
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For urban village in Phoenix, see Deer Valley, Phoenix.
Deer Valley
Overview of a portion of the resort's Flagstaff Mountain terrain
Overview of a portion of the resort's Flagstaff Mountain terrain
Deer Valley is located in Utah
Deer Valley
Deer Valley
Location in Utah
Deer Valley is located in the United States
Deer Valley
Deer Valley
Deer Valley (the United States)
LocationWasatch Range
Summit County, Utah
 United States
Nearest major cityPark City, Utah
Coordinates40°37′22″N 111°29′22″W / 40.62278°N 111.48944°W / 40.62278; -111.48944
StatusOperating
OwnerAlterra Mountain Company
Vertical3,000 ft (910 m)
Top elevation9,570 ft (2,920 m)
Base elevation6,570 ft (2,000 m)
Skiable area2,026 acres (820 ha)
Trails103
27% easiest
41% more difficult
32% most difficult
Longest run2.8 mi (4.5 km)
Lift system24
- 1 Gondola
- 12 High-speed quad chairlifts
- 5 Triple chairlifts
- 2 Double chairlifts
- 4 Magic carpets
Lift capacity50,470 skiers/hr
Terrain parksNo
SnowfallBase: <150 inches (380 cm)
Peak: 294 inches (750 cm)
SnowmakingYes, over 660 acres (270 ha)
Night skiingNo
WebsiteDeer Valley

Deer Valley is a ski-only resort in the Wasatch Range, located 36 miles (58 km) east of Salt Lake City, in Park City, Utah, United States where snowboarding is prohibited.

Deer Valley was one of the venues for the 2002 Winter Olympics, hosting the freestyle moguls, aerial, and alpine slalom events. It is expected to host the mogul event for the 2034 Winter Olympics but lost out on hosting the slalom event. Deer Valley also regularly hosts competitions for the International Ski Federation for moguls and aerials, but is not steep enough nor does it have long enough terrain to host events such as the GS, Super G, or Downhill.

Resort profile

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The St. Regis Resort at Deer Valley

Deer Valley is exclusively for skiers and it emphasizes on upscale accommodations and amenities. Deer Valley appeals to the ski community due to it being one of three resorts in the nation that is ski only.[1][2]



History

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Mountain development

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Skiing at Deer Valley Utah
A view down the backside of Deer Valley's summit in the summertime

Skiing began at Deer Valley with the Park City Winter Carnivals of the 1930s, and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the first ski trails and other facilities during the winter of 1936–1937. The first ski lifts appeared in 1946, when local residents Robert Emmett Burns, Sr. and Otto Carpenter constructed them, largely from nearby lodgepole pines. The ski area was called the Snow Park Ski Area, a name which endured from 1946 to 1969.[3] In 1981 Edgar Stern founded Deer Valley Resort in the same area and above. It has grown to include six mountains with six bowls, 930 acres (380 ha) of glade skiing and 670 acres (270 ha) of snow-making. The resort totals 2,026 acres (820 ha) in size.[4]

Expansion and improvements

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Deer Valley Ski Resort Park City Utah

In 2007, the resort expanded onto Lady Morgan Peak, to the north of Flagstaff Mountain, with a new 200 acre pod composed of nine trails and additional gladed terrain serviced by its own high speed quad.[5]

In 2012, detachable chairlift service was added to Little Baldy Peak with the replacement of Deer Crest with a Doppelmayr high speed quad, known as the Mountaineer Express.[6]

In September 2023, the resort announced that it would integrate the Mayflower ski area, which is adjacent to the resort's eastern boundary, into Deer Valley.[2]

International competitions

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Deer Valley Olympic venue
The aerials venue at the resort during the 2002 Winter Olympics

2002 Olympic Winter Games

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During the 2002 games Deer Valley hosted the freestyle moguls and aerials, and alpine men's and women's slalom events. Three of the trails on Bald Eagle Mountain were used during the games including Champion (site of freestyle moguls), Know You Don't (site of alpine slalom), and White Owl (site of freestyle aerials).[7] Temporary spectator stadiums were located at the end of each run, they were 12 stories tall and included seating for 10,000 people, while spectator standing areas were located along the sides of each course; the standing areas and stadium combined allowed roughly 13,300 spectators to view each event. 99.4 percent of available tickets for events at the venue were sold, which totaled 96,980 spectators witnessing competitions at the resort.[8][9] During the games 95 percent of Deer Valley remained open to the public for normal seasonal operations.[8]

World Cup events

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The resort hosted the 2003 and the 2011 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships, becoming the first American venue to host twice.[10] It also hosted the men's and women's moguls and aerials events for FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships 2019.[11]

Deer Valley is a regular host to FIS World Cup events, having hosted men's and women's mogul and aerial competitions yearly since 2000 (with the exceptions of 2003 and 2004).[12] The resort also hosted a skicross event in 2008, and is scheduled to host a World Cup event every year through 2019. Deer Valley's track record of event hosting has led it to be described as "a Mecca for freestyle skiing events".[13]

