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Hi Lianne,

I have been going to the Canyons Resort for the last 4 years to visit my son James who has been working at the Canyons for the last 5 seasons as a NZSIA 1, PSIA Level 111 Certified Ski Instructor. Not only do I have quality  time with James, but get the best skiing vacation one could have, with consistently good skiing conditions, and experiencing what we all go there for “ POWDER’’.

Utah logo is, ‘’The Greatest Snow On Earth’’, it certainly lives up to its name and gets a average snow fall of 355 inch (889 cm).Last year I was skiing powder up to my waist, infact Utah had a astounding snowfall average during the 07/08 season, and snowed at an almost unheard of 700inch for the year. This year during mid January when I arrived it hadn’t snowed for 3 weeks, the locals were saying the skiing was average. Despite the lack of snow there was still really good cover and the conditions were good, hard pack dry snow and no ice to be found. The snow came and in 2 days we had 18 inch (46cm) of awesome Utah light dry fluffy snow.

 The Canyons is so large that you will find a bewildering amount of varied terrain to explore, having James as my guide on a powder day is an awesome experience, as he just knows where to find fresh untracks. From my trusty Volkl P60, I was given a pair of Blizzard Magnum 87 side cut, 176cm to try in the powder. Well what fun, I was floating effortlessly through trees and open bowls.

It fascinates me that I have never lost a day skiing due to bad weather, its almost unheard of for the mountain to close, even when it snows the light and visibility is fine to ski with out being a white out and windy. Even when it’s minus 10 C it not freezing to ski, it’s a dry cold, if you are well geared up with warm woolen Icebreaker Thermals/jerseys you don’t feel the cold.Infact buy the hand and feet warmers that adds a lot of comfort.

I am still discovering new terrain , after 4 years it’s a field that caters to people  of all standards that love to ski and snowboard, with 3700 acres (1500 hectares) of widely –varied terrain,163 trails, 17 lifts, 8 mountains, 6 natural half pipes, 5 bowls, and 2 cutting-edge terrain parks. It blew me away when I first went there, no wonder its Utah’s largest single ski/snowboard resort and one of the 5^th largest in the U.S.

With recent takeover from Talisker private real-estate development and investment company, the Canyons Resort has exciting times ahead with major project. Already it has 6 World-Class condo-Hotel ski in/ski out accommodation all with in the Canyon Resort Village and more to come even with the possibility of having an 18 whole golf coarse to be added to the resort village. The trail map shows in the near future an extra 250 acres of new terrain that will be opened and will give you some great intermiadiate and advance runs.

I was there for the 2 weeks during the Sundance Film Festival,if you are a film buff great time to go to see a variety of interesting films and see film stars, but a great time also to be on the mountain skiing as its relatively quite. .

When I get a Groomed trail map each day, I study it while I go up on The Flight of the Canyons Condola, which take you to the mid mountain area, the hub of the Canyons where the ski school is, beginners and intermediate ski runs, the start of taking you to other lifts and the Red Pine Lodge a great place to meet and have lunch. James goes to work and I hit the slopes away from the mid-mountain area and find those nice open pristine groomed corduroy runs. It’s like first tracks all morning and my favourite runs are Cloud 9, Sidewinder, Chicane off the Tombstone Express. I literally have these runs to myself and after a few repeats I would have skied over 10,400 vertical feet (3170 m). A quick Starbucks coffee at the Sun Lodge over towards Super Condor and again ski the groomed trails like Upper Boa, Aplande and Kestrel all really nice chutes long and wide with grippy dry snow.

 At mid-day I meet up with James at the Red Pine Lodge which offers a selection of excellent food, from soups, gourmet Pizza, Angus Beef burgers, sandwiches and salads. Love how all your chutneys, sauces, mustards, mayonnaise, are free. On my Last day James treated his father at the Lookout Cabin, great location and incredible views of the Wasatch Range, with equally nice sit down table served award winning menu. It’s affordably priced and has an impressive wine list. A glass of Oregon Pinot Noir went down nicely with my Prime Cut tender fillet of Angus meat.

Some great runs can be had over at Dreamscape,  Dreamcatcher and around here is The Colony, an award winning, private, gated community that is home to the largest ski-in/ski-out home sites in North America. These million dollar log cabin houses are amazing nestled amongst the magnificent forest of aspen and fir and is in the Canyon Ski Resort area. Going back to home base the Harmony trail lives unto its name it’s long, cruzy, wide easy run, skiing past all those lovely Colony Houses, only hoping that you might get an invitation!!

After a full day on the mountain you can ski right along side the local hangout, Smokies Bar and Grill. Has a great atmosphere, friendly staff, good music and a menu that wets your appetite. Try the spicy chicken wings with a pitcher (jug) of local Cutthroat Ale, gets the taste bud going and thirst!!

This sets you up for a great après night out,  Park City historic old mining town, has upto 100 bars, nightclubs and Restaurant along the Main Street. There is something for everyone, endless choice. The Restaurant I always enjoy for value and a fantastic wine list is Bangkok Thai on Main. Lots of good Sushi Bar and Grill, and fun bars to go to is Wasatch Brew Pub or Bistro 412 upstairs. Later kick your heals up at Cisero’s Club, great atmosphere. Free transport runs to 12, otherwise plenty of taxi around later to get home.

