Don't put away your winter clothes just yet! Ski season in a number of western states has been extended due to continuing snowfall. If you want to fit in some time on the slopes before the fresh powder melts away for good, mark your calendars and check out these end-of-season deals.
Ready to get your Gruv on? Come spring 2010, residents and tourists of Park City, Utah can participate in The Canyon’s third annual, Spring Gruv. For 10 days, participants can, "[c]elebrate. Compete. Watch. Ski. Ride. Gruv."
Enjoy free concerts from performers like The Wailers, the Soul Survivors, American Hitmen, One Lone Car, and Better Than Ezra.
Or brave the Pond Skimming Contest by dressing up in a crazy costume and "skimming" across a freezing pond on skis. Try your hand at another contest? How about the Canis Lupus Challenge, "a 1/2 mile-long gulley that serves up banked walls, turn after turn and whoop-de-doos that will throw you off track if you are not prepared." Other past events have included 80’s Day and Red Bull 1976 Games.
The Canyon’s Spring Gruv runs from March 26-April 4, 2010, if you are planning to vacation in Park City look at saving money by booking a Park City vacation rental.
Perfect for the whole family, The Hunt is a Park City scavenger hunt covering the whole mountain and raffle that helps raise money for those in need. This February, sponsors and fundraisers helped raise over $150,000 in scholarships and financial grants that was given to families who cannot afford certain academic opportunities.
Park City Mountain Resort, Ski Utah, JANS, Deer Valley Lodging, and Coca-Cola were among the myriad of sponsors who participated this year, along with over 100 people who raced in The Hunt. The top three teams finished in just over two hours.
Come February 6, 2010, the Hunt will occur at the Park City Mountain Resort from 8:30am-2pm. All ages are encouraged to participate- race around the mountain; find clues; and even win prizes! Past prizes have included season passes to Park City Mountain Resort, snowboards, goggles, helmets, lift tickets, and more. Visit Park City, bring the family and take part in this exciting all mountain scavenger hunt. Be apart of a new tradition, today! For local places to stay while visiting, please see Park City vacation rentals.
Photo Credit: atp_tyreseus
Today marks the fifth day of this year's Sundance Film Festival, and the Park City celebrities are nearly at full peak. This year, the series of movies and events are running from January 21st-31st, with after parties and activities to continue for an undecided amount of time. The A-listers are expected to show up towards the end of the ten day festival (as is standard procedure), but already, familiar faces are gracing the cinemas and are among the first to view the new independent films of 2010.
Beginning January 29th, 2010, the International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race will follow 20 "mushers" for eight days as they journey from Wyoming to Utah, finishing in Park City on February 6, 2010. Contestants, who have come from a variety of states, including Wyoming, Minnesota, Michigan, Colorado, and Ohio, will stay in a different community each night of the race.
There, communities will have the chance to offer their hospitality and host a myriad of festivities, ranging from pancake feeds and dog parades to banquets, carnivals, and snowshoe softball. Last year, fifteen-year-old Krista Halsnes from Steamboat Springs, CO was the "youngest musher" to have the fastest time in the race.
The International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race was founded in 1996 by Frank Teasley, whose goal was to make dog sled racing more "accessible to the public." Today, it is the largest dog sled race in the lower 48 states.
Whether you love movies or enjoy trying new things, the Sundance Film Festival is worth checking out. Located in Park City, Utah, the Festival runs from January 21-31, 2010. Here, guests of all ages are encouraged to participate—from watching films to volunteering to giving money to even working at the Festival. Whatever you choose to do, you’re sure to return to the Sundance Film Festival year after year.
For moviegoers, 200 dramatic, documentary, and short films are selected from over 9,000 submissions to be screened—by you. With either a festival pass, which allows you to screen films without pre-selecting tickets, or a ticket pass, which requires you to select tickets prior to viewing, you’ll be able to satisfy your thirst for movies in no time. Along with numerous ticket packages, including the Express Pass, Adrenaline Pass, Awards Weekend pass and Film School Pass, the Festival offers a unique opportunity for students as well. Here, students can screen movies that have been carefully selected for their age group; past movies have included Napoleon Dynamite, March of the Penguins and An Inconvenient Truth.
Photo Credit: ckelly
There isn't a more gorgeous place to spend the first moments of the upcoming year than with a Park City New Years. This stunning ski-geared town has the charm of an old world community, but with an adorable modern and trendy environment. Travelers find that booking their ski vacations and new years plans around this spot makes for an unforgettable start to another great year.
Planning for your Park City New Years is the first step towards making it happen. With a few simple steps and a little thought, your winter dream vacation will be right in front of you. The first and most important thing to remember when planning a trip is that all parties involved will want to do something different. That means if you are traveling with a group of people, or even a large family, assign groups of two or more so that everyone can do the things that they please, and everyone can still stick together for memories and of course, safety.
Looking for a new wintry tradition? Deer Valley’s annual Torchlight Parade in Park City, Utah is the perfect event for the entire family. Watch from the deck of Snow Park Lodge as the parade journeys down Big Stick ski run on Bald Eagle Mountain. The admission is free along with complimentary hot apple cider and cookies to keep you and your family warm.
Past parades have included the Resort’s Ski and Snowboard School and in 2005, the Torchlight Parade was featured on the USA Network’s TV special "The Great American Christmas."
Deer Valley Resort, which was "named the [number] [one] ski resort in North America by readers of SKI Magazine…in 2008, 2009 and again in 2010," opened in 1981 and continues to provide quality service, "both on and off the mountain."
The Deer Valley Resort Torchlight Parade is on December 30, 2009 from 6pm-8pm.
Move over Hollywood—Park City’s Deer Valley Celebrity Skifest will dazzle any celeb-o-phile as numerous television, film, and Olympic stars race down Deer Valley Resort’s Birdseye ski run, and all for a good cause. Events will run from December 4th-7th and include a welcome dinner, sponsor breakfast with celebrities and Olympians, Pro-Am training with the Olympians, the CBS celebrity Skifest race, plus more! This “premier network celebrity ski weekend” benefits the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team and the Waterkeeper Alliance, which “defends their communities against anyone who threatens their right to clean water.”
Past celebrities have included Larry David, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Scott Wolf, while past Olympian skiers have included Picabo Street, Phil and Steve Mahre, Deb Armstrong, and Tommy Moe.
The Deer Valley Skifest has been hosted by the Deer Valley Resort for over 16 years and will air on CBS in late December.
Park City's Opening Day makes way for of winter vacationers and local ski fanatics to romp around their over 3,000 acres of snowy bliss. Although the weather conditions were uncertain until recently, the staff at Park City Mountain Resort are proud to maintain their November 21st, 2009 Opening Day. Scheduled to begin as the snow reaches the perfect conditions, Opening Day at Park city could not get any better.
Each year they have a fantastic turn out with plenty of families and individuals that enjoy many different levels of winter leisure sports. Especially great for the kids, Opening Day at Park City is certain to provide entertainment for the whole family, big or small. With Park City Mountain Resort’s Magic Carpet Children’s Learning Center, everyone will stay happy, healthy, and active throughout their stay. If you look forward to skiing at this fun-loving resort each year, the time is now to get in on their incredible deals for season passes because if you wait until Opening Day at Park City it will be too late and you will have to pay their day rate until the change of seasons.