Snowboard prohibition

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Deer Valley is one of three remaining American ski resorts that prohibit snowboarders along with Alta and Mad River Glen.[14] The resort has occasionally been the subject of protests and poaching by snowboarders such as when snowboard manufacturer Burton Snowboards offered $5,000 for video footage of riders snowboarding at Alta, Deer Valley or Mad River Glen in late 2007.[15] According to Burton's website, the point of their campaign was that such discrimination displays a "blatant aggressive disregard" for the Constitution of the United States.[16] Since it's opening in 1981, snowboarding has never been allowed.[2]

Lifts

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Lift Name Length Vertical Type Year Installed
Aurora 654 ft 142 ft Fixed Quad 2024
Burns Express 1020 ft 190 ft High Speed Quad 2022
Carpenter Express 4835 ft 1185 ft High Speed Quad 1996
Crown Point 1394 ft 550 ft Fixed Triple 1990
East Village Gondola Gondola 2025 (under construction)
Empire Express 4825 ft 1210 ft High Speed Quad 1998
Galena Express 4694 ft 1086 ft High Speed Quad 2025 (under construction)
Homestake Express 1710 ft 264 ft High Speed Quad 2018
Hoodoo Express 1053 ft 171 ft High Speed Quad 2024
Jordanelle Express Gondola 5170 ft 1322 ft Gondola 1998
Judge 697 ft 195 ft Fixed Triple 2004
Keetley Express 6673 ft 1248 ft High Speed Six 2024
Lady Morgan Express 4499 ft 1118 ft High Speed Quad 2007
Mayflower 3493 ft 1371 ft Fixed Triple 1984
Mountaineer Express 2965 ft 869 ft High Speed Quad 2012
Neptune Express 4600 ft 737 ft High Speed Quad 2025 (under construction)
Northside Express 3735 ft 910 ft High Speed Quad 1993
Pinyon Express High Speed Quad 2025 (under construction)
Pioche Express High Speed Quad 2025 (under construction)
Quincy Express 4144 ft 1011 ft High Speed Quad 2001
Red Cloud 2568 ft 766 ft Fixed Triple 1990
Revelator Express High Speed Quad 2025 (under construction)
Ruby Express 2386 ft 723 ft High Speed Quad 2002
Silver Lake Express 6610 ft 1398 ft High Speed Quad 1999
Silver Strike Express 5114 ft 984 ft High Speed Quad 2004
Snowflake 1070 ft 190 ft Fixed Double 1993
Sterling Express 4686 ft 1169 ft High Speed Quad 2006
Sultan Express 4995 ft 1752 ft High Speed Quad 2005
Viking 1500 ft 135 ft Fixed Triple 1990
Wasatch Express 4201 ft 1398 ft High Speed Quad 1996

Climate and terrain

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This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Deer Valley has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.[17]

Terrain Aspects: North 45%, South 2%, East 45%, West 8%.[18]

References

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  1. ^ "Skiers only: Two Utah resorts among three in the nation without snowboards". Deseret News. 27 December 2007. Archived from the original on July 26, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Deer Valley stands by its snowboarder ban as it takes over new Utah ski resort". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2025-03-21.
  3. ^ State of Utah. "History of Deer Valley". Utah History to Go. Archived from the original on 10 November 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  4. ^ "Deer Valley Weather & Mountain Report". www.deervalley.com.
  5. ^ Lady Morgan Express Chairlift
  6. ^ Barker, Gina (2012-07-03). "$8M in upgrades at Deer Valley". Park Record. Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2012-08-18.
  7. ^ "Deer Valley". VisitUtah.com. Utah Office of Tourism. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  8. ^ a b Salt Lake Organizing Committee (2001). Official Spectator Guide. p. 66.
  9. ^ Salt Lake Organizing Committee (2002). Official Report of the XIX Olympic Winter Games (PDF). p. 77. ISBN 0-9717961-0-6. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
  10. ^ "Idaho Mountain Express: Deer Valley gets 2011 World Freestyle finals – May 31, 2006". www.mtexpress.com. 2006-05-31. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
  11. ^ "New Winter Olympic events boost for 2019 Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships". 21 July 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  12. ^ "FIS-Ski – FIS World Cup". www.fis-ski.com. Archived from the original on 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
  13. ^ "Ski Reports, Snow Conditions and Weather at Ski/Snowboard Resorts Worldwide – FIS Freestyle World Cup Returns to Utah". www.snocountry.com. Archived from the original on December 18, 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
  14. ^ Del Sole, Christopher. "Resorts That Ban Snowboarding". snowboarding.about.com. Archived from the original on 2009-08-23. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
  15. ^ Ware, Doug G. (2007-12-16). "Snowboarders Encouraged To 'Invade' Ski-Only Resorts". www.kutv.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2012. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
  16. ^ Shay, James D. "Burton's crusade could pay off – The Connecticut Post Online". www.connpost.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
  17. ^ Climate Summary for Deer Valley
  18. ^ ZRankings, Best Ski Resorts in North America. "ZRankings Terrain/Topological Survey – Deer Valley". ZRankings Best Ski Resorts – Deer Valley. ZRankings.
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Media related to Deer Valley at Wikimedia Commons

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