According to the editors and correspondents at Travel + Leisure, Deer Valley is the best ski resort on the planet.

This week, Travel + Leisure shared a list of their picks for the twenty best ski resorts on the planet. Their picks are all over the globe and include ski resorts in North & South America, Europe, and Asia.

Here are Travel + Leisure’s picks for the twenty best ski resorts in the world:

1. Deer Valley, Utah
2. Verbier, Switzerland
3. Aspen Mountain, Colorado
4. Big Sky Resort, Montana
5. Courchevel, France
6. Stowe, Vermont
7. Niseko, Japan
8. St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria
9. Park City Mountain Resort, Utah
10. Jackson Hole, Wyoming
11. St. Moritz, Switzerland
12. Telluride, Colorado
13. Sun Valley, Idaho
14. Portillo, Chile
15. Mont-Tremblant, Canada
16. Bormio Ski, Italy
17. Cerro Catedral, Argentina
18. Les Deux Alpes, France
19. Kitzbühel, Austria
20. Whistler Blackcomb, Canada

First off, where the hell is Mount Sunapee? All jokes aside, it’s not a terrible list. Deer Valley at number one always makes ski bums and snowboarders (especially snowboarders) roll their eyes, but it makes sense for Travel + Leisure, which is a magazine that targets luxury travelers. The big names make the list, but there are a few omissions. For Utah, I think any of the Cottonwoods’ ski resorts are better than Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort. I feel Stowe’s a bit high, and maybe shouldn’t be on the list in general. Sure, it’s got the history and great terrain, but it’s also got traffic and that East Coast ice. In Europe, not having Zermatt is a bit surprising too.

Click here to read Travel + Leisure’s reasoning behind their picks.

Image Credits: Kitzbühel (Featured Image), Ian Wood (Header Image), Phillip Goldsberry

One of the most hotly contested expansion plans in Utah has been the Snow Park base area at Deer Valley.

This new base village would contain shops, restaurants, hotels, a transit hub, and an underground parking garage. A major part of this new base village is a gondola. The gondola, which would start at Snow Park, would connect to the Park Peak and the base area of Deer Valley’s new expansion.

Park City and Deer Valley were at odds over a few issues, mostly regarding traffic. However, an agreement was made between the two sides last week. Deer Valley will be giving Park City Municipal $15 million, which will go towards transportation and affordable housing. In addition to the new Snow Park base area, Deer Valley has agreed to a reduction of 15-20% of parking spaces compared to what they currently have there. This move, along with the planned increased transit services, would reduce traffic around town. In return, Park City Municipal has given a road vacation to Deer Valley Drive, which will be redesigned. According to Mason County, a road vacation is when “property owners [i.e. Deer Valley] can have the public’s interest in road rights of way removed.” This agreement will need to be approved by the City Council.

The core of the debate is Deer Valley Drive, which is the road that winds around the Snow Park base area. There are fears that this new road would make it more difficult to get around, and would thus increase traffic.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the road vacation is facing a lot of resistance from locals who live around the proposed village. Bill Newman, who’s the President of Pinnacle HOA, which is situated right next to Deer Valley Drive, believes that this vacation doesn’t abide by Utah state law. At last night’s meeting about the plans, locals continued to voice their disapproval of the plans.

If the road vacation ends up being approved, the Snow Park base village plan will head to the Park City Planning Commission. If approved, Deer Valley aims to do the groundbreaking ceremony next year. The completion of the project would be in 2029 or 2030.

Image Credits: Deer Valley Resort

Last ski season ended with a bang in the Western United States, as numerous ski resorts broke their all-time snowfall records. While people were focusing on water sports, golf, mountain biking, and pickleball, the ski industry news cycle didn’t exactly slow down. New lifts were built, terrain expansions were sculpted, and many unexpected happenings occurred.

