Skiing and riding in Park City just got a little cheaper for families. The Epic SchoolKids program from Vail Resorts debuted last season at Canyons and Park City to give kids K through 5th five days of free skiing. Well, the deal is back again but the deadline to register is just days away. You have until May 30 to sign up.
The Epic Schoolkids don’t know how to ski?
No worries if you have never-evers in your brood. Vail has thrown in a free full-day beginner lesson and equipment rentals. “Fostering a love for skiing and snowboarding in kids is a top priority for Vail Resorts,” said Kirsten Lynch, chief marketing officer of Vail Resorts. “It is incredibly important that we continue to find ways to connect kids and families in our local communities and around the state with the mountains and the many benefits of snow sports.”
Eligible Epic SchoolKids simply need to have mom or dad complete the ESK Registration Form and Pass Application (No digital signatures accepted on Pass Application), submit them to epicschoolkidsutah@vailresorts.com– along with a digital copy of the student report card/transcript/school ID from a Utah school or birth certificate, a photo of the student (no sunglasses, hats or others in the photo) and a scanned copy of the parent’s Utah state driver’s license.
Once the required documentation is submitted via email, your child’s pass will be mailed to him/her upon processing.
Oh, and when you send in your application, make sure you add a note that you read about it here on Ski. Play. Live! Would love to get myself on their radar. 🙂
BTW, I was not paid to write this post. I know a great deal when I see one and wanted to share.
I’m not a golfer or a bowler for that matter but I do love knocking pins down once in a while. However, when people mention golf, or me joining them for golf, I’d rather stay home and wash dishes. TopGolf is a game changer. It’s like bowling for golfers. Imagine lanes, wait staff, beer, music, ball return machine, good food, and a computerized score keeper that turns a driving range session into a rowdy match amongst friends where you can play year round.
I was invited to a media sneakpeak of this new sports complex last night and I gotta say, with a price of $25-45/hr including clubs for up to six people it sure beats a night at Jupiter Bowl. Part driving range, part entertainment center, TopGolf is the 25th location for the Texas-based business. Two tiers of driving bays and hours from 9 a.m.- 11 p.m. (1 a.m. on the weekends) provide ample time for you to practice your skills or challenge your best buds.
The 240-yard outfield has dartboard-like targets in the ground the size of small ponds. The closer to the center or “bull’s-eye” you get and the farther out you hit your microchipped balls, the more points you receive. There are also pooltables, shuffleboard, full bar and flatscreens everywhere.The menu rivals any family friendly restaurant in the Valley and includes Dolewhips and house-made donut holes served with syringes of chocolate and Boston cream.
Suddenly, taking a golf swing is more than 20 minutes with a bucket of balls. You bet I’ll be back.
If you visited Park City, Utah, last June you might think the whole town had gone hardcore. Bikers and tech everywhere. That’s because the annual Bike Press Camp rolled into town, making Deer Valley Resort and its world-class trail system ground zero for editors and writers to witness the latest and greatest in 2016 bikes and gear.
What stands out this year is the proliferation of eBikes. There are even ebike magazines on the stands and online now. Just two years ago, motorized-assisted pedaling was more of a novelty for the North American market. Electronic bikes for 2016, however, seem to be far from faddish and coming on strong. These ‘assisted’ bikes are meant to get former riders and occasional riders back in the saddle more regularly and it’s easy to see how that could happen.
The Jarifa Impulse 27R 3.0 by Focus (hardtail, $3899) will instantly blow you away. The pedal-assist bike (no throttle so it’s not considered ‘motorized’) makes a steep climb feel like a flat fire road. You can adjust the power to still get a workout and even without mad “hardcore” bike skills (i.e. no putting your feet down on steep descents) you can rock single track like a champ.
Even pro-cyclists who may have once thumbed their noses at riding a bike with a battery are doing a double take as the technology comes into its own and the price points begin to approach those of a high-end traditional mountain bike.
What To Wear
On the softgoods side, there are some cool new accessories coming out like Sombrio’s Luxe Liner ($90) with lowerback storage, waterproof cellphone pocket and female-specific Formula FX Chamois.
