We’re coming into the homestretch for 2023/24 ski season! Season passes for 2024/25 went on sale a month ago while we were still arcing in the white room but, hey, what better time for folks to plunk down $1200-$2000 than when they are floating in euphoric winter bliss? So now that we are on the brink of Utah ski resorts closing, you need to make those last turns of the season count. Did you hit 30 days, 50 days, 100 days?
Sunday is your final chance to carve those last few slushy trails at Alta, Deer Valley and Canyons while Park City will keep a handful of lifts spinning until Monday (First Time, 3 Kings, Crescent, and Silverload). Park City began limiting their terrain a few weeks ago as seasonal workers headed home.
For those of you with an Ikon Pass, you’ll still be able to turn at Snowbasin Resort and Brighton until April 28, Solitude until May 6 and Snowbird until May 12. Brian Head Resort down south will close on Cinco de Mayo.
The 2023/2024 ski season in Utah has been nothing short of awesome. While it didn’t create the massive dumps that collapsed roofs and overwhelmed snowplow drivers like last season, and it started off miserably, Mother Nature blew in (eventually) to keep a consistent blanket of freshness on the slopes. Alta Ski Area received approximately 550 inches of snow, leading the pack with one of its strongest performances in a decade. Not far behind, Brighton Resort recorded over 500 inches, Snowbird tallied around 530 inches, and even Park City Mountain amassed a commendable 420 inches. Most of the state’s major water basins have reported snowpack figures ranging from 130% to 160% of the historical average.
Make the most of the dwindling ski days and then get ready for climbing and biking season! And make sure you plan ahead for next winter by buying those season ski passes while they’re still selling at “early bird” prices. Here are the links to save you time hunting them down individually-
The Mountain Collective offers a different take on ski passes, giving skiers access to 2 days at each participating resort (in Utah that’s Snowbird/Alta and Snowbasin), and then 50% off for each additional day. $605
The Indy Pass is designed for independent and lesser-known ski resorts like Powder Mountain, Eagle Point and Beaver in Utah. If you’re looking for a more local or less crowded experience, this might be the pass for you. SOLD OUT for 24/25 but you can join their waitlist.
The Power Pass provides access to multiple resorts in the Southwest and beyond, including popular locations like Arizona Snowbowl and Purgatory Resort and Brian Head and Nordic Valley in Utah. $549-$749
With a qualifying season pass from a member resort, the Powder Alliance adds the ability to ski three days free at the other PA resorts (none in Utah). Free with your area season pass.
If you want to hit the slopes or the beach without breaking the bank, you’re in luck. The folks at OptimosTravels crunched the numbers and came up with the 10 Most (and Least) Budget-Friendly Vacation Spots in the U.S. for 2024.
🌊 Chillin’ on a Budget? Head to the Outer Banks, North Carolina
Topping the list of budget-friendly bliss is the Outer Banks. It’s not just the spot for the hit Netflix teen show but a place where the Atlantic’s charm meets affordability. The chain of barrier islands offers one of the largest tracts of undeveloped beaches on the East Coast. The OBX brims with charming seaside villages, history (the legendary Blackbeard hid out in the southern part of the Outer Banks), local cuisine and coastal activities.
💼 Charleston, West Virginia
This antebellum town in the American south is a modern playground for foodies, festival goers, art lovers, and outdoor enthusiasts.
🍻 Bavarian Vibes in Helen, Georgia
In third place, we’ve got Helen, Georgia, channeling those Bavarian vibes. Situated along the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chattahoochee River this European-style village is tiny and picturesque and filled with biergartens.
🏖️ Kick Back on Tybee Island, Georgia
Fourth on the list is Tybee Island, Georgia, with its serene beaches, seaside charm, and laid-back vibe. Tybee Island offers something for everyone; whether water sports, historical tours, vibrant local culture, and delectable seafood cuisine.