Here are the biggest news stories from this past summer:

Jackson Hole Sold To Locals: After 31 years of ownership, the Kemmerer family announced in August that they are selling Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR). The new owners will be Board Members Eric Macy and Mike Corbat, their families, and a small group of co-investors. The sale is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Smugglers’ Notch & Stowe Trying To Add Interconnect Gondola: Back in early June, the Northeast ski industry was shocked to hear that Stowe, which is owned by Vail Resorts, and Smugglers’ Notch, which is independently owned, have been working for years on an interconnect gondola. Smuggs’ is leading these efforts, stating that their survival as an independent ski resort depends on this project. These efforts are facing resistance from locals and have an uphill battle with the State of Vermont.

Deer Valley Announces Huge Expansion: Over the past couple of years, construction has gone swiftly at a new Utah ski resort that’s located next to Deer Valley. People wondered who would operate this ski resort, with a consistent headline over the past couple of years being that Deer Valley would run the ski resort. In August, it was confirmed that Alterra, which owns Deer Valley Resort, will run the ski operations. This expansion will make Deer Valley one of the biggest ski resorts in North America.

Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) Chooses Gondola For Little Cottonwood Canyon: It’s no secret that Little Cottonwood Canyon struggles with traffic issues, especially on powder days. For the past couple of years, UDOT has had a public engagement process to determine how they can fix this issue. Despite immense public opposition, UDOT’s pick was a gondola that would connect to Alta & Snowbird. Next up in the process is the approval of needed funds by the Utah State Legislature.

Backcountry Ski Resort In Colorado Closes For Good: Opening back in 2020, Bluebird Backcountry was an experiment to see if skiers would pay to explore a controlled skin-to environment. While people did visit, the owners weren’t able to make it financially sustainable. They announced in July that they were closing for good. Most of the gear at Bluebird was sold at an auction in September, likely sealing its fate.

Netflix’s Reed Hastings Becomes Majority Owner of Powder Mountain: For years, a few guys from Silicon Valley tried to build a utopia atop Powder Mountain in Utah. It didn’t quite work out. Reed Hastings, who’s the co-founder of that relatively successful streaming service, bought a home at Powder a couple of years ago and fell in love with it. He joined this ownership group in the Spring, with intentions to invest. With Reed officially becoming the majority owner in September, he’s putting a lot of dough into the place. This upcoming winter will see new beginner lifts, the addition of snowmaking, a new expert cat-skiing area, and the creation of cross-country/moon biking trails. With Reed investing $100 million at the resort, more improvements are coming.

Southern Hemisphere Season Recap: Australia had a horrible winter, with a late start, and an early finish. The last mountain that was open, Perisher, closed on Monday. It was one of Australia’s warmest winters ever, in what could be an eerie sign of things to come.

New Zealand had a slow start, then had some snowier days later in the season. The big winner was Mt. Ruapehu, which saw some significant snowstorms. Unfortunately, this great season came after they entered voluntary administration, and it will be sold in the near future.

Over in South America, they’ve had a fantastic second half of ski season. After a slow start, the Argentinian and Chilean ski resorts have had an all-time past month, with significant snowfall. Portillo even hailed this winter as its best in years.

What do you think the biggest ski industry story of the summer was? What’s your bold prediction for the rest of the year? Let us know in the comments sections of our socials.

Image Credits: Alterra Mountain Company (Featured Image), Jackson Hole (Header Image), Google Earth, Gondola Works, Bluebird Backcountry, Powder Mountain, Portillo, Cardrona

The Alterra Mountain Company’s portfolio continues to grow. After finalizing the acquisition of Schweitzer this week, Deer Valley will be more than doubling its size.

Today, the Alterra Mountain Company announced that they will operate the new ski resort and village next to Deer Valley that’s been in development over the past couple of years. You may recognize this as the Mayflower Resort, which has been coined as America’s newest ski resort for quite some time. This means that rather than becoming a new ski resort, it will become a huge terrain expansion for Deer Valley.

It also means that snowboarders will not be allowed in these new terrain pods. Deer Valley doesn’t allow snowboarders at their resort, and this policy will remain the same.

We also got a projected opening date of the expansion: The 25-26 season, which is different from what they previously announced would possibly be the 2024-25 ski season.

Click here for more information about the expansion, and the official press release is below.

