Following a two day meeting in Provo, Utah, I managed to fit in a little skiing before having to return to the UK. Starting from Provo, I decided to try a small resort called Sundance in that area. Opened by the actor Robery Redford, the resort is named after his most famous character, the Sundance Kid. Sundance Resort has a vertical of just over 2100 feet and just 3 slow lifts.
I arrived a little after 9am and once ski hire was sorted out, I joined a small group for the guided tour of the mountain. With just the 3 lifts, even a 1½ hour tour managed to cover most of the mountain. The highlight of the tour was the view from the top over towards the Lake at Provo. The guide was at pains to stress the "green" credentials of Sundance, with all of the energy to run the lifts generated by wind turbines.
Underneath Ray's lift |
Underneath Ray's run |
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Bishops Bowl |
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The view from the top of Arrowhead |
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The view from the top of Arrowhead |
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At no time of the day did it get crowded. Most of the time I was skiing on deserted slopes. Once the tour had finished, I headed back up the mountain for some free skiing, venturing into more challenging terrain. I stopped for lunch at the only Mountain Restaurant, at the top of Arrowhead lift.
Ray's lift |
The view from the top of Arrowhead |
Aspens at the top of Arrowhead |
The top of Arrowhead |
The more challenging terrain included a relatively narrow natural half pipe named Redfinger apparently because Robery Redford fell and hurt his finger and never again skied the slope.
To get back to Salt Lake, I had to retrace my tracks along Provo Canyon to get onto I-15 to head North to Salt Lake City. When I drove through Utah with Sue, we stopped at Bridal Veil Falls in the summer. In the winter, the snow and ice makes the 606 feet drop an even more spectacular site. There are still remnants of the old cable car, destroyed by an avalanche in 1996.
Looking towards Ray's lift from the car park |
Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon |
Bridal Veil Falls |
Upper station of derelict cable car |
Bridal Veil Falls |
Bridal Veil Falls |
| Lift | Vertical | Easy Runs | Intermediate Runs | Advanced Runs |
| Start of day | ||||
| Ray's Midway | 650 | Stampede | Montoya | |
| Ray's | 1325 | Long Hollow, Maverick, Lone Pine | ||
| Flathead | 1115 | Lone Hollow, Cassidy Traverse, Bearclaw | ||
| Arrowhead | 1282 | Bear Claw, Amy's Ridge, Wildflower | ||
| Arrowhead | 1282 | Bear Claw | ||
| Ray's Return | 200 | Stampede | Maverick, Montoya, Flatnose, Ray's Run | |
| Ray's | 1325 | |||
| Arrowhead | 1282 | |||
| Lunch | ||||
| Amy's Ridge, Last Chance | Jamie's, Snow Stake | |||
| Arrowhead | 1282 | Pipeline, Bishop's Bowl | ||
| Flathead | 1115 | Redfinger, Grizzly Bowl | ||
| Flathead | 1115 | Stampede | Cassidy Traverse, Roundup, Ray's Run | Quick Draw, Expedition |
| End of Day | ||||
| Total vertical | 11973 |
Last updated: 6th February 2007
