Author Archives: Jill Adler

Park City Mountain Resort Stars in New Disney Channel Movie

Leave a comment

If you’re on the slopes of Brighton or Park City Mountain resort at the end of this month you might wonder what all the cameras and trucks are up to. Nope, it’s not Warren Miller or TGR hunting for epic powder stashes.

The Disney Channel is shooting a new family film which is executive produced by Oly and X-Games star Shaun White (sans red shag). No word yet on whether he’ll actually act in the movie but expect him to pull a few signature halfpipe stunts.


White will produce in conjunction with High School Musical Alum Ashley Tisdale. It’s unconfirmed whether she’ll co-star or stay behind the scenes.


The movie is called Cloud Nine and centers around a couple of teenage snowboarders, their parents, romance and a halfpipe competition or two. The mom of one of the leads owns a luxury pet spa so expect most of those scenes to be shot at PCMR considering dogs are not allowed up Big Cottonwood Canyon due to watershed restrictions.

The filming begins during the first weekend of the Sundance Film Festival and continues through February. The first round of background/extras casting is this Saturday, January 5, so if you want a glimpse of Hollywood grab your headshot/photo and resume and head on down to Salt Lake City. You don’t even have to be a snowboarder although it might help you get noticed. Auditions are located at 980 South 700 West from 10:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. They’re looking for 18- 70 year olds of any ethnicity; snowboarding experience a plus but not required. The pay is $101.50 per day and will include snacks and meal(s). Just expect long days in the cold so no whining.

Cloud Nine is Utah’s first feature film of 2013 but not even close to being the last. Rumors have it this spring will explode with productions all over the state. Currently, Utah offers a 25 percent rebate or a 25 percent refundable tax credit to encourage productions companies to shoot among the Wasatch Range. The state also offers a sales and use tax exemption for qualified goods and services, in addition to exemptions on lodging taxes for stays of 30 days or longer. All these rebates and exemptions mean films, television pilots, series and commercials can save a truckload of cash on production costs.


However, don’t look for anything soon from Park City’s notorious Raleigh Studios (producer of films like “Iron Man 2” and “The Avengers.”). The company negotiated a land deal last year with Park City but we’ve yet to see a single hole dug in the ground. The official statement on progress from the Studio: “We have no update provided.” According to Marshall Moore at the Utah Film Commission, “They do not have proper funding for any projects in Utah so we aren’t likely to see anything happen this year.”


Torches Light Up New Years’ Slopes

Leave a comment

There must be something to this whole get-your-friends-together-in-the-dark, hold out nasty smelling flares and snake all the way to the base in one long conga line thing. Why else would so many resorts offer a torchlight parade for participating or viewing?


Deer Valley Resort’s torchlight goes down December 30 at 6 p.m. on Big Stick ski run on Bald Eagle Mountain. Those friendly DV hosts will be handing out complimentary hot cider and cookies on the Snow Park Plaza.

Wolf Mountain in Ogden Valley hosts a family New Year’s Eve event that includes horse-drawn sleigh rides and the torch parade. The night starts at 4 p.m. with night skiing for $22 until 9 p.m. For an extra $15 add dinner and a sleigh ride before the torchlight. The parade and fireworks start around 9 p.m.

Gather on the Plaza Deck at dusk for bonfires and Snowbird‘s New Year’s Eve Torchlight Parade and Fireworks. The newly remodeled Aerie Restaurant in the Cliff Lodge will have a special fixed menu and scheduled seatings.

Finally, head over to Alta Ski Area if you want charity attached to your torchlight experience. The parade follows the main cattrack to the Wildcat Base. They will have a “free-flowing” start time to minimize standing around in the cold. Families can participate then be at the base to watch the fireworks. Sorry, Folks, but no hot cocoa before the parade start. Instead, the money saved will go to the Utah Food Bank on behalf of all Alta skiers. Load the Collins lift at 5:15 p.m. and get off at the angle station. Children need to be accompanied by an adult and have their own headlamps or flashlights. Adults carry the torch. All participants need to be intermediate level or stronger. Open containers are not allowed so fill the Camelbak with Schnapps (and your own hot cocoa).

