subject: The Begginings Of A Great Place Called Deer Valley [print this page] Deer Valley is an alpine ski resort in the northern part of Utah. It is world famous for its ski resorts. It is one of the only resorts that still prohibit snowboarders from using the mountain. It was also one of the sites for the 2002 Winter Olympics where athletes competed in freestyle moguls and slalom events. But before Deer Valley became what it is today, it went through an extensive history.
Silver and precious metals brought an initial gathering to the area. This is one of the rare places in the state of Utah that was not founded by Mormons.
This town was very much like your typical town in the 1800's having saloons, theaters, mining buildings and prostitutes. As these precious metals become more in abundance, richer folks moved out to this land of wealth.
The Salt Lake Junior Chamber of Commerce held Park City's first winter carnival in 1936. More than 500 visitors came on a snow train from Denver and Rio Grande. Ski trails, toboggan slides, slalom courses, and shelter cabins were built making the events even more unique and bringing out even more people.
It was in 1946 that Bob Burns and Otto Carpenter used these same ski trails and slalom courses to build a one of a kind skiing facility complete with a automatic ski lift. Building the lift out of pine they built Utah's first lift, and consequently become very popular. Soon a second lift was added for beginner skiers.
This resort would soon become known as Snow Park. Burns and Carpenter operated the lifts and their wives cooked the food for the resorts concession stand. It operated on weekends bringing in about 100 skiers a day.
Carpenter had bought Burns out and started to run the small resort in Deer Valley by himself. He did so until 1968 when his lease on the property expired.
With the closure of mines in, the economy in the area began to suffer. The federal government gave a loan to see if the area could become a year-round recreational area. I could, and it did.
During the 1970s, development became to take place and spending increased exponentially. The Royal Street Land Company acquired the rights to make a development that would accommodate 12,000 skiers. And Deer Valley was born.
This development called for a six phase project that would include the original Snow Park, Bald Mountain, Flagstaff Mountain and Empire Canyon.
Deer Valley resort would officially open in December 1981. It included five chairlifts and thirty rails. It soon became one of the country's most elite skiing areas.
It has since expanded, opening lifts on Flagstaff Mountain and by 1998 had fourteen ski lifts with an uphill capacity of 25,600 skiers per hour.
Recreational skiing and the tourism it brought not only saved Deer Valley but boosted its economy by a great deal. It has become one of the wealthiest cities in the United States.
This has become the area of the Sundance Film Festival and continuing to grow in popularity and in population.
It gained great world fame while hosting the 2002 winter Olympics and continues to bring out thousands and thousands of tourists each year.
