SKIING - ANNUAL PARK CITY SKI TRIP
- Ron Hadfield
- Jan 31, 2018
- 12 min read
"There's no waiting for friends on a powder day."
~Unknown
"Stretch pants - the garment that made skiing a spectator sport."
~Author Unknown
"I do not participate in any sport with ambulances at the bottom of the hill."
~Erma Bombeck
"Skiing is better than sex actually, because for me a good round of sex might be seven minutes. Skiing you can do for seven hours."
~Spalding Gray
A main item on my Original Bucket List was to stay in good enough shape to continue the Annual Park City Ski Trip into my 80s. So far, so good. During my Year 77 we had a group of eleven travel to Park City for this year's Ski Trip and stay at the Snow Flower Condominiums as we have for the last fourteen years. Art W and I drove, bringing all the adult beverages from California, since they are much more expensive if purchased in Park City. Don R & Debbie, John B & Ruth Ann, Dave, and Tim all flew from their respective locations and these eight stayed in the 5-bedroom unit we've had for the last few years. Ted L, Jim N, and Tom also flew in and stayed in a 2-bedroom unit I had reserved. We always go on this trip during the Sundance Film Festival because, although the town is crowded during this time, most of the people are there to watch movies and the ski hills are relatively less crowded than usual. Gary D & Nel live in Park City and join in all our activities. This year the Park City portion of the ski trip was January 24 thru 28. For the last eleven years, Art, Gary, and I have extended the trip a couple of days in order to ski Beaver Mountain in Logan.
Wednesday night Gary & Nel hosted us with an evening of wine and heavy hors d'oeuvres at their beautiful home near the Canyons Ski Resort (now part of Park City Ski Resort). Great fun as always. We didn't all ski together each day, but everyone got time in at both Deer Valley and Park City Resort. Kelly joined Art and I skiing Park City Resort on Saturday. The snow was adequate this year with an average base of 45 inches at each resort. We had a little new snow each day, but basically we had a great time skiing groomed slopes. On Thursday and Friday nights, our great chefs, Don and Dave, each prepared a wonderful dinner that we ate in our condo at the Snow Flower facility. Gary and Nel joined us for these fine dinners. And Saturday night, eleven of our ski group (Ted and Tom both flew home early) and Kelly, went to our traditional Saturday night dinner at the Deer Valley Seafood Buffet.
Details of the Trip:
Art and I left Monrovia on Tuesday at 6:00 am and drove to Provo, with a stop for lunch in Cedar City, arriving at 5:00 pm Utah time. We had a nice dinner at Ruby River Steakhouse.
Wednesday morning Art and I drove into the mountains to Park City, checked into the Snow Flower Condominiums, and then went to a local market to buy groceries for the two condos. We have stayed at the Snow Flower condos every year since 2005 and it is by far the best place we've stayed on our annual trip to Park City. The facilities are great, and the people are wonderful, so we keep going to the same place.
Photos below are the great women at Snow Flower that have helped me with the arrangements for the annual ski trip for many years. From the left is Teri (General Manager); Erin (bookkeeper) and Joann (Reservation Manger). The final photo is Erin showing her true personality.
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Others in our group arrived at various times during the day, with Tom arriving about midnight. Tim and I went to the Loco Lizard for lunch before we could move all the luggage and groceries into Unit #41 and Art and Jim went skiing. Later, John and Ruth Ann arranged with Uber for a couple of cars to take us to the Drage home for the evening. Everyone looks forward each year to a fun evening hosted by Gary & Nel. Nel laid out a wonderful food selection including a Korean beef dish, meat balls, shrimp, hot melted cheese and crackers, etc. etc. In addition to our ski group in the photos below, is Deja, getting a love from Debbie.
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Photos below were taken while skiing at Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley Resort. From the left:
1st row- First photo - Art, Tim, in his eye-catching Day-Glow suit (the suit was handed down from Ted), and Dave hiding behind his face mask. Second photo - Art, Tim, John, Debbie, Don, Ruth Ann, and Dave on a break at Park City's Miner's Camp.
2nd row- First photo - Gary, Ron, Tom, Jim, Tim, Art and Dave on a break at Deer Valley's Silver Lake Lodge. Second photo - Kelly and Ron skiing Parley's Park run at Park City Mountain Resort;
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After skiing it's important to relax in the hot tub - and maybe have a libation.
Photos below were taken at the Thursday and Friday night dinners held in the Snow Flower condo. The middle photo in the 2nd row is Chef Dave as he is congratulated on the fine chicken enchilada dinner he prepared on Thursday. The last photo in the 3rd row is Chef Don during his preparation of a delicious pulled pork with coleslaw dinner for Friday. The first photo in the 4th row is of Don's tasty brie round with honey appetizer.
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Saturday evening we went to Deer Valley for our traditional dinner at the Seafood Buffet. The photos below show the layout of the Buffet at Snow Park Lodge.
