Author Archives: Jill Adler

Ask Jill: Which Park City Resort?

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Hi Jill,

My family and I will be coming to Park City in a couple of weeks. Any tips on where to stay? I have 3 kids so need a two- bedroom that we can walk to the slopes from. My kids are 10,9,4 years and are starting out. The older boys have skied but will need lessons and I will take them out in the afternoons. My daughter ( 4 years) will be on skis for the first time. I need black slopes with moguls ideally. Where should we stay and ski. I know you work at Canyons; my wife would like Deer Valley. I was planning PCMR. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Ajit

LOL. The good news is that the three resorts are close enough that you can try them all! I’d say for beginning kids you would want- and need- to start at Park City Mountain Resort. Deer Valley has a great ski school but the green terrain is limited. You’re either on the lower bunny hill (Wide West) or skiing a cattrack/road. DV is known for intermediate groomed skiing and killer food. Canyons is basically the same- a flat hill with a magic carpet, one beginner chair/hill (with one wide run) and then a HUGE transition to the next level; which means your kids will spend a ton of time on High Meadow before they’ll see any of the rest of the mountain. PCMR rocks for beginners. Tons of greens all over the mountain and their kids instructors are there because they like teaching kids rather than because it’s their first year in America.

Ski school group lessons run about $200+/day per kid. I’d recommend getting a private instructor the first day for all three. Have the instructor get the boys going and while they’re doing laps, the teacher can work with the four- year-old individually and show you how to ski with her so you can take her out for a bit each day and save $$. After the first day, do a group lesson and don’t be afraid to split the kids up. Often one will learn faster than the other. They’ll do better if they are with kids their own level. It’s cheaper than a half-day private to sign them up for a group lesson and arrange to meet them at lunch or after if you want to ski with them.


I would recommend two or three days at PCMR and then surprise your wife with her DV day. Make reservations for lunch at Royal Street at Silver Lake Lodge. It’s basically the same food and prices as their cafeteria next-door but without the desperate plea for a table and the long wait in line for a burger. You have to get the homemade ice cream sandwich for dessert!

The best black diamonds are at Canyons- steeps, long vertical, easy access. They do have bump runs but the best moguls seem to pile up at PCMR. After you’ve beat up your knees, you’ll love that DV break. If you do go to Canyons, take an Advanced Mountain Experience ($184). It’s an all-day group of no more than 4 skiers that’s more like a steeps clinic than a lesson and it often winds up as a private for expert skiers because, well, there aren’t that many experts who sign up (even though they should). It’s a great, inexpensive way to learn the ins and outs of the mountain while getting pointers that up your game. Plus, if you hate skiing alone like me it’s an awesome option.

As far as lodging, DV has the biggest selection of slopeside condos. Even if you stay at Canyons you’ll still be trudging through the Plaza in ski boots. There are some cool accommodations on the north side of PCMR at Silver Star. Check with Resorts West, VRBO and Flipkey to see what’s out there.

Let me know if I can help with anything else!

Deer Valley Aims For The World(s)

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Photos by Jill Adler


Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, is making a bid for the FIS Freestyle Skiing World Championships. The posh resort hosted the Championships in 2003 and 2011, and, if they get the 2019 event, they’ll earn the bragging right of being the venue of choice every eight years.

“I think it’d be huge,” Deer Valley president and general manager Bob Wheaton told the Park Record newspaper. “So far we’ve done World Cups every year, the 2002 Olympics, the 2003 and 2011 World Championships – the support is town-wide. It’s the atmosphere that everybody in town brings to the event.”


In the meantime, DV will walk the talk this March 28-30, 2014, by hosting the 2014 U.S. Freestyle Championships, again. Actually, the Championship moguls and dual moguls were at DV in 2008. Aerials took place at the Utah Olympic Park and the superpipe at Park City Mountain Resort. This year’s event was supposed to be at Heavenly Resort for the second year in a row but the dearth of snow in the Tahoe region prompted the move to Utah.

Two-time Olympians Ashley Caldwell (aerials) and Pat Deneen (moguls), and 2014 Olympian Bradley Wilson (moguls) are expected to be among those vying for the U.S. title in the final freestyle event of the season.

Deer Valley will make the bid for the World Championships when the FIS (International Ski Federation) meets in Barcelona, Spain, at the end of May.