Happy New Year!


Duelling Pianos at Kimball Junction

Leave a comment

It’s been a long time since Club Suede’s owners left the country, leaving the Junction’s only nightclub and live music venue shuttered amid rumors of controversy and fines. Though the upstairs bar, lounge and concert venue at Kimball Junction is still on the seller’s block, a new hotspot is finally emerging. Molly Blooms, Irish Pub and Burger Bar, will be rocking the northside of Park City with dueling pianos. The idea sprang from long-time local singer/songwriter Rich Wyman and buddy Michael Rogers. The two play Dec. 29 (next Saturday night) then hand off the podium to guest pianists every Saturday night during the winter.

Molly Blooms owner Gregg Davison told The Park Record, “I was thoroughly impressed by the quality, the entertainment value and the interaction with the crowd [at the Tavernacle Dueling Piano Bar in Salt Lake City]. I knew I just needed to get that show in Molly Blooms.”


Jamming at the Tavernacle

If you’ve never witnessed a dueling piano event, hold onto your seats. The vibe is electric. It’s essentially karaoke with the whole room singing to live piano music and no autotuner.

Bar goers fill out request forms, donate some green and sit back and wait to hear their song. The more you pay, the sooner the tune. Guests can even pay to make the song stop. A bidding war could potentially start between those who want the song to continue and those who don’t.

“It’s not a scripted show, but we do have a couple of songs in our back pockets to keep the show rolling or to interject some energy,” Wyman told the Record. “We also have laptops with us, so we can call up the chords of songs we’re not quite familiar with.”


The main room is designed around two baby grand pianos with concerts beginning at 9 p.m. Molly Blooms is open to all ages until 10 p.m. because the spot between Park City Coffee Roasters and the Kimball Post Office is also a restaurant. That makes for a great way to end the evening with the family. Burger and blues coming up!

Reservations are suggested. (435) 645-0844.

Other after-hours venues in Kimball Junction:

Jupiter Bowl, 435.658.BOWL (2695).

Maxwell’s, 435.645.7468

Last Minute Gifts For the Mountain Dog

Leave a comment

When you’re hanging up those stockings and wrapping gifts for under the tree, don’t forget your ‘other’ child. Here are a few last minute gift ideas to make your pooch want to lick the beard off Santa.

Rover will shred the wrapping when he spies the Hide-A-Squirrel dog toy. The plush “log” comes with three, cute squeaky squirrels that taunt him from various openings. Your dog scatters the squirrels and you stuff them back in the log making it a toy for both of you. Bonus- since he’s ‘removing’ the rodents it’s like pulling stuffing from a normal plushy so he’s less apt to rip them apart. $18.

Nothing like doggy treat crumbs lining your pockets, right? Keep your gloves on and the crumbs out with the Lickety Stik by PetSafe. It looks like roll-on deodorant but dispenses a liquid that tastes like bacon, chicken, cheese, peanut butter, beef or liver pets will flip for. You can feel good knowing it’s low calorie and made with natural ingredients. $6.99.

A leash that not only looks tough but can take a good beating is what you’ll want this year. The Mountain Leash is a thick nylon rope with high impact and water resistant hardware to hold up whether it’s being dragged through snow and mud or used as a chew toy. $18.39.


Those without dogs may consider a kennel akin to cruelty but dogs think of them as home. The Petmate Vari Kennel Ultra is the perfect solution for security while you’re out for long ski days or when you want to keep your dog from getting mud and snow everywhere. The ‘protective’ playpen is made of heavy-duty, easy to clean plastic, that offers tons of venting and an interior floor ‘moat’ to keep your friend dry. It’s airline and car safe and will withstand impact if there’s an accident or skis slip. $79.99, www.petco.com.


