Deer Valley

Deer Valley is a ski-only resort in the Wasatch Range, located 36 miles (58 km) east of Salt Lake City, in Park City, Utah, United States, where snowboarding is prohibited. Deer Valley was one of the venues for the 2002 Winter Olympics, hosting the freestyle moguls, aerial, and alpine slalom events. It is expected to host the mogul event for the 2034 Winter Olympics but lost out on hosting the slalom event. Deer Valley also regularly hosts competitions for the International Ski Federation for moguls and aerials, but is not steep enough nor does it have long enough terrain to host events such as the GS, Super G, or Downhill. Resort profile Deer Valley is exclusively for skiers and it emphasizes on upscale accommodations and amenities. Deer Valley appeals to the ski community due to it being one of three resorts in the nation that is ski only. History Mountain development Skiing began at Deer Valley with the Park City Winter Carnivals of the 1930s, and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the first ski trails and other facilities during the winter of 1936–1937. The first ski lifts appeared in 1946, when local residents Robert Emmett Burns, Sr. and Otto Carpenter constructed them, largely from nearby lodgepole pines. The ski area was called the Snow Park Ski Area, a name which endured from 1946 to 1969. In 1981 Edgar Stern founded Deer Valley Resort in the same area and above. It has grown to include six mountains with six bowls, 930 acres (380 ha) of glade skiing and 670 acres (270 ha) of snow-making. The resort totals 2,026 acres (820 ha) in size at the time. Expansion and improvements In 2007, the resort expanded onto Lady Morgan Peak, to the north of Flagstaff Mountain, with a new 200 acre pod composed of nine trails and additional gladed terrain serviced by its own high speed quad. In 2012, detachable chairlift service was added to Little Baldy Peak with the replacement of Deer Crest with a Doppelmayr high speed quad, known as the Mountaineer Express. In September 2023, the resort announced that it would integrate the Mayflower ski area, which is adjacent to the resort's eastern boundary, into Deer Valley. As of 2026, the resort now totals 4,300 acres. The expansion has continued with 3 new lifts in the 2024/25 season and 7 new lifts in 2025/26. There are 80 new runs and this will increase to over 100 new runs, tripling the size of the ski area from 2,026 acres to 4,300 acres. International competitions 2002 Olympic Winter Games During the 2002 games Deer Valley hosted the freestyle moguls and aerials, and alpine men's and women's slalom events. Three of the trails on Bald Eagle Mountain were used during the games including Champion (site of freestyle moguls), Know You Don't (site of alpine slalom), and White Owl (site of freestyle aerials). Temporary spectator stadiums were located at the end of each run, they were 12 stories tall and included seating for 10,000 people, while spectator standing areas were located along the sides of each course; the standing areas and stadium combined allowed roughly 13,300 spectators to view each event. 99.4 percent of available tickets for events at the venue were sold, which totaled 96,980 spectators witnessing competitions at the resort. During the games 95 percent of Deer Valley remained open to the public for normal seasonal operations. World Cup events The resort hosted the 2003 and the 2011 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships, becoming the first American venue to host twice. It also hosted the men's and women's moguls and aerials events for FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships 2019. Deer Valley is a regular host to FIS World Cup events, having hosted men's and women's mogul and aerial competitions yearly since 2000 (with the exceptions of 2003 and 2004). The resort also hosted a skicross event in 2008, and is scheduled to host a World Cup event every year through 2019. Deer Valley's track record of event hosting has led it to be described as "a Mecca for freestyle skiing events". Snowboard prohibition Deer Valley is one of three remaining American ski resorts that prohibit snowboarders along with Alta and Mad River Glen. The resort has occasionally been the subject of protests and poaching by snowboarders such as when snowboard manufacturer Burton Snowboards offered $5,000 for video footage of riders snowboarding at Alta, Deer Valley or Mad River Glen in late 2007. According to Burton's website, the point of their campaign was that such discrimination displays a "blatant aggressive disregard" for the Constitution of the United States. Since its opening in 1981, snowboarding has never been allowed, and the interpretation posited by Burton of a constitutional right to use a snowboard has failed to gain traction given the wide availability of rental skis and the fact that other vehicles like sleds and snowmobiles are also prohibited at the resort. Climate and terrain This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Deer Valley has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. The terrain of the resort is largely mellow as 30% of the terrain is classified as "beginner" and 44% "intermediate." Expert terrain is present, however. The Daly Chutes are Deer Valley's only true "expert terrain." Terrain Aspects: North 45%, South 2%, East 45%, West 8%. Chairlifts References External links Media related to Deer Valley at Wikimedia Commons Deer Valley – Official website Deer Valley – A brief history