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The first photo below is a few of us in the lobby at the Seafood Buffet waiting to be seated. The staff remembered our group from past years and seated us in the Dave Gayl Memorial Room, as they have on a number of occasions. Seated around the table in the last photo, beginning from the left, are Art, John, Kelly, Ron, Dave, Tim, Nel, Gary, Debbie, Jim and Don.
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The Park City bus system usually works quite well and we took the bus back to the condo from the Buffet.
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While the others of our ski group headed home on Sunday, Art, Gary,and I, drove to Logan to ski Beaver Mountain. Art and Gary skied the Canyons section of Park City Resort before driving to Logan, and I went early so I could accomplish my Ice Skating Bucket List item at the Eccles Ice Center. Linda has always been generous and allowed us to stay at her condo in Providence during this extended portion of our ski trip. The photos below are at Beaver Mountain on Monday.
The first photo on the left is Gary, Art and I arriving at the ski hill. The Ticket Office behind us was the main lodge during Beaver's early years - all of the years that I skied Beaver before moving to California.
The second photo is of a special bench in the current main lodge. The plaque in the center says, "In Honor Of The Corduroy Posse - Lifelong Beaver Mountain Skiers." There are six men listed (i.e. the Corduroy Posse) - John Emmett, Ray Hugie, Robert Huchison, Elliot Rich, Wayne Rich, and Loyal Seeholzer. After each name is the date of their last run at Beaver Mountain, except for Wayne Rich who is still alive and skiing at the age of 94. Elliot Rich was the father of good friend Alison, and Wayne Rich taught math to me and many of my friends in junior high school.
The third photo is us having breakfast in the lodge at the Beaver Mountain Grill - me, Gary, Art and Dee H.
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The first photo below on the left is Gary, Dee, and Art as they prepare to head for Marge's Triple ski lift. The second photo shows the horrendous crowds we faced on the slopes. Dee, Art and Gary are skiing down Ted's Rock run and there were no other skiers in sight.
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Below is a panorama shot from the top of Harry's Dream lift looking down G-Street run, heading for The Stump run. There was no new snow today, but the groomed slopes allowed wonderful skiing. We had a great day!!
Art and I drove to Cedar City on Tuesday afternoon and had a nice dinner with Linda and Chad at the Sweet Basil Thai Restaurant.
We left Cedar City on Wednesday, January 31st, at 7:00 am and drove back to the Los Angeles area, arriving at 1:00 pm California time. As a matter of interest, our round-trip totaled 1,603 miles. I really enjoyed the ski trip this year. From what I could tell, I believe our ski group all generally agreed that we experienced another fun Park City Ski Trip (including the extension to Beaver Mountain) and that we should schedule the trip again for 2019.
A Little History of the Ski Trip: The Park City Ski Trip has an interesting and long history, I won't dwell on the whole thing, but it began way back in the mid-1970s with me flying to Salt Lake to ski a few days with Walt. As the years passed, many of my buddies decided to join the trip and there have been times over the years that we have had as many as 12 guys stay at what we always called the "Boy's Condo." In recent years we have had couples as part of the ski group which has added a little class to the group. In many years we have also had a number of skiers who stayed at other locations join in our activities. Since 2008, Art W, Gary D, and I have extended the the trip by driving to Logan to ski a couple of days at Beaver Mountain Resort. I learned how to ski at Beaver Mountain when in college. The Seeholzer family has operated Beaver since 1945 and it is a charming place to ski. We have always had amazing good luck with new snow when we've gone to Logan to ski this small, but enjoyable, resort.
Prior year photos below from the left:
1st row: Across the top are some of our group at Deer Valley. 1st photo - Jim N, Dan D, Ted L, Dave, Debbie, Mike A, Joan A, Ron, John B, Art W, Don R, and Jarrett; 2nd photo - Don R, Dave, Gary D, Debbie, Ruth Ann, Ron, John B, and Art W; 3rd photo- Dan D, John B, Tim, Dave, Ted L.
2nd row: At Gary G & Nel's party - Art W's kids Tracy and Brian, and me; at our Snow Flower condo - John B, Jim N, Dave, and me; and waiting for the bus outside our condo - Don R, Jarrett, Tim, Ted L, John Mc, Ron, Art W, and Dave.
3rd row: Fireside Dining at the Empire Lodge at Deer Valley - Ron, Art W, John B, Tim, Mark L, Ruth Ann, Don R, and Debbie; waiting for our table at the Seafood Buffet at Deer Valley - Nel, Gary D, Don R, Debbie, John B, Art W, Ruth Ann, Dave, Ron; and at the Seafood Buffet - Art W, Tracy W, Gary D, Nel, Debbie, Don R, Dan H, Brian W, Vansiy, Jim N, John B, Ruth Ann, and Ron.
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A Little History of Park City:
Park City was discovered in 1868 when soldiers stationed in Salt Lake City traversed the mountain from Big Cottonwood Canyon to find silver. The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1870 brought hopeful miners by the droves to Utah. The discovery of exceedingly rich silver ore brought George Hearst, the father of William Randolph Hearst, to Park City. His Ontario Mine, purchased for $30,000, produced over $50 million in its lifetime.