Alterra Mountain Company Announces Major Expansion of Deer Valley Resort

Utah resort will double its skiable terrain while adding premier hospitality via a new village and portal.

DENVER, CO, August 24, 2023 – Alterra Mountain Company, the world’s premier mountain operating company, has announced a major terrain expansion of Deer Valley Resort that will add 3,700 acres of terrain to its world-renowned, ski-only destination located in the Wasatch Mountains in Park City, Utah.  In addition, the development of a new village and portal will dramatically improve access to the resort while adding world-class lodging, dining, and retail amenities in partnership with Extell Development Company.

The expansion will more than double Deer Valley’s skiable terrain, adding 16 new lifts and a new 10-passenger gondola, affirming the resort’s commitment to delivering exceptional guest services and a ski-only experience with limited daily skier counts. The diverse terrain will also be supported by a new cutting-edge snowmaking system and feature precise snow grooming that adheres to Deer Valley’s existing standards. The last time Deer Valley saw a significant terrain expansion was for the 2007/2008 winter season, with the addition of 200 acres of skiing on Lady Morgan Mountain.

The complete project will unfold over the next three seasons, with a significant portion of the new lifts and trails set to open as early as the 25/26 winter season. When completed, Deer Valley will offer 5,726 acres of ski-only terrain spread across 10 mountains.

The Deer Valley investment is in addition to the $500 million capital program announced by Alterra earlier this year to enhance the guest and employee experience across its portfolio of 17 destinations.

“Alterra Mountain Company is committed to investing in large-scale projects that will deliver differentiated experiences in incredible places and this project is exactly that,” said Jared Smith, President & CEO, Alterra Mountain Company. “Deer Valley has long been a world-renowned resort and this project will offer guests more of what it has always been known for – legendary service, an exceptional ski-only experience, and industry-leading culinary offerings.”

The resort’s new terrain and village will be entered directly from a new portal via U.S. Route 40, creating a major eastern portal that adds convenient access to the resort from nearly every direction.

Envisioned in partnership with renowned luxury real estate developer Extell, the village and portal will feature over 1,200 new parking spots, and a new skier services facility offering additional premium ski school, equipment rentals, retail, and food and beverage amenities.

“Deer Valley Resort is known across the globe for its unique approach to first-class service. We are committed to building on their well-respected reputation and legacy by attracting some of the world’s best brands, in addition to elevating the living experience by creating luxury residences with exquisite architecture and design,” said Gary Barnett, Founder & Chairman, Extell Development Company. “This partnership with Deer Valley brings together two of the very best in the business of real estate, service and hospitality, and we look forward to working with them to create what will be the crown jewel of Utah.”

In addition to the ski-specific amenities, the new village is slated to have over 800 hotel rooms across multiple properties, nearly 1,700 residential units, 250,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, and 68,000 square feet for recreation center. In addition, the multi-faceted development is expected to create approximately 2,000 new Deer Valley job opportunities.

“Deer Valley Resort is committed to building upon our legacy as one of the world’s most exceptional ski areas while staying true to our founding principles created over four-decades ago,” said Todd Bennett, President & COO, Deer Valley Resort. “This expansion will facilitate even better access to the resort for our guests, while offering a substantial increase in world-class amenities consistent with the resort’s original vision.”

A photo gallery of the expanded terrain is available for download here.   Additional assets, timelines, and updates on Deer Valley’s future are available at https://expandedexcellence.deervalley.com.

About Alterra Mountain Company
Alterra Mountain Company is a family of 17 iconic year-round resorts, the world’s largest heli-skiing operation, and Ikon Pass – the premier ski and snowboard season pass offering access to more than 50 iconic mountain destinations around the world. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado and born out of a shared love of the mountains and adventure, the company has brought together some of the world’s most aspirational brands, including: Steamboat and Winter Park in Colorado; Palisades Tahoe, Mammoth Mountain, June Mountain, Big Bear Mountain Resort and Snow Valley in California; Stratton Mountain and Sugarbush Resort in Vermont; Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia; Tremblant in Quebec and Blue Mountain in Ontario, Canada; Crystal Mountain in Washington; Schweitzer in Idaho; Deer Valley Resort and Solitude Mountain Resort in Utah; and CMH Heli-Skiing & Summer Adventures in British Columbia. Also included in the portfolio is Alpine Aerotech, a worldwide helicopter support and maintenance service center in British Columbia, Canada, Aspenware, the ski industry leader in technology services and e-commerce, and Ski Butlers, the global leader in ski and snowboard rental delivery. For more information, please visit www.alterramtnco.com.