Vysera Kisses My Ass Goodbye

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It’s weird to have your boyfriend complain about your weight…When you’ve lost it. He says that I dieted my ass off. Literally. He can go to hell. Or better, he can lose weight too then talk to me about it.

I’m super psyched on the skinny me and I’m not about to let him rain on my parade. And I’m sure my butt will look just fine once I get jeans that fit. Seriously, who would have thought I’d have this problem where none of my designer jeans fit right. My True Religions, my James Jeans, even my favorite Joes Jeans. They’re fitting like lounge pants. However, I’ve been afraid to buy anything new. I don’t trust the pounds won’t come back. Sure, three months after my Vysera experiment I’m not only skinny but skinnier. I have lost an additional five pounds. My arms are thinner, I’ve lost five percent body fat, my thighs don’t touch. I’m amazed. But will it last long enough to re-tool the wardrobe? Like Ryan missing my ass, I’m missing my jeans on my ass. On the bright side, Ryan appreciates my leaner tummy.

I didn’t actually need to lose weight. Basic Research in West Valley, Utah, wanted a few test subjects to spend 30 days on a carb-blocking supplement called Vysera and they threw in a personal trainer and a nutritionist. The idea that I could be my college weight again if only for a few weeks was the carrot that spurred the 8-pound drop.

There have been only three times in my life when I weighed nearly 112. In high school I weighed 108. In college, I fed my emotional pain with dorm fries and milk shakes after breaking both my leg and thumb during the ski season, ballooned to 125 and dropped 15 the month after my casts came off. In grad school, I took a job serving cocktails at The Cheesecake Factory in Marina Del Rey (the most awesome job in the world btw) and quit after regularly stuffing on cheesecake and nachos. I was back to 120. A month of weight training later, I was 112. Slowly, though, I moved to the mountains, lived a full life as a ski bum, became a mother; suffered a bout with cancer and chemo and eventually settled in at 123-125 depending on the day. I figured that was my meant-to-be weight. No matter what I ate it hovered there. Ryan would tease that I ‘could stand to lose a few’ because of the infamous baby belly but it didn’t bother me. He was right.

Then came the Vysera challenge. I went to bed starving every night and I went from 125 to 117 in 30 days. The only thing that kept me on the straight and narrow was knowing that in four weeks I’d be back to eating PF Chang’s and Cheesecake Factory. Funny, I’ve only eaten at Chang’s once since December.

The strict diet of fruits, veggies and protein not only overhauled my kitchen but my tastebuds. I’m into ‘portion control’ as well. I get one serving and don’t go back for seconds. I tend to grab an apple instead of a brownie for dessert. Weightloss was inevitable considering I stopped eating pasta, rice, potatoes and McDonald’s. The more impressive aspect is that not only did I keep the weight off but lost four more pounds after the ‘diet’ and the supplement officially ended.

Did the Vysera work or was it all the other stuff? I can’t say for sure. My trainer can. He says that the women he trains who don’t take the pill only lose half of what I did. Not to mention that my diet was right over the freakin Christmas holidays and I still lost weight. Each week I was 2 pounds lighter and leaner. I’d like to think it was the supplement too because it’s depressing to think I had the power to change inside me all these years and was just lazy.

The goal now is to rock the gym and keep everything slim and tight at least until my Disney cruise in May. I’m going to leave the tankini home and wear a bikini. OMG I haven’t done that since Sage was born. Without the Vysera I never would have been inspired to go for it so I guess in a way the twice a day pill DID help me lose weight. If only the project came with money for new jeans. Just saying.

To Rent Or Not To Rent …That is the Ski Question

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Skiers and boarders often make excuses why NOT to rent skis when they go on vacation. You trust yours. The rental shop won’t have the quality or length you expect. You hate standing in line on your first day out. You paid good money for your skis and you want your money’s worth back. But if you plan ahead those reasons are moot.

Call around and you can find your perfect pair at a price that might outweigh the cost of shipping or checking your old sticks. Let’s face it. If you’re hauling around a 10+-year-old pair of skis, go ahead and let the airline lose them. Even this year’s low-end rentals outperform those clunkers.

rent skis

Yeah, $50 a day for demo skis may sound steep – it is! But you can get by with “sport skis” for $30 right? What about $40 a day if it meant your kids’ rentals were free and you got a free lunch? With Rentskis.com you can do just that. At first I thought I wouldn’t write about this. After all, it sounds like I’m advertising for them. But as a ski instructor, I see hundreds of rentals go out every day. Wouldn’t you want to know if you could get some extras thrown in? I would.