I left on Waitangi Day, James had a Kiwi Party and it was snowing. It snowed for 3 days, had over 50 inch, typical when you are leaving.

To summaries my time at The Canyons, it is a ski destination made easy, closer than you think, and has all the makings of a perfect hassle free vacation that lies within a mere 30-minutes drive from Salt Lake City International Airport. The hardest thing about the experience is LEAVING.

Regards, Willie K.

Hi Sarah - have finally made it back to Dunedin & heading off to Wanaka Wednesday.

Just a short note to say thank you for your travel bookings & to let you know every thing went to plan.

Arrived at hotel at Robson St & were upgraded so that was nice.The Gables were very good (as you predicted $500 “bond” on credit card) & once we had worked out where we were, discovered we were close to both Whistler & Blackcomb.Snowed for 2 days when we arrived so had great snow the whole time.Sunpeaks again was very good snow but very very cold - minus 25 & afraid the fingers & toes froze - apparently very unusual for that time of year.

So again thank you for your super efficiency in organizing every thing. 

If you are ever down “south” do contact me - ski mainly Coronet Peak (although based in Wanaka) but intend to do odd days at Cardrona.

Regards

Hilary

Hi Lianne,
Had a great time and will send a better de-brief later when I catch up at work if you don’t hear by the end of next week remind me again.  Quickly - loved Winter Park a great resort but not a lot of eating places in the resort needed to go to town to get the restaurants, free buses made this easy enough though.  But skiing choice on the mountain is unbeatable we went to Copper for a day and would recommend WP over this now.  Accommodation was also great brand new and big enough for us would have loved the extra bedroom though would recommend this if it is on special again to add the extra room.   San Francisco was great what a fabulous city 4 days not enough and will be going back here again one day. 
Thanks for your help.
Jo & John

Hi Lianne,
Back from Sun Valley today. Had a great time. Smaller field than Snowmass/Aspen but still heaps of runs and good conditions. On field facilities absolutely fantastic (5 star). Skiied 7 days out of 8, 5 in absolutely pristine conditions. Lift elevation 3200 feet so some big long runs. Mostly blue/black by NZ standards. Limited skiing in trees. Fresh snow on 3 days/nights. Didn’t manage to ski all the slopes. Some big bump runs that I also avoided. Very picturesque countryside. Good fly fishing. Hailey a modest/plain little village. Ketchum more upmarket. Lots of tv stars and big homes. Overall as good as (if not better than Aspen/Snowmass). Got you a few ski trail maps etc.
Cheers
Ross

Hi Lianne

We had a fantastic holiday thanks and came back with no injuries, so that was lucky!  I absolutely loved Disney California park, that would have been the highlight for me in LA, terrific rides.  Michael couldn’t quite handle the tower of terror ride and had to have a sleep at the first aid at Disneyland on new years eve!  The only negative about LA was the Disneyland Express.  We missed it because it came 10 minutes early and so we had to catch a shuttle, luckily we made it to the airport and our shuttle (all to ourselves, not Super Shuttle) was cheaper than Disneyland Express without all the faffing around.  

We absolutely loved Denver, very glad we stayed there.  The Doubletree hotel in Denver is superb, with free pick up from the airport, which was great and the staff were very helpful.  Cherry Creek mall is an excellent shopping spot, I managed to blow a heap of cash there at the sales.  It is about a $15 cab ride from the double tree and well worth it.  At the nearby shopping complex that Doubletree run a free shuttle to there is a fabulous restaurant called something like Jim and Nicks bbq, it might be a chain restaurant but I have never seen it anywhere else is the States.  Anyway, highly recommend that restaurant to eat at. 

Copper was our favourite resort of the two, in fact I don’t think either of us would go back to Winter park.   Copper was fantastic.  We had 15 inches of powder overnight at one point and it was a lot of fun.  They also have the beeline advantage which was good, and would be even better if you were there when it was busy.  We were in Copper One so basically right next to the American Eagle, really convenient.  It was fabulous having kitchen facilities, we cooked most nights.   

The winter park accommodation was really fabulous, especially the hot tub, but founders pointe is too far away from the mountain so you had a bit of a hike with all the gear.  The best thing about winter park resort was the free on demand shuttle they provide that will take you anywhere you want to go.   Winter Park itself was windy almost the whole time, in fact I got caught in a blizzard at one stage because they didn’t close the highest lift quick enough, that was unpleasant.  On our last day there though we had a blue sky day and it was beautiful up the top then.  Unfortunately though the snow quality at Winter Park was poor, by our last day there it was absolute rubbish, almost as bad as Turoa on a bad day.  They simply didn’t get enough new snow.  Also, Winter Park is hopeless for snowboarding.  I think they actually need to warn people that it is NOT a snowboarder’s mountain.  Constant flat long traverses are a killer and there are way way too many mogul runs.  Even for skiing there were too many mogul runs.  I actually changed to skiing for pretty much the whole time I was at winter park because it was just too much effort to snowboard (especially at high altitude, it is pretty hard to get around). San Francisco was undoubtedly a major highlight.  What a beautiful city, we only wished we had more time there.  The Handlery is quaint, and I enjoyed staying in Union Square (fabulous Niketown store). 