About Deer Valley Resort
Deer Valley Resort, located in Park City, Utah, revolutionized the ski industry by providing the first-class service one would receive at a five-star hotel. The ski-only resort offers 21 chairlifts, 103 ski runs, six bowls, 300 annual inches of powder, 2,026 acres of alpine skiing, limited lift ticket sales, numerous restaurants, three elegant day lodges, hundreds of luxury accommodations and a renowned Ski School and Children’s Center. Deer Valley is honored to be ranked as the United States’ Best Ski Resort by the World Ski Awards for 10 consecutive years.

About Extell Development Company
Founded and headed by Gary Barnett, Extell Development Company is a nationally acclaimed real estate developer of residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, and mixed-use properties, operating primarily in Manhattan and other premier cities across the nation. In collaboration with world-class architects and design professionals, Extell creates properties distinguished by sophisticated design, gracious floor plans and first-class amenities. Having pioneered development on Manhattan’s Billionaires’ Row, the firm has developed some of the city’s most notable luxury properties including Central Park Tower, the tallest residential building in the world, and One57, the record-breaking glass tower above Park Hyatt’s five-star flagship hotel. Additional completed projects within the portfolio include One Manhattan Square on the Lower East Side; Brooklyn Point in Downtown Brooklyn; The Lofts Pier Village along the New Jersey Shore; The Intercontinental Hotel and Residences in Boston, MA; 175 West Jackson Street in Chicago, IL; The Four Seasons Resort and Residences Vail in Vail, CO; and The Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas in Dallas, TX. For more information, please visit www.extell.com.

Image Credits: Deer Valley Resort/Alterra Mountain Company

The statistics from Utah’s 2022-23 ski season were incredible. Thirteen of the fifteen ski resorts in the state broke their all-time snowfall records, two-thirds of them had their longest seasons ever, and there were 44 powder days (snowfall of a foot or more). The biggest winner of the season was Alta, which received 903″ of snowfall. A recent snow measurement of Devil’s Castle from the Utah Avalanche Center found that the upper reaches of Alta still have a snow depth of over eight feet.

Yesterday, Ski Utah released a breathtaking season recap. The video from Ski Utah features a variety of statistics, a meteorological summary from Craig Gordon of the Utah Avalanche Center, and lots of powder skiing. The footage from Ski Utah is below.

Image/Video Credits: Ski Utah

Featured in the 2002 Olympics, the Champion run at Deer Valley Resort in Utah has become known as one of the world’s most challenging mogul runs. The course, which has a length of 827 feet and a pitch of 28 degrees, is also part of the World Cup circuit each year.

A couple of weeks ago, freestyle skier Ben Cavet shared a video of a run he made on Deer Valley’s course. He’s had past success on Champion, as he finished 2nd at the World Cup event there in 2021. The video of his run is down below and click here to read more about the preparation process to mold the course on Champion.

Image/Video Credits: Ben Cavet, Deer Valley Resort

For years, Deer Valley Resort has wanted to transform its modestly sized Snow Park base area into a large base village. The Utah ski resort has had development rights for the parking lots around the base area since the 1970s and has waited for the right moment to build it up. With Utah skier visits currently breaking records year after year, Deer Valley believes that the time is now.

The development would add new accommodations, a large skier beach, and more food and après options. Two new lifts would be added: a gondola would replace the Silver Lake Express, and the Carpenter Express could be replaced by a six-pack chairlift. An underground paid parking garage will replace the current outside parking spaces. In addition, a new transportation and mobility hub at Snow Park will provide a simpler experience for guests when they arrive at the mountain.

