Park City, Utah—what a great trip! 40 members of The Sanctuary Ski & Snowboard Club of Chicago packed a lot of fun and action into 3 ski days and 4 nights in the quaint world-class-Olympic-film-festival-historic-mining-Wasatch-Mountain ski town of Park City, Utah.
3 great mountains in 3 days was a treat—each with something different to offer. It was the perfect ski resort for a weekend getaway: an easy non-stop flight from Chicago (our bags flew free); a 25-mile bus ride to the condos; a not too crazy-high elevation (6,900’ at the base) and a variety of terrain for all skiers and boarders. We knew all that in August when the trip sold out. What we didn’t know was how magnificent the snow conditions would be and how marvelously NOT cold the temperature would be.
We left Chicago right on time on Wednesday night (8:05pm) and were in our Park Avenue Condos a bit after midnight. Condo Captains were still signing in at the front desk while several from the group ran to the Fresh Market before it closed at 1 am. That was a big plus for these condos—we were across the street from the major grocery store in Park City (also known as Dave Rebot’s favorite restaurant). And, we were right on the shuttle route for easy (and free) access to the lifts and Main Street.
On Thursday morning, our first day, there was a bit of a snafu with our lift tickets —they were sent to the Jupiter Inn where we were clearly NOT staying. Thank you to everybody for your patience as we waited for delivery (about 9:15am) and while Greg and I sorted them into the many varieties of 1-day, 2-day and 3-day piles.
What a great day Thursday was at Park City Mountain Resort. The temperature was mild while a soft snow fell all day. The club’s new orange flags were visible everywhere. Lunch was at the Mid-Mountain Lodge on the far left side of Park City.
The après ski gathering was the club’s official trip party at Red Banjo Pizza on Main Street. The owner, Scott, closed the place to the public to accommodate the 40 of us from 6 to 8 pm. We had ALL we could eat and drink for 2 hours—a variety of pizza, salad and cheese bread. Pitchers and pitchers of craft beers (and soda and wine) kept coming, too. Red Banjo Pizza is the oldest running establishment in Park City (It’s been in business since 1962), and we tested the strength of the stairs for the group picture.
Day 2—Friday—was Deer Valley Day! Skiers only. Suzi loved Deer Valley’s groomed runs and superior salad bar. Monica liked that the runs were wide and challenging. Jim thought the extensive, high-quality grooming was best for him. All of us enjoyed the resort known for its upscale amenities that is consistently ranked among the top ski resorts in North America. As we skied, we watched the events of the FIS Freestyle Aerial and Mogul World Cup competition. They started in the afternoon and went well into the evening on the White Owl run—site of the 2002 Olympics. Après ski, we enjoyed live music at the EBS Lounge in Deer Valley’s Snow Park Lodge.
For a Friday night dinner, Barb P., Diane and Carmen ventured to the Wasatch Brewery. On the way back, they stopped by the High West Distillery & Saloon and found it was (seemingly) impossible to get in—until they pulled the old we’re-just-going-to-the-gift-shop routine. Once inside, they charmed the owner, who led them through an underground passage to the bar side of the building. The 3 Sanctuary women saw 3 Sanctuary men (Fred, Jim and Whiskey Bill) in line outside, and persuaded the owner to let them join them.
Saturday, Day 3, a few new inches of overnight snow and The Canyons was on the itinerary. And, wow, what crowds at the lift lines. The mild weather, the fresh snow, a Saturday and the Freestyle competition at neighboring Deer Valley brought tons of skiing locals from Salt Lake City. Unless you got an early start, it was slow going trying to get over to The Canyons from Park City via the gondola. Those who did ski The Canyons, had lunch at the Red Pine Lodge. Back on the Park City side, Joyce A. and Kathy took afternoon lessons.
…or to the pool and hot tub at the clubhouse.
Greg, Danny and Lukasz spent Saturday night at Deer Valley watching the dual mogul finals.
Sunday morning, we had to get up and out pretty darn early. We left the Park Avenue Condo complex on LeBus for SLC at 6:30am. It was too short. As Monica said, this whole area deserves at least 5 days of skiing. Or another visit. Real soon.
Thank you to Shari, Karl, Jan, Kelly and Chrystal at Winter Ski & Sport for all their help in planning this trip. Thanks to Dave Shute, our Trip Director. Thank you, Greg, for co-leading. Picture credits (forgive me if I “borrowed” a few from Facebook): Brooke Bartell, Joe Iacono, Dave Rebot, Kathy Neal, Joyce Aston, Monica Courson, Barbara Caracci, Diane Swaim, Barbara Peterson, Greg Campbell, Amy Marker, Jim Mensching and me.
We missed you on the trip, Stan and Jeff.
– Maureen