In 1884 Park City was incorporated and eventually modern conveniences like electricity and running water made Park City one of the most sought after mining towns in the West. By 1898 the population reached 7,500, a number not far from today’s current full-time residency. 1898 also brought tragedy when 3/4 of the town was destroyed by fire. The locals rallied and rebuilt the town in under two years.
By 1930, the idea of skiing had begun to catch on with the installment of a ski jump built on the Creole mine dump. Interest in the trend of winter recreation continued to peak throughout the next few decades, and by 1946 the first lift was installed at Snow Park (now Deer Valley).
1951 was a dismal year for what had been for many decades a booming mine town and Park City saw itself becoming a Ghost Town with a population reduced to 1,150 people. With government assistance and other contributions, a new ski resort named Treasure Mountain Resort (now Park City Mountain Resort) opened in 1963 with a gondola, a chairlift and 2 J-bars. As word of the new ski area spread, people started moving back to Park City. In 1966 Sports Illustrated included Treasure Mountain Resort's PayDay run among the finest ski runs in the country. Deer Valley Resort opened in 1981.
The Sundance Film Festival began in Salt Lake City in August 1978, as the Utah/US Film Festival. The festival moved to Park City in 1981 and changed the dates from September to January. In 1991 the festival was officially renamed the Sundance Film Festival, after Robert Redford's character The Sundance Kid from the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
In 1995 Salt Lake City was awarded the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. More than 40% of the events were held in Park City at the Utah Olympic Park, Deer Valley, and Park City Mountain Resort and the event brought international fame to Park City (and a slight improvement to the state's liquor laws).
A Little History of Beaver Mountain Ski Area:
The Logan Canyon road was opened to year-round traffic in 1939. At that time, Logan City owned a cable tow at the present site of Beaver Mountain, but for various reasons it was not a successful operation. The City moved the ski operation to the "Sinks" which is located a few miles farther up Logan Canyon. The "Sinks" was also not successful and in 1945 proposals were invited to take over the operation. Harold Seeholzer loved skiing, loved the out-of-doors, loved the snow, and his proposal was accepted. Despite previous problems at Beaver Mountain, in 1947 Seeholzer chose that location. Through financial and moral pledges made by the Mt. Logan Ski Club, the Forest Service, and Cache Chamber of Commerce and a monetary pledge by Harold and Luella Seeholzer, development activities began. In 1949, a 1,000 foot rope tow was put into operation for the public. There was also a warming lodge, which is still in use today as the ticket office. In the Spring of 1950, a 2,700 foot T-bar was ordered, installed, and remained in operation from the winter of 1950-51 through 1960. In 1961, Harold and Luella Seeholzer called their family together and formed a corporation, with them at the head. The corporation included two sons, Loyal and Ted, and two daughters, Dixie and Nancy. The Beaver Face Lift was installed that same year.
Personal Note: I learned to ski in 1959 and for that winter and the following winter, my friends and I skied using only the T-bar mentioned above - no other lift was available. During the winters of 1961 through 1963 we were able to ski using the new Face Lift, which is normally only used on weekends today. Bonnie & I moved to California in the summer of 1964 and I never went back to ski Beaver Mountain until 2008 when Art W, Gary D and I began adding a couple of days skiing Beaver to our Annual Park City Trip.
Harold Seeholzer lost a courageous bout with cancer in April of 1968. His lifetime dream during his half a century of skiing was to put a double chair lift from the bottom to the very top of Beaver Mountain. This dream was fulfilled by his family. Harry's Dream Lift, a most fitting and appropriate name for the lift, was started in the spring of 1969 and was first opened to the public in January 1970. It was a 4,600 foot double chair lift with 137 chairs and a capacity of 900 per hour. Nearly 50 acres of runs were cleared for use from the new lift. The runs having a length of over two miles.
With the passing of his father, Ted Seeholzer, became the General Manager of Beaver Mountain. Ted's wife, Marge, worked in the ticket office full time and other family members and their spouses managed various areas of the business for over 20 years. In the summer of 1997 the ski area was sold to Ted and Marge Seeholzer as sole owners of the company. There were many improvements to the resort during this time. In 2003 Marge's Triple Lift was installed in the Long Hollow area north of the existing ski area boundary. It opened up several hundred additional skiable acres of new terrain as well as increasing uphill capacity and reducing lift lines. Harry's Dream lift was upgraded to a Triple Chair in 2006 increasing its uphill capacity to 1400 skiers an hour. The Little Beaver lift, which had been installed as a small Poma lift in 1967, was replaced with a triple chair in 2011. Little Beaver has lights for night skiing as well.
Ted Seeholzer passed away in May 2013 at 81 years old, bringing an end to another era at Beaver Mountain. Many great improvements to the resort were made under Ted's management; his stamp is on almost everything that happens at Beaver Mountain. Marge worked side by side with Ted through all their years together and continues in her role today as President of the company. Beaver Mountain is possibly the longest family owned ski area in the country.
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