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Utah PCMR

quant

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Finished a week at PCMR, mostly on the Canyons side. Observations:

1) Vail Resorts hit a home run. The place was mobbed on the 24th with long lift lines everywhere except 9990. I cannot remember this kind of crowd before the 26th in any previous year. Four important lifts were closed that day, and are opening now so that should help spread out the skiers and boarders. Thankfully, there were no lift lines today (Christmas). Obviously, it will be very busy for the rest of the week. The hotels on the mountain all seem booked solid.

2) There seem to be a lot of Mid-West tourists skiing west of the Continental Divide for the first time. Lots and lots of locals (including SLC), too. The EPIC Pass is drawing them in. At Heavenly Vail sucks in a good number of Asian tourists. PCMR seems to be the haven for many from the Mid-West.

3) The powder was good and now there is a decent surface almost everywhere on both sides. There is still powder and chop to be had from the last big storm. The Dreamcatcher and Dreamscape lifts opened up but the rope to Dreamcatcher was still up when I was there, and I’m not sure why since it was all untouched powder. What are they waiting for?

4) All the improvements Vail put in seem to be working as intended.

5) Services haven’t declined on the Canyons side, which in recent years were superior to PCMR.

6) There are some lingering issues with integrating to the Vail systems, but they seem to be minor.

7) The chairlift safety bars have the new maps, making things easier for those who don’t know the mountains.

8) Today I rode a chair with SkiLogik Team member Dave Rosen, who was on a BC setup using the Yeti. Another ski I have to try.

9) No new restaurants to report about since the son I traveled with was in the pizza and burger mode for every lunch and dinner.

10) Try not to get stuck on the wrong side of this place when the mountain closes. The shuttle bus works fine, but it still takes some time to get from Canyons Village to the PCMR base (or the other way) due to all the stops. I think you want the "Lime" bus. Most places in the world number their buses. In Park City they use colors, probably to confuse the heck out of the foreigners.
 
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Philpug

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We left just as you got there. I agree Vail is on the right track with the resort but there is sill a dated feel about the place and i am sure that will be addressed over time. Bill Rock who is running the place is a real good guy and knows what he is doing. As far the buses, I didn't notice since we didn't use them but using colors doesn't make sense.
 

Rudi Riet

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Actually, the buses do have route numbers, though the town's transit company prefers the color names.

I agree that Vail is putting some much-needed TLC into the PCMR side of things. The new Miner's Camp lodge is a wonderful facility: open, airy, modern (36 cell phone charging stations!). I was peeved that they weren't charging a lower ticket price when the terrain was scarce (I was there around the same time as @Philpug), but the quality of the product offered was great.

As far as restaurants at the PCMR base are concerned, there hasn't been a ton of change just yet. Many of the places were already in long-term leases with Powdr, and VR honored those leases. And one building in the old base area isn't owned by VR (the one on the town side of the skating rink), so their tenants aren't likely to change anytime soon.

Still, it's a welcome change to a resort that wasn't getting adequate attention from its former owners. And now that I see them opening up more terrain each day, this is a win-win for the locals who love the resort and live off of the tourist trade.
 

Lorenzzo

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Snowbird is only 40 minutes away. Deer Valley 5. And no Vail.

Sorry to break cultural tone but I gotta be real.
 

Lorenzzo

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And Brighton, Solitude and Snowbird are $900-1200 Yes it's a question of personal economics and utility.

I'm just not a Vail fan. If you enjoy their product good for you.
 

Philpug

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What is Skowbasin's pass?
 

4ster

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What is Skowbasin's pass?
Depends what level pass but if you buy early the premier full pass is around $600 & they go down from there. Prices got cut in half about 4 years ago. The place has gone from being the "best kept secret" to being crowded & bumpy just like everywhere else. Large families from Davis county & SLC to the south have made it their home area when they skied elsewhere before. Many had never even been to Snowbasin prior. :( :( The dream is over. :( ;)

Don't get me wrong, still a great mountain just not special anymore. I am grateful to have had the last 15 years to enjoy it at its best.
 
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tromano

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Depends what level pass but if you buy early the premier full pass is around $600 & they go down from there. Prices got cut in half about 4 years ago. The place has gone from being the "best kept secret" to being crowded & bumpy just like everywhere else. Large families from Davis county & SLC to the south have made it their home area when they skied elsewhere before. Many had never even been to Snowbasin prior. :( :( The dream is over. :( ;)

Don't get me wrong, still a great mountain just not special anymore. I am grateful to have had the last 15 years to enjoy it at its best.

I liked it alot better when it was unpopular. ;)

Were you stuck in that 1 hour traffic jam on trappers loop christmas eve?
 

jgiddyup

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I liked it alot better when it was unpopular. ;)

Were you stuck in that 1 hour traffic jam on trappers loop christmas eve?

Wow! Admittedly I've only been there on non holiday Sundays or weekdays, but, i've never been behind more than four or five cars on that road coming or going:(

Last time I was at PCMR/Canyons was a good snow year in 06 or 07 and parking etc... was still easy to come by.
 

Philpug

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Depends what level pass but if you buy early the premier full pass is around $600 & they go down from there. Prices got cut in half about 4 years ago. The place has gone from being the "best kept secret" to being crowded & bumpy just like everywhere else. Large families from Davis county & SLC to the south have made it their home area when they skied elsewhere before. Many had never even been to Snowbasin prior. :( :( The dream is over. :( ;)

Don't get me wrong, still a great mountain just not special anymore. I am grateful to have had the last 15 years to enjoy it at its best.
A take on the old Yogi-ism... "it is just too popular, no one goes there any more." I haven't been to SB in a number of years and now I question how high is it on my priority list to go back. I enjoyed the Canyons side more than PCMR when we were there the past couple of times. Snowbird and Alta are just fantastic in their own rights. I haven't been to Deer Valley in over a decade and should get back there at some point.
 