Most rental shops let you swap out and try a variety of skis while you rent from them; you can leave them for free overnight storage during your stay; keep them waxed and tuned every day. Rentskis.com sweetens the pot by offering free delivery (no standing in line at 8 a.m.), free kids rentals and $15 lunch vouchers at Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone, and Breckenridge in Colorado; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in Tahoe region; Canyons here in Utah.

The next time you plan that ski vacation make sure you do a bit a of research to see what you’ll save by renting your gear.

Jackson Hole Trip Report

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Jackson Hole delivered. It took a couple of days but it delivered. As a major swell rocked the Rockies and Utah began to go from hardpack to divinely soft, we popped into my Honda for our annual pilgrimage to one of my favorite resorts in the world. The snow is usually better than in Utah and we hoped that the new storm cycle could finally bring on a Jackson powder experience. Even the milk toast cop who pulled us over in Evanston, Wyo., to write us up for speeding couldn’t dampen our excitement. “Where ya headed?” he asked. “Jackson Hole,” we answered as I handed him my insurance and registration. “I love Jackson Hole. It’s one of my favorite places. Drive safe now,” he said as he handed back a speeding ticket. Niiice. It was Sunday night and no one was on the road. He could have written us a warning in his zeal to bond over our mutual Jackson love, right?

We motored on. Even with the light snow and slick roads we made it to Fireside Resort in about 4.5 hours. The stable of reclaimed wood portable cabins is located just 4 miles from Teton Village. The individual one-bedroom units offered a touch of rustic luxury amid the gently falling snow. I was in a Jackson Hole portrait!

We had everything we needed from a medium-firm king bed to the s’mores kit left for us in the kitchenette.

In the summertime, there’s an RV campground in back and the entire place is booked solid. Fireside was an ideal spot to set up ‘glamp’ so to speak. We crashed hard in anticipation of our first Jackson ski day, We woke to 1″ of new. What?!

Lucky for us that one inch was on top of two inches, three inches, an inch, etc. It’s been snowing consistently in Wyoming for the past month and you can tell the difference. The wind, too, has smoothed out potential mogul fields. Needless to say it was a fluffy playground that starts with the long but fast-moving tram line and ends with beers at the Alpenhof. It snowed for three days straight. Although our clothes were drenched it never felt heavy and wet under foot. Just creamy. ‘Like butta’ my guide Karin would say. Ryan took off and hiked Headwall for three laps into the Casper Bowl area while we danced in the trees off Cheyenne Woods and South Colter Ridge. Why hike when everything was sweet inbounds? Even the Hobacks were more inspired than grueling. I almost made it top to bottom without stopping but the burn kicked in. Maybe next year.

We planned to do Headwall the next day but the winds kicked up shutting down Sublette Chair and forcing us to ski between the Bridger Gondola and Thunder Chair. No matter. The day went swiftly from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Ever ski Tower 3 without ski poles in a blizzard? Try it sometime, just to mix things up. The steeps lesson for the day was moving your hips and torso down the fallline without worrying about timing a pole plant. I was nervous at first but not only was it challenging, but fun. We did it again before grabbing the poles for the third round. Jackson Hole is a huge mountain filled with everything an expert skier could demand. And when you want more, ditch the poles.

Though there is a sizeable amount of intermediate groomers, the staggering canyons and cliffs will intimidate newbies.

If you were ever considering a ski lesson (and even if you weren’t), this is the place. There are an unprecedented 16 PSIA DECLs (Division Education Clinic Leaders/ski examiners) on staff. Ski programs don’t get any better than at Jackson Hole.

One apres pitcher later and it was back to the cabin for s’mores, Olympics and showers. The dog was missing us too. By Day Three we were packed and planning to head home at 1 p.m. Four o’clock rolled around and we had just kicked off the ski boots. How could you cut out early when there was more than a foot of new snow on the ground? OMG it was seriously one of the best Jackson ski days in PCSkiGal memory. Rumors swirled of another 10-18″ on the way and Ryan begged to stay another night. If only. Utah awaited. And as we drove through the storm, bodying buzzing and sticky from hard charging all day, we day-dreamed about buying one of those Fireside Wheelhaus units and leaving it right where it was just so we could have a place to come back to every year. I’ve said it (more than) once and I’ll say it again. There’s no place like Jackson Hole.

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