Author Archives: Jill Adler

Utah Ski Resorts Pump Cash Into Areas Hoping For Payoff

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Utah Ski Resorts
Utah Ski Resorts

Photo courtesy Vail Resorts

The irony isn’t lost on locals. Four miserable winters (comparatively) and yet Utah ski resorts spent millions on “improvements” this summer, while raising the cost of lift tickets yet again, all in the hopes of attracting more visitors.

Don’t they know by now that we skiers are all about deals? I’d rather have the option of brown-bagging it for a $50 lift ticket than spending $100 because there’s a shiny new lodge or snowmaking equipment that needs to be reimbursed. That said, Utah skiers can expect to see some major alterations to the Wasatch Front landscape this 2015/16 ski season.

Utah Ski Resorts

Photo courtesy Vail Resorts

This was a HUGE year for construction and retooling. You would have been living in a cave in the North Pole not to have heard about the conjoining of Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons into one massive area now named “Park City Mountain” and “Canyons Village at Park City”. The area(s)’ owner, Vail Resorts, plunked down $50 million dollars to transform Park City into “the largest resort in the United States.” Not that anyone would actually want to spend more than half of their day skiing between the resorts (cabriolet, three lifts and two gondolas, with only one intermediate run to be had through it all) just to get from Canyons to PC) but, whatever, there will now be 7,300 skiable acres for one lift ticket or season pass price ($789 and $101, respectively). The folks it’ll suit best are intermediate skiers who start at Park City and want to spend the night at Canyons or ride their zipline. Or perhaps people staying in Park City who want to backcountry ski because you can only do it from Canyons. Think Whistler/Blackcomb not Alta/Bird.

In addition to the Quicksilver Gondola that links the two areas, PCM’s King Con Chair is now a six-pack, The Motherlode lift is now a detachable quad, “Miners Camp” replaces the Snow Hut Lodge- 500 indoor seats (yay!), a large deck and fresher food choices like homemade soups, made-to-order sandwiches and tossed salads- and the Summit House has been remodeled to increase seating; the Red Pine Lodge has a new, upper deck and 250 more indoor seats, and they’ve added snowmaking on two trails in the Iron Mountain area to handle increased skier traffic for Quicksilver Gondola access.

Utah Ski Resorts

Photo courtesy Snowbird Resort

The next big spender was Snowbird Resort with $35 million dollars in capital improvements. Hidden Peak is finally crowned with the Summit Lodge. Guests can dine surrounded by a spectacular, 360-degree-view from 11,000 feet. The two-story glass-enclosed structure replaces the modified port-a-John that housed Snowbird’s elite Ski Patrol. The new 23,000 square foot building will have cafeteria seating for 192 people on the first floor, a private dining room for 180 guests, restrooms, a coffee/pastry shop, a 10,000 square foot deck and a new Ski Patrol headquarters. Patrons of the Cliff Lodge waved good bye to those quirky windowed-showers in 350 guest rooms in the east wings. The remodel includes carpeting, marble counters and tile in the bathrooms, ergonomic mattresses, contemporary furnishings and entertainment systems, energy efficient lighting and upgraded Wi-Fi. No more wire wickets. Following in Alta’s footsteps, RFID has come to the Bird.  The Bird plans to extend the ski season in Peruvian Gulch, Gad Valley and Mineral Basin by adding more snowmaking guns to those areas.

 

Then comes Deer Valley and Solitude. DV officially took ownership of the Big Cottonwood Resort in May 2015 and immediately began ripping out the aged Summit fixed-grip double chairlift. They installed the new, four-person detachable high-speed Summit Express chairlift and added a new ski run from the top of the existing Apex Express chairlift to the bottom terminal of the new, realigned Summit, significantly lessening the current travel time to Honeycomb Canyon. So now you can access Honeycomb without freezing and falling asleep. You’ll still have to ride two lifts to get back to the base of Summit but at least they are now all high speeds. When you’re ready to eat expect that Deer Valley Difference in the remodeled Moonbeam Lodge Restaurant. In fact, DV revamped the menus at all of the resort’s restaurants.

