Boots and butlers

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This was published 14 years ago

Boots and butlers

On the right trail ... Empire Canyon Lodge.

On the right trail ... Empire Canyon Lodge.

As far as I can work out, Deer Valley Resort is ranked the No. 1 North American ski resort by US Ski magazine because of what it doesn't have: no snowboarders, no hassles, no ice (according to my humorous guide, Jerry), no tipping, no sniffles (tissues are on hand at every lift), no lift queues and no dramas.

What it does have is kilometres of super smooth trails packed with super-light snow, which makes skiers feel super fantastic. This is the ski resort to boost any skier's confidence.

The indulgence starts from the moment you land at Salt Lake City airport and catch a 40-minute transfer to the slopes. On arrival, there are ski valets to take your skis out of the car and carry them, oh, all of 10 metres to the lift-ticket office. My skis have been rented from Ski Butlers; Eric the ski technician had arrived the night before with a selection of high-performance skis, already tuned for in-room fitting. To save further hassle a day out, skis are checked into Deer Valley's complimentary overnight storage (heated, of course). All skiers can avail themselves of free mountain tours – two hours for intermediate skiers, 2 for the advanced – and it's a fun, rollicking introduction to the mountain. Lunch and service is top notch.

The ski runs are wide and groomed to within an inch of their lives, making for a superb corduroy platform to carve gracefully on a variety of long runs. The resort has a radar system with GPS that measures snow depth so that every part of the mountain is groomed to its best, and the resort has more grooming machines than any other resort in Utah.

Perhaps because of the aforementioned attention to detail, the skiing here is magical. The turns are easy and rhythmic; the six mountains that comprise Deer Valley are challenging for all skiers but not ridiculously so. Indeed, the pristine condition of the slopes encourages skiers to push themselves harder. The black-run areas are for the fearless. The Daly Chutes accessed from the Empire Canyon chair and around the Lady Morgan chairlift are considered double black by the resort and match in difficulty anything offered at the other nearby resorts: Park City and The Canyons or even Canada's Silver Star.

If you want to watch the real experts tackle the slopes, Deer Valley will host a World Cup and Vancouver Winter Olympic qualifying event in moguls and aerials on January 13-16. Reigning Olympic champion Dale Begg-Smith and Australia's best hopes including Ramone Cooper, Lydia Lassila, Jacqui Cooper and Jenny Owens will be in Deer Valley cementing their Olympic berth for the Games in Vancouver from February 12-28.

If the scenery of spruce and aspen is not sufficiently beautiful there are some monumental houses – you can pick up one of the bargains for $US6 million ($6.64 million) or the Resorts West Dream Home for $US16 million – for an architectural slope-side distraction.

Leave the Last Chance run until the end of the day so you can stop and view the rows of houses adorned with large wooden statues of raccoons, moose and bears.

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Snowboarders are banned, so that sliding and scraping of boards is blissfully absent. At any time in Deer Valley there are enough skiers on the mountain to make it atmospheric but not enough for collisions on slopes. Ticket numbers are restricted each day to between 6000 and 8000 according to the weather, a calculation to ensure there are enough seats for skiers at lunchtime.

Skier comfort before profit? That's my idea of a great resort.

After the skiing, the pampering continues. A special experience is dinner at the Empire Canyon Lodge's Fireside Dining. Outside it's snowing heavily; inside there are four fireplaces roaring. Diners can choose their courses in any order, so it's okay to have dessert (chocolate and caramel Grand Marnier fondues in which to dip fruit, cinnamon pound cake and almond biscotti) before the Swiss raclette cheese, the simmering stews or the leg of lamb.

Another highlight is Sunday brunch at the Stein Eriksen Lodge, where there's celebrity spotting and a fine buffet in the Glitretind restaurant, for choices from smoked wild salmon to venison chilli, sushi and pancakes. Importantly, Utah has relaxed its tough alcohol laws, which means there is now no trouble getting a drink here at the lodge, or anywhere else in town.

This is skiing, apres skiing and apres-apres skiing at its best. I've already booked my ticket to return.

Jacquelin Magnay travelled courtesy of Park City Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau.

Heights of fashion

I SKI Deer Valley for two days and succumb immediately and disgracefully to the fashionable, monied atmosphere. My daggy but trusty black ski pants, borrowed permanently from a friend three years ago, have to go. My skiing here feels (but perhaps not appears) smooth, so my look has to upgrade accordingly.

So I find myself in a Columbia store at Tangers, an $US18 cab fare or free shuttle bus ride away from Deer Valley, buying ski pants, even though the Australian dollar (at the time) is worth a painful 62 US cents.

My friends can't believe I have bought white ski pants. But they are beautiful and, surprisingly, pass the "backside" test.

My choice is vindicated. When dining at the super-swish Stein Eriksen Lodge — the choice of A-list celebrities — Mr Eriksen himself, the famous Norwegian Olympic ski champion, wanders in wearing, you guessed it, white ski pants.

For me, though, the real test of credibility is the financial pain — only $US35. (I have never found ski pants, even on sale, for less than $120 in Australia.) So good are the sales here, I might also confess to buying black ski pants ($US45). Tangers is a discount-outlet mall that services Deer Valley and the adjoining Park City area. This is shoppers' heaven and it's open until 9pm, so you can ski all day and still have time after drinks to whip out the credit card.

Australian visitor numbers to the Park City area — particularly at Deer Valley, Park City and The Canyons — rose nearly 10 per cent in the 2009 season and similar growth is tipped next year, attributed to cheap air fares and more attractive packages; see parkcityinfo.com. Rates at some of the most salubrious and spacious lodgings are discounted by 30 per cent and some are throwing in free nights.

FAST FACTS


United Airlines flies from Sydney to Salt Lake City via San Francisco for about $1424; Melbourne passengers transit in Sydney (fare is low-season return including tax). You can also fly via LA or Chicago. Delta and American Airlines have similar fares. Australians must apply for travel authorisation before departure on the secure website https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov.


Park City Lodging is an accommodation agency with a range of luxury properties in Deer Valley and surrounding areas. Woodside 159 in Park City, a deluxe three-bedroom home sleeping 10; costs from $US500 ($553) a night. See parkcitylodging.com.


International skiers can buy in advance a three-resort pass for Deer Valley, Park City and The Canyons, covering six days in any 10-day period, for $US444. See parkcityinfo.com. Ski Butlers has four-day ski hire and will come to your lodging for in-room fitting for $US236; see skibutlers.com.


Fireside Dining at Empire Canyon Lodge is open Wednesday to Friday nights for $US52 a person; see deervalley.com. Stein Eriksen Lodge's Sunday buffet costs from $US38 a person. The spa at Stein Eriksen Lodge has a large menu of treatments and an exclusively male treatment section; a 50-minute deep tissue massage costs $US175; see steinlodge.com.

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