According to the Park Record, not all locals are stoked with these plans. A large number of individuals showed up to a City Council meeting to speak out against it. Park City struggles mightily against traffic, and locals that live around Deer Valley fear this new village would add to these issues during and after construction. Deer Valley argues that the project incentivizes guests to use public transport due to the planned mobility hub.

There was also a variety of business leaders that spoke in favor of the plan. Nathan Rafferty, who is the President and CEO of Ski Utah, explained in the meeting why he believes this would be a great development:

“The brand that Deer Valley has built over the last four decades did not happen by accident. The Deer Valley difference was born from thoughtful and deliberate planning and execution. I know Deer Valley planners have put that same thoughtfulness into the proposed Snow Park improvements.” 

Jennifer Wesselhoff, who is the President and CEO of the Park City Chamber/Bureau, described why the Snow Park development would :

“We must keep ourselves as a first-class choice destination. We have to constantly improve our product and that’s precisely what this project does. In an extremely competitive travel and tourism environment we cannot afford to miss opportunities like this…Make no mistake — success for Deer Valley means success for Park City and all of our community.”

You can read more about Deer Valley’s Snow Park plan here. More discussions are planned between Deer Valley, the mayor, a couple of the City Council members, and pivotal City Hall staffers in the coming weeks.

Image Credits: Deer Valley Resort, Ian Wood

Deer Valley Resort just concluded its best season ever. Over the course of the 2022-23 season, the Utah ski resort accumulated 606 inches of snowfall, which broke their previous record of 484″, which was set in the 2016-17 season. While they originally anticipated closing day to be April 16th, they decided to extend the season to April 23rd. For the final portion of the season, they had the Bald Eagle and Bald Mountain terrain pods open for guests.

During the season, they introduced a reimagined beginner experience with the new Burns Express chairlift. The chairlift has automatically lowering restraints and provides easier access to Little Baldy Peak for beginners. They also extended the Snowflake chairlift and regraded the Wide West and Gnat’s Eye trails.

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There are a lot of interesting storylines for this offseason over at Deer Valley. They’re continuing to work with the Park City Planning Commission and local residents regarding their Snow Park base area redevelopment plan, which will include new hotels, condominiums, dining, après, an extended ski beach, a transportation/mobility hub, and more parking spaces than what they have right now. Talks continue with Extell regarding whether they’ll operate the new Mayflower ski resort, which is set to open during the 2024-25 season.

They’re also working on building a new large employee housing facility. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, this would be around the Prospector-Iron Horse area in Park City and could open in 2026.

In terms of this summer, they’ll have their mountain biking trails open on June 16th, which have become known as one of the best networks in the state. They’ll also have a variety of concerts this summer, including the Beach Boys and Kenny Loggins. Congrats to Deer Valley for an incredible 2022-23 season!

Image/Video Credits: Deer Valley Resort

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Despite several Utah ski areas getting slammed with snow dump after snow dump and road closure after road closure, we’re already in April, and that means it’s time to start thinking about closing dates throughout the state. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, despite a record deep year for several resorts, closing dates are already set, and some of them are creeping up much faster than we’d like to think.

It’s possible that some of these dates will change as the weather warms up a bit (or doesn’t, we’ll see), but we’ll be sure to update you if any of that happens. So, without further ado, here are the closing dates for Utah’s many ski resorts, according to Ski Utah:

Eagle Point: Closed on April 2, 2023

Sundance Mountain Resort: April 8, 2023

Beaver Mountain: April 9, 2023

Nordic Valley: April 9, 2023

Cherry Peak: April 15, 2023

Brian Head: April 16, 2023

Powder Mountain: April 16, 2023

Alta: April 23, 2023

Deer Valley Resort: April 23, 2023

Park City Mountain: April 23, 2023

Snowbasin: April 23, 2023

Woodward Park City: April 30, 2023

Brighton Resort: April 30, 2023 (Milly Lift set to reopen on May 5, continuing to run until May 29)

Solitude Mountain: May 21, 2023 (longest season ever!)

Snowbird: Closes on weekdays on May 14, 2024, open Friday-Sunday until at least May 31

Featured Image Credit: Park City Mountain via Facebook