Brighton made the best move of all. They’re celebrating their 80th anniversary by bringing back their extremely popular ‘kids 10 and under ski free’ deal. Smart families will be packing that brown bag and heading up BCC a lot this winter.

Utah’s newest resort, Cherry Peak Resort, is planning for their inaugural season this December. The Northern Utah area 15 miles from Logan features three triple chairlifts, a comprehensive snowmaking infrastructure and a 1.25 mile-long-run. They didn’t have enough snow to open last season so fingers crossed for something better soon. The resort has an impressive three-story day lodge for year-round events.

Feel like having a mountain all to yourself? Rent-a-Resort at Eagle Point, south of Salt Lake City, is available for private rental Tuesday through Thursday, January 5 – April 3.

This Is How We Roll: Ultimate Car Camping

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No more of this stuffing three bodies into a two-man-backpacking tent crap. I was determined to overcome my awful sleeping arrangements from last weekend at the Craggin Classic into a luxury camping experience. I’m not talking “glamping” because that would involve an outside outfitter who cooks and cleans fireside for me but this would be as close as a lay person would get without a trailer.

I had less than a week to plan our excursion. Ryan’s more of a show up and drive (and pay) kind of guy while I’m the cruise director.


The first order of business was to choose a destination. Some place with rock climbing for Sage and me, biking for Ryan, and hiking for all of us. Some place with predictable weather for Labor Day, dog friendly, within a few-hours drive, and lots of land to camp on. Snow Canyon, St. George, Utah.


The Eureka tent didn’t get here in time but that didn’t deter. We rented a huge-ass tent from REI. It cost $40 for the entire weekend. I’m now hooked on tents you can stand in. Even when the rain began to pour and thunder and lightning rumbled all around last night, we were cozy and dry.


We brought a queen-sized air mattress, full-sized pillows, an electric cooler (so nothing would get soggy from melting ice), a Little Red Campfire to ensure nightly s’mores (and s’mOreos) in case we were restricted from having open fires, and a single burner stove for French toast and scrambled eggs with tomatoes. We were gonna roll in style. Chips and salsa, Angus burgers, fresh coffee, bacon! Aside from the perpetual (and annoying) thumping from the Navajo neighbors at the Baker Dam campground, we had the camping weekend I had envisioned. Last night’s freak monsoon at 2 a.m. couldn’t dampen it. The sweltering 90-degree Utah desert heat couldn’t fry it.

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We climbed at Black Rocks because of the crazy abundance of toproping routes of all levels and we hiked in Snow Canyon because I was determined to check out the famous lava caves.

We headed home with a deep sense of satisfaction. To be honest, I didn’t put a lot of planning into this one. Sometimes things come together without a ton of effort. You just have to have the right mindset and, yes, access to the right tent. Thanks, REI!

The Craggin Classic Puts The Rock Back Into Rock Climbing

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I climbed a rock last weekend. Many rocks actually. And so did Sage. I dragged her from her cozy bed at the crisp dawn hour of 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning for the Salt Lake Craggin Classic up Little Cottonwood Canyon. I told her, “You’re climbing this weekend”. The comatose 9 year-old wasn’t happy with me.


I have been rock climbing for years but mostly indoors. Every year, however, I’m a beginner again as I completely stop for skiing in the winter. When I happened to come across the poster for the Craggin’ Classic it was my sole motivator to get back on the rock. The two-day event offered clinics for beginning sport climbers, alpine mountaineering, traditional climbing, rescue and first aid classes for all levels as well as food and community; my kind of weekend.