Camelbak’s Women’s Solstice pack from the Lowrider Series has super-comfy curved fleece-edged straps and a bladder that sits low to let your upper back breathe. They’ve integrated a cool little magnetic ‘tube trap’ that automatically secures the drinking tube with just a touch.
Bike Gadgets
Knog(pronounced ‘nog’) introduces several new lighting products including the waterproof Qudos action video light that mounts on your GoPro, DSLR and a tripod. Record your night rides!
Impact dispersion was abuzz at Bike Camp whether it’s for your bum or your head. Take Fabric Technology’s Cell bike seatfor example. It uses cones rather than gel to disperse the pressure; think how running shoes cushion your feet.
Kali Protectives‘ in-mold helmet designs put softer materials against your dome for comfort, while using Bumper Fit technology to reduce the impact (and rotational forces) on the brain whether it takes little hits (i.e. those at slower speeds) or big ones. Their top-end road helmet can actually reduce your impact by 25 percent. Even with all of these vents, the Maraka XC off-road helmet is reinforced for ultimate protection.
Smith, too, uses venting to the max. Fifty-four “holes” in the new Forefront mtb helmet, 40 in the Overtake (41 if you include the new “ponytail port”).
There was so much to see and feel at last summer’s Bike Press Camp but it was just a nibble of the delights that will rally you bikers this season. Maybe, just maybe I’ll grab one of those ebikes and pedal harder and faster than ever. Happy Trails!
You might need to check the weather forecast but hopefully by June the torrential rains will subside in Utah so we can play on National Trails Day. The American Hiking Society has dubbed June 4, 2016, the day when hundreds of thousands of individuals all across the country will converge at parks, forests, and trails to experience the great outdoors.
Each year for the past 24 years, American Hiking Society, along with local outdoors clubs, businesses, conservation organizations, and parks have invited the public to attend special trail events on National Trails Day. Activities include hikes, bike rides, trail runs, horseback rides, paddle trips, and kid-specific activities while other events offer stewardship projects including trail maintenance, habitat restoration, and park cleanups.
There will be a few locations in Utah participating on June 4 but these ones use National Trails Day as an opportunity for service projects. If you don’t mind giving back by weeding or placing trail signs then start your day in the Cottonwoods or Wasatch Mountain State Park in Midway, Utah. Click here for details.
The events are free, family-friendly, and provide excellent introductions to anyone looking to honor our American trail systems. You can also use June 4 as a time to find other adventure seekers in your hood.
Parks, clubs, and other organizations can still register their June 4 events for free at AmericanHiking.org for inclusion in a publicly searchable database. “Registering an event makes it easy for the public to find nearby activities matching their specific interests,” according to American Hiking Society President Gregory Miller.
It was a family affair. My brother Joey was taking his family to Palm Desert – 30 minutes southeast of Palm Springs- in the Coachella Valley, Calif., to sit in on some timeshare chat at the Westin Desert Willows. For $350, he’d get four nights’ lodging and Starwood points. My mom already has Starwood timeshare weeks so she booked herself and Dad into a neighboring two-bedroom unit at the Willows and invited us to join in the fun. The temps in Utah were hovering around 40; it was 90 in Palm Springs so we grabbed the swimsuits with pleasure.
Off to the California desert we trucked. We pitstopped about six hours into the drive, sleeping at the Virgin River Casino in Mesquite, Nev. For $27, we bedded down in a clean, pet-friendly double-queen, QUIET room, slept soundly and got back on the road at 10 a.m. after recording a quick audition. There’s a web series casting in Utah and even on vacation I still want the work.
We stopped for an over-priced but satisfying breakfast at Webster’s Sports Bar that cost us an extra hour of drivetime because of the slow -yet warm, friendly service- but it beats eating eggs in a smoky casino.
We rolled into the Westin at 4 p.m., dropped off the luggage, said hello to my parents and dove in the pool. A total of 10 hours spent in the Cherokee.
By 6 p.m., we were dressing to visit my Mom’s long-time friend Sandy who had purchased a gorgeous golf-estate so she could transition out of Beverly Hills.
Dinner was at Ruth Chris. I’m not particularly psyched on dining at chains when on vacation but it was one of the few places happy to accommodate a party of 11.
Night came and although I was exhausted, the Harley like rumble of the AC was ridiculously annoying.
