Now’s the time of year when you might suddenly realize that winter is nearly over, and if you’ve been thinking about getting in one last ski trip this season, it’s now or never. I once asked Olympian Ted Ligety why he chooses Utah’s Deer Valley as his official home resort. For Ligety, an athlete who travels constantly all over the world, it’s all about location. For him, there’s no better ski resort closer to a major international airport anywhere in North America.
WHY DEER VALLEY?
From the Salt Lake City airport, it’s a 45-minute car ride to Deer Valley. The skier-only resort is known for its upscale vibe, a standout ski school, and a vast amount of beginner and intermediate terrain. There is no lift that you can’t get down on a green run if you need to, but there’s also plenty of expert terrain if you crave a challenge. For people who only get a few days a year on the slopes, the variety of green and blue runs makes it easy to just throw on your skis and start rebuilding your confidence. It’s also a great place to go if you’re in a group with different skill levels. Green Monster, for example, is the longest run in the state of Utah at nearly five miles long and takes about 30 minutes to get down. One warm-up run down this, and you’ll be ready for the blues.
Deer Valley is in the middle of an expansion that will eventually double its total terrain from what it was when they started. This season saw the opening of 10 new lifts, a hundred new runs, and a plush new 10-person East Village Gondola. I rode the new gondola up to Park Peak, and in addition to some entertaining people-watching on the ride, it whisked us swiftly up to the new peak with a new lodge under construction that will debut next season. Looking out over all the new terrain from the top of Park Peak, it feels like we’d traversed to a totally new resort. By spreading out the crowd across more terrain, everywhere feels less crowded than in the past.
WHERE TO STAY
Deer Valley is the first place I ever skied. I was six years old and lucky enough to stay at the Stein Ericksen Lodge with my dad. It was during one of his career peaks and it was a splurge that would pay dividends for life. We made some sweet memories, and I’ve felt pulled back to Stein ever since. There are many new luxury hotels popping up at Deer Valley, and plenty more on the way, but the Stein Eriksen Lodge was the first luxury hotel at the resort and for me it’s still the best.
The former lobby is now a cozy lounge with ski trophy cases and stone fireplaces, and you just want to plant yourself in one of the perfectly worn-in leather couches with a glass of wine. The suites are self-contained apartments with hot tubs on their balconies. The European breakfast buffet is extraordinary, with the feel of an Alpine lodge, and for lunch you’re welcome to walk in off the slopes in your ski boots to partake in the scene of the Skier’s Buffet. Fully ski-in/ski out, Stein is thirty seconds by skis from the base of several lifts and the Silver Lake Lodge. All you do is walk downstairs and the ski valets will get you booted up, suited up and ready to go.
For a more modern take on the ski-in/ski-out condo, the nearby Stein Ericksen Residences has luxury units on an even larger scale, with massive kitchens with Viking ranges and Sub-Zero fridges you could cook thanksgiving dinner in. Both properties offer shuttles through an app to all the nearby base areas and restaurants, as well as Main Street Park City.
We handled rentals in advance with Skis on the Run, who met us at our hotel for a fitting before the lifts opened on our first day. We handed off our kids to a cool Deer Valley Ski School instructor, and they hit the slopes and didn’t miss us for a hot minute.
WHERE TO DINE AND APRÈS
To sit in the sun with a beer and watch the slopes, the patio at the Royal Street Café at the Silver Lake Lodge is a solid spot. Upstairs from the café is The Sticky Wicket, a 1980’s ski themed bar that looks like it was decorated from the set of Hot Tub Time Machine. To go a bit more posh, Chute Eleven is your Champagne, caviar, and deejay situation in a slopeside yurt, a few of which have sprung up in recent years at Deer Valley.
For pure alpine magic, set aside one night for dinner in one of the ‘Alpenglobes’ at Stein Eriksen’s Glitretind restaurant. Think dinner in a snow globe, looking out at the lights of the Snowcats prowling the dark slopes, and the many white Christmas lights in the evergreens and Aspens.
Inside your own private globe are heaters, blankets, and Bluetooth speakers to curate your soundtrack. The menu is Continental Western, where European influences like Spaetzle share an entrée list with Elk tenderloin. Stein is famous for its wine cellar, which currently holds around twenty-thousand bottles. The sommelier on duty invited me to take a peek at the fabled cellar, where I gawked at a collection that included rows of ultra-rare Domaine Romanée-Conti––some of the most valuable and collectible wine in the world.
You can book a pre-dinner sleigh ride that leaves from a few steps away from the restaurant, where actual working cowboys take you for a ride in a one or two-horse open sleigh. Unsurprisingly, on the night we were there a couple had just gotten engaged against this backdrop.
The Italian restaurant La Stellina at the St. Regis Deer Valley is also worth a special mention. Sometimes ski towns make you grade on a scale when it comes to food, but La Stellina is Italian that would be great anywhere. It’s not much for views, but after dinner you can get plenty of those with a ride up the hotel’s glass-walled funicular.
Fireside Dining at the Empire Canyon Lodge is a European-style fondue experience that stands out. At the prix-fixe buffet, massive hunks of Raclette cheese are melted, carved off, and served with a hundred different things to dip in it: from Granny Smith Apples, to Charcuterie, to fresh baguettes. Stews are cooked in cauldrons on open fires, and spit-roasted meats turn in the flames of giant stone fireplaces. But it gets busy, so book ahead.
KEY DETAILS
Ikon pass holders can access Deer Valley for up to 7 days this season, provided you make reservations in advance. The current season will run through mid-to-late April. Check Stein Eriksen Lodge and the Stein Eriksen Residences for the latest rates and last-minute offers. Two luxe options for transportation are Parley’s Transportation and Canyon Transportation.