Craggin’ Day 1

We walked into the Peruvian Lodge at Alta to the sweet smell of grilled bacon and hashbrowns. I was sold at the make-your-own breakfast burrito station and fresh-brewed coffee. The savory curries from the Himalayan Kitchen would come later that night for dinner, after a five-hour excursion. Sage groaned a bit because the bevy of kids I promised never appeared. The kids outdoor climbing clinic was cancelled. I don’t get it. This was the perfect environment for climbing parents. Sign up everyone, drop the kids with an experienced coach to hone their skills and get them outdoors on real rock instead of colored gym holds, while you do your own thing for a few hours. Then you meet back up for dinner and camping. Super civilized. You leave your kids at an all-day rock climbing camp at Momentum, why would you NOT do this for both of you? No one could answer. Sage was one of three kids the whole weekend. I didn’t let that stop us.


After picking up shoes and harnesses from the Camp and Red Chili vendor tents, we broke into our clinic groups then loaded up my car for Big Cottonwood and the easy access Salt Lake Slips near the Dogwood campground. The Craggin Classic is part of a countrywide series of events put on by the American Alpine Club to educate and promote climbing at some of the premier destinations in the U.S. including North Conway, New Hampshire, Devil’s Rock, Wisconsin, and Salt Lake City, Utah. The AAC finds local guides and athletes to usher participants through clinics on Alpinism and Mountaineering, Trad/Multi-Pitch Climbing, and Physical Conditioning and Technique. You won’t get this kind of training in a gym.

After a short hike across the creek and playful banter, the talk turned to safety. We discussed gear, ropes, and suited up for belay lessons. Instantly I made a friend. Nancy was new to Utah and ready to discover the routes of the Wasatch Front. I had recently lost my last climbing buddy to a new boyfriend so here was yet another benie of the Classic.


While we bonded, Joey and Judy took Sage under their wing and taught her to belay. She held me on a 5.5, climbed it herself right after, then as soon as she was down, she rushed over to keeping practicing her belay…on Yasmin, her Monster High doll.




Back at Camp

Five routes and some serious hot temps later we wrapped up and headed back to basecamp (aka the Peruvian). Black Diamond sponsored our “happy hour” with vodka/punch and whiskey/lemonades that more than hit the spot. Eventually, we meandered into the basement room of the Lodge for some climbing slideshows and a raffle. We were famished by the first scoop of Basmati rice. The thumping music started shortly after dinner but we had a tent to erect and wasted limbs to revive. Ryan showed up to join us for the campout only to create one of the worst nights of sleep I can remember this year. Note to self: do not try to sleep three in a two-man tent.


yes, we had the smallest tent in the land.

Day 2

We sent Ryan packing in the morning, Sage joined the Intro to Outdoor Climbing clinic for round two (over at Dogwood this time) and I moved up the Canyon to Reservoir Ridge for Sport Leading Fundamentals. I have lead in the past but I hate it; climbing above the rope is not my cup of tea. The clinic was everything I hoped for- a refresher and confidence builder. The crew from Mountain Education and Development don’t mess around. We all lead two easy routes (5.6) but with a backup toprope system so that there would never be a time where we could fall. And the backup had a backup.


The End

I met Sage back at the Reservoir parking lot. Her ‘coach’ brought her over. She was beaming. “Mom! I did FIVE routes. Two were 5.9s!!” she exclaimed. I came home on Sunday with a renewed sense of outdoor climbing and my very own mini-climber. Getting outside on rock does that to just about anyone who doesn’t fear heights. As we headed home to Park City Sage asked if we could do the Craggin’ Classic again next year. I said sure; and maybe then there will be more kids. “I don’t care,” she said. “I just want to climb.” That’s my girl and that’s the Classic in a nutshell.


The next events in the west will be at Smith Rock in Bend, Oregon this weekend and then over Halloween in Shelf Road, Colo. There’s always room if you feel like road tripping.

This Girl Can Campaign Wages War On Feminine Fear

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There’s a huge discrepancy in the number of men and the number of women in sports. By about two million. After high school millions of women and girls stop exercising. Some studies say that’s because they’re afraid of judgement.

Sport England started the This Girl Can nationwide campaign to crush that fear and get women and girls moving, regardless of shape, size and ability.