🌲 Get Lost in Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Gatlinburg, Tennessee offers access to the Great Smoky Mountains, cabins and family adventures. The historic city is for outdoor adventure, quaint shopping and loads of family-friendly attractions.
🏜️ Marvel at Sedona, Arizona
Ranked sixth is Sedona, Arizona, and its striking red rock formations, is the backdrop for outdoor enthusiasts. Hiking trails, art galleries, and healing vortexes and spiritual awakenings abound.
🏖️ Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Cape Cod beckons with its idyllic coastal charm, picturesque beaches, charming seaside villages, and fresh seafood delights. It’s the quintessential New England experience. It can be expensive in the summer so if you are on a budget, try for the fall or winter.
🌆 Embrace Urban Energy in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
You learned to spell Oklahoma while watching the musical (if your parents made you) but we bet you haven’t been there. Oklahoma is a hidden gem filled with the breathtaking natural beauty of the Great Plains, six stunning national parks, warm hospitality, delicious cuisine, and lively festivals.
🌲 Bend, Oregon: Where Adventure Awaits
Bend is an outdoor lover’s paradise. Nowhere else in Oregon can you hike to alpine lakes, ride bikes through the sprawling high desert, paddle or tube down the middle of the town’s state park, rock climb in world-class Smith Rock State Park, ski year-round, and, at the end of it all, there’s delicious craft beer waiting for you.
🏜️ Experience Monument Valley, Utah
Completing the list, Monument Valley lets families soak in stunning landscapes of the American west. It’s a tribal park owned by the Navajo Nation that straddles the Utah and Arizona border.
Top Ten Least Budget-Friendly Vacation Spots
While spots like Aspen, Park City, and Maui top the charts for luxury, it’s clear that more travelers don’t want to go and do what everyone else is experiencing. They want unique and exclusive experiences over traditional tourist destinations.
Ok, so what are those hot spots to steer clear of if you don’t want to follow the pack?
Chamonix, France (February 13, 2024) –blackcrows, the iconic French ski brand focused on design-driven high-performance ski gear and apparel, has released its latest ski film, Chasing Niflheim. The blackcrows film takes viewers on a journey through the remote and untamed landscapes of British Columbia, showcasing the extraordinary talents of blackcrows athletes Christina Lusti and Andrew McNab.
Chasing Niflheim focuses on the first descent of the southwest couloir on Mount Niflheim, the third-highest peak in the Gold Range. Christina Lusti and Andrew McNab venture into the rugged terrain of the Monashee massif, where they discover a deep gouge carving through the 2800-meter summit.
Commenting on her experience, Lusti shared, “The way you move through the mountains is an expression of who you are and how you feel in that moment. Discovering your authentic imagination is the biggest gift in exploratory skiing and mastery in the mountains.”
Producer Flo Bastien said, “Christina is undoubtedly one of the best big mountain skiers out there. These last few years, she has incorporated mountaineering and climbing skills into her arsenal, opening up numerous opportunities for exploring new slopes.”
Lusti and McNab’s daring expedition was made possible by blackcrows’ innovative Draco Freebird skis, designed to blend freeride performance with backcountry autonomy. Reflecting on the collaboration, Bastien remarked, “Having collaborated with Christina for a while, I knew she’d have something in mind to put our new Draco Freebird to the test. This ski has been designed to bring freeride performance and backcountry autonomy together, which is exactly what Lusti’s Niflheim project was about.”
Trying to spot a celebrity during the Sundance 2024 Film Festival is a bit like playing Where’s Waldo. Sure, you could wander Park City’s Main Street, watching for a horde of paparazzi, but you might be fooled. Once, I walked up and asked a guy with a fancy camera whom he was shooting and he said, “No idea but everyone else is taking their picture so I figured it must be someone important.” It certainly wasn’t anyone I recognized so I moved along.
If you’re hoping to catch a glimpse of someone famous in the film biz, your best bet is to stand outside in the cold just before one of the film premieres at Eccles or The Egyptian Theater but it’s way more exciting to brush elbows as they exit the Filmmaker Lodge or The Variety Studio.