So everything went very smoothly except for the minor hiccup with the Disneyland Express.  Thanks for doing such a great job organising the trip.
 

Kind Regards

Joanne

Hi Sarah

Well we have now returned from a great trip,thanks for all your careful arrangements. Generally we found the destination was great, the snow was great, and everything worked out pretty well. Haven’t got the photos organized yet but here’s a few snaps - I’m sure you’ll recognise a lot of them. We had quite a bit of snow overnight,and once during the day,and skiing through 8 inches of fresh powder was definitely an unforgettable experience.

It was a great trip and we thoroughly enjoyed it, and would recommend to others (have already, in fact). Thanks for all your advice,it was great to know in advance from someone who had actually been there.

Greetings from Aspen/Snowmass, 

It was another snow and sun filled weekend in Aspen/Snowmass!  We had the Colorado Freeride Competition on our very own Snowmass this weekend.  The competition brings in the best freeskiers and boarders from all over the world to drop huge cliffs and show their skills in skiing technical powder lines.  The results were some huge lines, big drops, and some great spills.  The two-day competition combines two venues, the Hanging Valley Headwall and the Burnside Cliffs, both on Snowmass.  The snow was deep and fluffy and allowed the athletes to push their limits!  If you have clients that are looking for the steep and deep, we definitely have tons here in Aspen/Snowmass.  Here is a great shot of one of the amazing athletes. 

Thanks, 

Chace Dillon

International Sales

Aspen Skiing Company

My, my, my - 50cm of snow fell in the first two days of this past week! We drove up to Lake Louise from Canmore early on Tuesday morning and during the brunt of the storm cycle, it was an interesting ride to say the least on the Trans Canada Highway in a driving snow storm, scary at times too. It was certainly worth it though, the Powder Bowls on the Ptarmigan side were pretty much deserted, we skied the steeps in untracked boot top snow, an epic day had by all including our 8 year old daughter who skied right on my tail all day in fresh snow that was knee deep on her!  We all made it safely back to Canmore on the Highway at the end of the day as the temperature plunged and the storm cycle intensified. The next day ( Wednesday ) was an epic powder day at Sunshine Village, mid week, -29 degrees, no wind and very few people about. We skied Goats Eye Mountain hard all day in fresh powder that was easily knee deep, many of the black diamond runs were waist deep on our 8 year old, she hooted and howled all day long, stopping every couple of hours to warm up and consume hot chocolate. Thursday dawned a cracker, the storm cycle had passed, it was warmer, sunny and again there was very few people about. We skied what was left of the untracked POW and eyed up the ultimate prize, The Holy Grail here in The Bow Valley - Delirium Dive! Rated as one of The Worlds Steepest, In Bounds, Double Black Diamond, Extreme Skiing Areas, access is allowed via a closed gate and only with an avalanche transceiver, probe and shovel - unfortunately it hasn’t opened this season due to lack of snow and snow pack instability but man did it look good now - would 50cm plus make a difference? YES! We awoke on Friday morning to another blue sky day and our last day of skiing before heading home to NZ, the day was spent cruising the groomers in the sun with the girls and drinking beer on the deck at Trappers Lodge. Then came the call, as Chevy my old ski patrol buddy and now Mountain Operations Manager here at Sunshine Village rounded the corner and said ” We’ve been looking for you, we’re skiing The Dive, meet me at The Beaver Lodge at 2pm “! There were six of us, 4 patrollers, Chevy and me. You enter Delirium Dive from a set of metal stairs bolted to the side of a shear rock face at 9000 feet and at the top of The Continental Divide, then traverse around a rock buttress to an array of narrow chutes that drop over 1000 vertical feet into a classic powder bowl. We ski cut the top section and then made the most of what was the highlight and perfect ending to this 6 week skiing road trip - Untracked, Waist Deep Powder with an old mate and a true gentleman. 1000 vertical feet later with numb feet and panting for breath we snapped some photo’s and headed towards the Gondola via the trees. Grinning from ear to ear and admiring our handy work from ” The Bird ” I remembered the good old days and the advantages that a patrol uniform and pack allowed, one on the few perks for working day after day in sub zero temperatures, ” The Dive ” is still closed but with the snow forecast next week there are murmurs that it will open to the public before long. This roadie has been fantastic, from the smaller tree lined ski hills in B.C to the big open slopes and bowls here in Alberta the trip of a lifetime has gone to plan and without a hitch. Without Sarah and her team at Ski Traveller and her vast knowledge of the many Canadian ski areas that we visited we wouldn’t have had the accommodation that we’ve had and the good times that are now almost memories. We fly out of Calgary tomorrow and begin the long 24 hour non stop journey home to Queenstown, all of us longing and awaiting the snow to fall here, bring it on! Sarah, a big thanks to you and your team. - The Goat.