Want to see the research? Go Where Women Are, includes up-to-date info exploring the relevant motivations, barriers and triggers to getting more women more active.

 

This Girl Can

The groundbreaking This Girl Can campaign is the first of its kind to feature women who sweat and jiggle. It seeks to tell the real story of women who play sports by using images that are the complete opposite of the idealized and stylized stuff we’re used to seeing.

The campaign doesn’t hold back in trying to encourage women to beat their barriers. “Sweating like a pig, feeling like a fox” and “I kick balls, deal with it” are among the hard-hitting lines used in the campaign to prompt a change in attitudes and help boost women’s confidence.

“Before we began this campaign, we looked very carefully at what women were saying about why they felt sport and exercise was not for them. Some of the issues, like time and cost, were familiar, but one of the strongest themes was a fear of judgement,” said Sport England CEO Jennie Price. “Worries about being judged for being the wrong size, not fit enough and not skilled enough came up time and again. Every single woman I have talked to about this campaign – and that is now hundreds – has identified with this, and it is that fear of not being ‘good enough’ in some way, and the fear that you are the only one who feels like that, that we want to address.”

 

Take a look:

 

For more about This Girl Can, go to www.thisgirlcan.co.uk where you can find out about the women in the campaign, get tips on how to get active and join the national debate. You can also use the hashtag #thisgirlcan to join the conversation on Twitter.

It’s Summer in the Mountains Until The First Flake Flies

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Summer in the Mountains

Summer in the Mountains The snow’s coming. Less than 100 days. The colors are about to turn so it’s your last hurrah to jump in a mountain lake, hike high peaks with the pooch, cycle amid the wildflowers. Don’t think skiing just yet (except to purchase your season pass). Boarding, snowshoeing and sledding, they can wait. There’s still more toe torturing hikes, skin tearing mountainbiking, and even birdwatching to be had.

With Labor Day coming, the resorts are almost ready to cease summer operations but there’s still time.  Here’s the lowdown on activities still available before the winter-season priming begins:

Solitude has extended their summer operations through September 27. Get up Big Cottonwood for mountain biking, hiking, scenic chairlift rides, mountain scooters and disc golf. The Village Adventure Center is open daily through September 7, 2015, then open Friday, Saturday, Sunday only though September 27, 2015. Lift-served gentle singletrack, hiking and scenic rides are offered on the Sunrise chairlift on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through September 13, 2015. After you’ve worked up an appetite, grab pizza or ice cream at the Stone Haus or lunch, dinner and brunch at The Honeycomb Grill, Wednesday through Sunday Brunch.

SSHHH. Snowbasin Resort has some of the best mountain biking in the state for whimpy riders like me. While everyone’s out ripping Twist and Shout at Deer Valley you can take the weekend to play on 26 miles of (relatively) uncrowded single track that connect to 50 miles of additional Forest Service trails. There are also three designated hikers-only trails that lead to the crest of the ridge. Dogs are allowed on the gondola, but not in lodges or anywhere food is being served.  The trails are open through October 4 but the gondola only runs on weekends. Check out Needle Lodge for brunch or lunch, free guided tours, Frisbee Golf on a 9-hole course. Little ones will love the adventure playground, practice bike loop, spider bungee jump, and climbing wall. Strider push bikes are available for rent. There’s also the free outdoor Blues, Brews & BBQ concert series every Sunday with both national and regional artists. Snow cones and dream-worthy fresh fruit-muddled lemonades are served alongside your favorite BBQ items and local Utah craft beers.

One of my favorite things to do in the summer at Alta is brunch at the Alta Lodge then walk it off among the wildflowers in Albion Basin. Bring your climbing gear for excellent routes off the Cecret Lake Trail with gorgeous views of the Wasatch from the shady bolted routes.