DAY 1
Our first official day in Palm Desert started with audition taping. Both Sage and I had clips dues before noon and boy was Sage angry. All she wanted to do was play in the pool with Cousin Tess and here she was working. Tough. I cut her loose at 10 a.m. finished my own project with Ryan’s help and met my brother and his family at the pool for lunch and cocktails.
The $10 margaritas dropped to $5 at 4 p.m. so we stayed till then, had a drink and went back to the room to shower and change for take and bake pizza and salad from Wal-Mart. I love staying at places with kitchens. Dining out is fun and tasty but it’s such a production. Much better to hang back with everyone and cook a few nights.
After dinner Ryan and I snuck away to check out the weekly Villagefest in downtown Palm Springs. Every Thursday night vendors, artists, entertainers, and produce growers set up booths along Palm Canyon Drive. It’s like Park City’s Sunday Silly Market except it’s only open from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. We finished the night with blueberry mojitos on the patio of the Hyatt Palm Springs while listening to a couple of talented performers sing and dance to current covers.
Day 2
Aunt Stacey took the girls (Sarah, Tess and Sage) to get manicures and a movie (Jungle Book), Mom shopped for Passover dinner and Joey, Ryan and I checked out the Palm Springs Tramway. Built in 1963 the two-car scenic adventure charges $25 to whisk locals and tourists 8500 feet out of the desert heat for an afternoon in the mountains with 500 miles of hiking around Mt San Jacinto State Park. It took helicopters some 23,000 missions over two years to create the five towers and the 35,000 sq. ft. Mountain Station. Engineers labeled it the “Eighth Wonder of the World.”
Gotta say the rotating floor made this way cooler than the Snowbird Tram.
We hiked a leisurely 4-mile loop, passing snowy swatches at the upper- most tiers, exchanging nods with several international foreigners with walking sticks. The 60-degree temperature was a cool relief to the 90-degree valley below.
We stopped at Great Shakes in Palm Springs on the way home because of a craving and Yelp reviews. Thanks, my Peeps, you didn’t steer my wrong. Thick mint Oreo shake with a mini donut circling the straw. As Vincent Vega said, “I don’t know if it’s worth $5 but it’s pretty fucking good.”
We were back in time to shower before the family Passover dinner courtesy of Gelson’s deli counter. We chilled, drank wine, dined on matzoh ball soup and brisket and bonded over James Lipton’s ten questions. It’s weird for me to travel long distances only to chill. I guess I’m not a good vacationer. I like to get out and do as much as possible and see as much as I can in whatever time I’ve got. This crowd is a poolside, lounge chair, sipping-adult-beverages crew. Working office jobs puts you in that mindset I guess.
Day 3
Still not sleeping well. Damn air conditioner. The mattress, linens and pillows facilitate the dreamstate but that god-awful sound takes a machete to all that. Ear plugs on my next trip. I scrounged up the energy for a power shower and we all met at the tiny El Paseo Grill. The breakfast menu isn’t extensive at the counter-service café but the scramble with cheese, tomatoes, broccoli, and grilled breakfast potatoes did the trick.
We said our good-byes to Uncle Joey, Aunt Stacey, Cousin Tessa and Sarah and drove to the Desert Hills Outlet Mall for one of the most intense shopping experiences I’ve ever seen. Nothing beats a sale on the sale stuff and there are 180 stores to choose from! Not to mention the selection in California beats the fashion sense in Utah.
Six hours later, we headed to Las Consuelas Terraza in Palm Springs for beef fajitas with my parents. The place has an authentic feel with the delicate sounds of live Mariachi music floating through the large, enclosed courtyard but we moved inside to the darkly lit, tiled dining hall to avoid the evening heat. The fresh chips and salsa and margs were a satisfying start after a long day without lunch but I was a bit disappointed with the rest- a handful of squash nuggets, one broccoli bit and palm-sized pile of beef strips.
We drove the 20 minutes back to the Westin, fat and tired. A late night challenge match on the tennis court – Sage and me against Ryan took us up to 10 p.m. and lights out- literally, the court went black.
Time for another night I knew would be rough. And that was that. We were leaving in the morning. Sad to leave the sun and warmth of family but soon I would be back in my own bed. Back to the cold temps, the fresh snow and pines instead of palms, and a good night’s sleep.
