Park City offers skiers something a little different

IAN STALKER

Zach Fyne believes a combination of great winter snow and a catchy location for a distillery means Park City, Utah, offers thirsty schussers some great whi-ski.
Fyne, with the Park City Convention & Visitors Bureau, says the alpine resort community’s claims to fame include the High West Distillery & Saloon, the only distillery “in the world that you can ski into.”
The attraction, which produces whiskey on-site, is by a lift, he notes.
“There’s a million ski destinations around the world, but how many can boast that they have the 2016 distillery of the year located at the bottom of their hill,” he says.. “It’s the only distillery in the world that you can ski to the door,” he adds of a facility that has won accolades, and has a “rustic, alpine feel with a modern look inside.”
“Because of its location, High West can be both an apres-ski destination that you end your day skiing into on the Quittin’ Time run or a mid-day break as well where you just walk a short distance to Town Lift. That’s a pretty big luxury of being located at the bottom of the ski resort and Main Street at the same time.”
Fyne says the Park City area – home to both Park City Mountain Resort, the “largest lift-accessed ski resort in the United States and Deer Valley, which prides itself on offering the first-class services of a five-star hotel to a ski resort” – offers skiers “the greatest snow on earth,” with a dry climate leading to “very fluffy” conditions. “When you ski on it, you float.”
The ski season begins in November and continues into April, and Park City averages over 300 inches of snow each year.
Park City Mountain Resort has 347 trails, and Deer Valley has 101.
Park City resort trails were used for the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and its legacy includes Utah Olympic Park. Park visitors can ride a bobsled that provides what the attraction labels “3,000 feet of fast and furious sliding and gliding.”
The town – which will be bidding for the 2026 Winter Olympics – routinely hosts US Olympians, Fyne says.
Fyne says Park City – which began life in 1870 as a silver mining town – has lodging for all budgets.