Snowbird‘s summer activities are just as extreme as their winter ones. This place is not for wussies. The mountain biking is legitimately black-diamond level whether you ride off of Hidden Peak on Chips Run or take one of the seven miles of singletrack on the lower mountain. The more intermediate-level Big Moutain Trail is closed for construction. More ‘girlish’ proclivities will appreciate the Aerial Tram and Peruvian scenic rides to stunning views and close-up wildlife sightings atop Hidden Peak. Take a walk through the Peruvian tunnel to Mineral Basin and miles of hiking and wildflowers. Little ones can’t ride the Purvian lift but they won’t mind staying on the Plaza for the Alpine Slide, Mountain Coaster, Mountain Flyer seated zipline, and the new Vertical Drop which involves 9 feet of freefall followed by a gradual auto-belay down to the ground, Climbing Wall, Bungee Trampolines and Ropes Course. Children can pan for gemstones in the Wasatch Mining Co. sluice or fish in the Austin Pond (with paid license). Oktoberfest is Saturday and Sunday through October 12 where you can sip over 54 different types of beer including German imports not normally found  in Utah. There’s Lederhosen, yodelers, bratwurst with sauerkraut, face painting and music stages too.

Speaking of music, Deer Valley‘s 2015 summer concert series at the resort’s Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater closes out their season on September 6 with Aloe Blacc brought to you by the Park City Institute’s St. Regis Big Stars, Bright Nights Outdoor Concert Series. Mountain biking lasts a little longer. Summer mountain biking goes to weekends only after Labor Day and shuts down completely on September 20. After hours riding the nearly 70 miles of world-class lift-served single-track, make sure you toast the sunset on the deck of Royal Street Cafe with a blueberry mojito.

Lift-served mountain biking and hiking runs through October 18 at Park City Mountain Resort. The best access is from the Crescent Hi-Speed Quad which will get you to the top of Crescent Ridge in minutes. PayDay Lift will run when Crescent Lift doesn’t. The mountain is open daily for more than 70 miles of trails. For less strenuous but no less heart-pounding adventure you MUST ride Utah’s longest alpine coaster, one of the world’s longest alpine slides (and rowdiest if you take the concrete track instead of the fiberglass ones). The ZipRider Zip Line is a hoot too. Kid-friendly activities include the Spider Slide, Climbing Web, boulders and climbing wall in the Adventure Zone, and the Legacy Launcher trampolines. Little Miners Park’s merry-go-round, airplane ride and mini-train cater to the resort’s youngest guests. You can’t beat the apps and French onion soup at Legends Bar and Grill, located in the resort plaza or the live music on the patio at the Corner Store.

Summer in the MountainsCanyons Village at Park City aka Canyons Resort has the absolutely best biking for freestylers accessed by riding the gondola, then High Meadow and Short Cut chairlifts. The Bike Park includes two skills parks and four skill-level trails with rollers, berms, jumps, steep grades, drops and tight switchbacks. Bikers of all levels can skip the park and ride over 20 miles of cross-country trails throughout the resort. You’ll have until September 27.  For a hefty $50 you can take the best zipline ride in Utah between Lookout Peak and Red Pine Lodge spanning over 2,111 feet. Disc golf is a little cheaper (even free if you have your own discs and a season pass) and so is the fishing and pedal boats in the pond under the Orange Bubble Express. There’s one Saturday concert left for this season September 6 so pack your own picnic and brings the kiddos. They can play mini golf while you relax. The Wednesday afternoon Farmers Markets in the Cabriolet parking lot continues through October 28.

Sundance Resort has their annual Harvest Market September 26. Over 30 local artists and craftsmen as well as several will be selling everything from jewelry and pottery to wooden canoes and lotions. There’s also live Bluegrass/Americana music and an array of delicious Sundance foods all set against the splendorous backdrop of Mt. Timpanogos. On any other summer day you can bike or hike more than 25 miles of trails, get a soothing massage in The Spa at Sundance, or take a hands-on workshop in jewelry making, wheel-thrown pottery, watercolor or oil painting, printmaking, photography and charcoal and pencil drawing in the art barn. At days’s end listen to unsung artists at the Friday night Bluebird Café Singer/Songwriter concert series.

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