You may be wondering, however, who you’re looking for. No sense wasting your time searching for a selfie with Paul Rudd if he never caught a flight to SLC, right?
Here’s your Ski Play Live cheatsheet for this first weekend of Sundance to help with your budding paparazzi career. First, the list of who’s who and who might be in Utah and then the list of the buzzworthy films they are representing.
Who’s at Sundance 2024
Some of these names you may recognize, some will just be emerging. Pay close attention though because these sightings are as elusive as a white fox.
Saoirse Ronan,Phoebe-Rae Taylor, Rosemarie DeWitt, Luke Kirby, Michael Chernus, Courtney Taylor, Judith Light, Paapa Essiedu, Stephen Dillane, Saskia Reeves, Laura Linney, Steven Soderbergh, Jesse Eisenberg, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sue Bird, Lucy Lawless, André Holland, Debra Granik, Jay Ellis, Rashaad Newsome, Navid Khonsari, Sandra Rodriguez, Emma Stone, Margot Robbie, Kristen Stewart, Lily Gladstone, David Alan Grier, Demario Driver, Dominique Thorne, Jack Champion, Jay Ellis, Ji-Young Yoo, Justice Smith, Keir Gilchrist, Michelle Farrah Huang, Normani, Anna Boden, Carlos Lopez Estrada, Dawn Porter, Kobi Libii, Ryan Fleck, Datari Turner, Debby Wolfe, Debra Martin Chase, Jelani Johnson, Leah Smith, Nkechi Okoro Carroll, Poppy Hanks, Sonja Warfield,Efren Ramirez, Jon Gries, Shondrella Avery, Tom Lefler, Mädchen Amick, Clark Gregg, Theo Germaine, Simone Kirby, Walt Klink, Rob Morrow, Chris Sullivan, Amy Aniobi, Nkechi Okoro Carroll, Sonja Warfield, Debby Wolfe, Chrissy Teigen, David Chang, Joel Kim Booster, Andra Day, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Jennifer Grey, Ed Harris, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Jeff Zimbalist, Bella Heathcote, Jason Schwartzman, Carol Kane, Alicia Silverstone, Kevin Connolly, Jason Momoa, Haylie Duff, Kieran Culkin, Will Ferrell, Josh Greenbaum, Pedro Pascal, Dominique Thorne, Ben Mendelsohn, Steven Yeun, Fred Durst, Lucy Liu, Glen Powell, Camila Cabello, Connie Britton, DEVO, Justice Smith, Jay Ellis, Retta, Robert Downey Jr., Christine Vachon, Jodie Foster, Mary Robinson, Christopher Nolan, Celine Song, Maite Alberdi, Pat Mitchell, June Squibb, Fred Hechinger, Richard Roundtree, Parker Posey, Malcolm McDowell, Nicole Byer and Coral Peña.
Sundance 2024 Films with Buzz
When Robert Redford’s Park City Film Festival officially became the Sundance Film Festival in 1991, we saw the indie film revolution. Movies like Sex, Lies and Videotape, The Blair Witch and Winter’s Bone may never have found an audience were it not for the studio bidding wars that erupted in this small ski town.
Utah became ground zero for new filmmakers, new voices, and new discoveries. Even today, 40 years later, the industry looks to Sundance for its next breed of artists.
This year’s Sundance features less films than in the past few years (36 less than in 2020) as organizers attempt to create a more intimate atmosphere and allow more opportunities to see the chosen films during the 10-day. Here are 11 that have already stirred up some chatter.
A still from A Different Man by Aaron Schimberg, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
Sebastian Stan is aspiring actor Edward undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. But his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare, as he loses out on the role he was born to play and becomes obsessed with reclaiming what was lost.
Pedro Pascale stars in this storyweb where teen punks defend their turf against Nazi skinheads, a rap duo battles for hip-hop immortality, a weary henchman gets a shot at redemption, and an NBA All-Star settles the score. Basically another day in the Bay.