Toss him a Snowball that won’t disintegrate. The Orbee-Tuff Snowball is the world’s first doggie-durable, buoyant, bouncy, minty rubber ball that’s 100 guaranteed, non-toxic, recyclable, washable and non-melting. $9.95.

Snow Sightings

Leave a comment

Utah’s winter has finally kicked in. Perhaps last season’s weaksauce snow turnout was Mother Nature’s way of putting us in our place. One can only hope that with this past week of storms, we’re back to “normal”. At least it sounds that way on Facebook.

FB is to the ski industry what the movies were to the military. There’s no quicker/better way to get the stoke rolling and to get everyone to ‘enlist’. There’s that brief, pure storm and Whammo! hundreds of posts and reposts:

“Received 10 inches of snow today”, “The Bird Gets the First ‘Dump’ of the Year!”, “Got some fresh stuff today! Who is heading up?”, “Bring it on”, “The white stuff is coming!”, “Yippee!!!!”

Carston Oliver at Alta Resort, December 15, 2012. Photo Posted on Facebook by Lee Cohen.

Carston Oliver at Alta Resort, December 15, 2012. Photo by Lee Cohen.

 

 

 

 

 

December is bringing cold temps and more snow than we ever saw last Christmas. Social media photos of skiers blasting through knee-deep plus erupt faster than zits on a teenager. “Snow in the forecast,” is all it takes to rile the natives.

Utah gets snow and Facebook lights up like Disneyland’s Main Street before a parade. Welcome to, as one prosaic poster wrote, Ski Season Foreplay.

Utah’s 14 resorts are now all open for business and one to two feet of snow is expected by Wednesday. Plus, the evening chill is enough to keep the guns cranked. Most of the resorts are touting ‘increased snowmaking’ as their greatest improvements for 2013; a result of the barren slopes of 2012.

Only Deer Valley and Snowbird threw down the gauntlet this past summer, spending millions on perceivable upgrades. I gotta say it’s about time for both of the two new high-speed quad lifts that debut this season.


The “old” Deer Crest lift. Photo courtesy of skilifts.org.

Deer Valley has replaced the excruciatingly slow Deer Crest lift on, you guessed it, Deer Crest. The new “Mountaineer Express” will carry 1200 skiers/hour much to the chagrin I’m sure of ski instructors who often took clients there to kill time. Look for that scenic side ofn the lower mountain to see huge upticks in skier traffic on its eight groomed runs. I’ve had my eye on the line under the lift ever since they opened Deer Crest but I’ve yet to see it open. Maybe now with popularity will come access.

DV invested more than $8 million over the summer (Snow Park Lodge was renovated and the Empire Lodge deck remodeled as well) but it’ll be Snowbird’s upgrade that makes all the difference in the Wasatch this year. The new Doppelmayr High Speed Little Cloud Express will zip riders to Hidden Peak in half the time. I foresee more skier traffice this year for the mere fact that you won’t have to wait an hour in the tram line to get fresh tracks on a powder day anymore (fingers crossed). Ride Peruvian, cruise into Mineral Basin, ride Mineral Express and drop over to LC for sweet laps in the bowl or, if the Tunnel isn’t yet open and you feel like parking in Gad Valley, ride Gadzoom and go straight to LC.

If reports are correct, the new Little Cloud lift is a hit. Skiers claimed it felt like the mountain was empty on the lift’s opening weekend. Now if only, UDOT (Utah Dept. of Transportation) could figure out how to make the drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon feel empty we’d really be in business.


Ba-Bye old Little Cloud!

P.S. The SkiLink proposal to join Canyons and Solitude resorts is still trotting along. Salt Lake County Councilman Michael Jensen and Canyons Resort Managing Director Mike Goar spoke to the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands on December 2, 2012. Many in the ski industry think adding this kind of resort-to-resort access will be a game changer.

1 … 114 115 116 117 118 … 146