4ster

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I liked it alot better when it was unpopular. ;)

Were you stuck in that 1 hour traffic jam on trappers loop christmas eve?
I think I managed to miss that one but there where definitely a few days during the storm cycle when getting out of there was a junk show.

A take on the old Yogi-ism... "it is just too popular, no one goes there any more." I haven't been to SB in a number of years and now I question how high is it on my priority list to go back. I enjoyed the Canyons side more than PCMR when we were there the past couple of times. Snowbird and Alta are just fantastic in their own rights. I haven't been to Deer Valley in over a decade and should get back there at some point.

Well, you can't change the topography of a great mountain much & I would say it will always be worth a visit. If you come on a storm day expecting unfettered, endless powder turns, you may be disappointed... even worse the day after. Apparently, this week (black out) has not been too busy. Seems like there is something wrong with that business model???
 
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Lorenzzo

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With PCMR it's fine if you're not there at the wrong time - like the holidays. It's a shtshow right now, I've heard, I haven't gone for obvious reasons. The other thing is if you disperse to the outlying lifts it will never be that crowded. But you have to go through a hub at some point which could cost you 40 minutes of holidays. During Sundance it will be almost deserted.

When I'm there it's genarally with Masters which gets to cut the lines since it is part of ski school. Ha ha. I just got an unsolicited offer on my house that's pretty good. But I don't think anyplace works better for me with my criteria than Park City. A couple of weeks of hassle just isn't that big a price. Even with coming growth, the Cottonwoods are still around the corner.

Some folks who have been longtime residents are looking at migrating to Big Sky. At some point this winter I'll head up to check it out.
 
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Thread Starter
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quant

quant

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A take on the old Yogi-ism... "it is just too popular, no one goes there any more." I haven't been to SB in a number of years and now I question how high is it on my priority list to go back. I enjoyed the Canyons side more than PCMR when we were there the past couple of times. Snowbird and Alta are just fantastic in their own rights. I haven't been to Deer Valley in over a decade and should get back there at some point.

In a couple of years, Deer Valley will have a gondola going into Park City (the town, not PCMR). This will help traffic a little bit. This will also make it easier to ski Deer Valley for tourists staying in town. I cannot imagine Vail going for a combined pass or day tickets for both resorts unless there is a One Wasatch or whatever it is now called. All the resort operators are behind the idea.

If this One Wasatch thing ever comes, the beds in PC will be filled. I wouldn't sell there yet. Big Sky? I'll have to check it out, along with a lot of Canada. There is more bang for the buck in Canada, and the $US will start to devalue at some point.
 
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Jwrags

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For those who are PCMR regulars, I am planning a guys ski trip and have thought about using Park City/Canyons as a home base the first week of February (January 30-Feb 6). That is the week after Sundance so was wondering how the crowds are traditionally. I realize the whole Vail thing may change things but thought I would at least get a historical idea. Any lodging recommendations?
 

Lorenzzo

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For those who are PCMR regulars, I am planning a guys ski trip and have thought about using Park City/Canyons as a home base the first week of February (January 30-Feb 6). That is the week after Sundance so was wondering how the crowds are traditionally. I realize the whole Vail thing may change things but thought I would at least get a historical idea. Any lodging recommendations?
It should be a good time, prior to school vacations and Presidents' Day week. That said… If they run constant ads in Texas prior thereto making it sound as though the best skiing of anyone's life awaits them here… All bets are off. That's what they did prior to the Christmas holidays and I will post something when I have time on what has resulted. Pretty interesting. Vail may have a problem on their hands and it could be a big one.
 

AmyPJ

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It should be a good time, prior to school vacations and Presidents' Day week. That said… If they run constant ads in Texas prior thereto making it sound as though the best skiing of anyone's life awaits them here… All bets are off. That's what they did prior to the Christmas holidays and I will post something when I have time on what has resulted. Pretty interesting. Vail may have a problem on their hands and it could be a big one.
Pretty sure I saw some of those folks who were lured here yesterday when waiting at the baggage claim at SLC. Dude with skis with his wife in tow...wearing a full-length fur.
 

SBrown

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It should be a good time, prior to school vacations and Presidents' Day week. That said… If they run constant ads in Texas prior thereto making it sound as though the best skiing of anyone's life awaits them here… All bets are off. That's what they did prior to the Christmas holidays and I will post something when I have time on what has resulted. Pretty interesting. Vail may have a problem on their hands and it could be a big one.

:popcorn:

Perhaps that will make Wolf Creek and Purgatory (and hell the rest of CO) slightly safer then.
 
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quant

quant

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For those who are PCMR regulars, I am planning a guys ski trip and have thought about using Park City/Canyons as a home base the first week of February (January 30-Feb 6). That is the week after Sundance so was wondering how the crowds are traditionally. I realize the whole Vail thing may change things but thought I would at least get a historical idea. Any lodging recommendations?

I have no idea about the bookings right now for that time. On the Canyons Village side, the Grand Summit is a few steps from the lifts, the Hyatt is right there as is the Sundial Lodge. The other lodging options have a short walk to the lifts. There are obviously more lodging options in Park City. There shouldn't be crowds on the mountains since there are 7300 acres to ski, 300+ trails and something like 40 lifts. Just get up the mountain and you will be fine. It took a while to open most of the terrain, but it is now open.
 
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Lorenzzo

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I've decided not to introduce a certain sub topic here I referenced above and which SEG quoted. To those interested… any developments between the town of Park city, locals living within and Vail Resorts will no doubt get news coverage.
 
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