A still from Girls State by Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo courtesy of Apple.
Teenage girls from wildly different backgrounds across Missouri navigate a week-long immersive experiment in American democracy, build a government from the ground up, and reimagine what it means to govern.
Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine appear in I Saw the TV Glow by Jane Schoenbrun, an official selection of the World Dramatic Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
Teenager Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own.
Reclusive gym manager Lou falls hard for Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Las Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family.
Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun appear in Love Me by Sam Zuchero and Andy Zuchero, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. Photo by Justine Yeung.
The love story of a smart buoy and an orbiting satellite inhabited in different forms by Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun that spans a billion years and probes the mysteries of being and consciousness.
Maisy Stella and Aubrey Plaza appear in My Old Ass by Megan Park, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Shane Mahood.
The summer before college, bright-yet-irreverent Elliott comes face-to-face with her older self during a mushroom trip.
Saoirse Ronan appears in The Outrun by Nora Finscheidt, an official selection of the Premieres Program at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Photo by The Outrun Film Ltd – Roy Imer.
Rona returns to the wild beauty of Scotland’s Orkney Islands — where she grew up — hoping to heal from drug and alcohol addiction.
Will Ferrell and Harper Steele appear in Will & Harper by Josh Greenbaum, an official selection of the Premieres Program at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
When Will Ferrell finds out his close friend of 30 years is coming out as a trans woman, the two decide to embark on a cross-country road trip to process this new stage of their relationship.
We are a mere three days away from the 40th Edition of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The 2024 Sundance Film Festival opens this Thursday and runs through January 28, 2024, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, with a selection of titles available online nationwide from January 25–28, 2024.
This year marks the 40th edition of the Festival, bringing together audiences in Utah and beyond to celebrate Sundance’s rich history of supporting engaging new stories and groundbreaking independent artists. You can still purchase single tickets at festival.sundance.org and register to watch online, anywhere in the world at festival.sundance.org/tickets/online (although I personally would wait to find out what the Fest darlings were before shelling out $25). But what about the showstoppers from past years? You can probably watch those for the price of a prorated Netflix subscription.
Therefore, as the excitement builds for what’s to come, Fest organizers wanted to take a fun look back at all of the 4000 films that have screened throughout the years by asking us to pick our top 10 all-time indie faves.
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Today, the nonprofit Sundance Institute presents the results of a world-wide survey asking the filmmaking community to name their top ten feature films screened since Sundance began in 1985. Over 500 filmmakers, critics, and industry members shared their personal top-10 lists.
40th Edition All Time Top Ten Sundance Films
10. Blood Simple (1985), Joel and Ethan Coen. This was the debut feature film of Joel and Ethan Coen and won the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic.
9. Y tu mamá también (2002), Alfonso Cuarón
8. Boyhood (2014), Richard Linklater
7. Before Sunrise (1995), Richard Linklater
6. sex, lies and videotape (1989), Steven Soderbergh. The debut feature film of Steven Soderbergh and won the Audience Award: Dramatic.
5. Memento (2001), Christopher Nolan won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award.
4. Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
3. Get Out (2017), Jordan Peele‘s debut feature film.
2. Reservoir Dogs (1992), Quentin Tarantino‘s debut feature film.
1. Whiplash (2014), Damien Chazelle. Won the Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic and the Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Dramatic.
Here’s the list they chose from. You too can scroll through the Sundance FESTIVAL FEATURE FILM LIST and see the feature films from the first four decades.
My Personal Sundance Films
Let’s not kid anyone. There’s no way I could come anywhere near watching 4000 films but I can say that of the ones I’ve seen over the years, these would be my top ten. You know how I can choose? Because I rarely see a film twice and all of the ones below are worth a second and third watch.
Cinema Paradiso Garden State Moonstruck Mudbound Winter’s Bone, Reservoir Dogs, Riding Giants, The Descent, The Grifters, Memento
What are your favorite Sundance films? Tell us in the comments below!
