Deer Valley Resort President and CEO Bob Wheaton didn’t hold back when asked to summarize one of the best winters in recent memory.
“It was one of those winters that we’d like to have any time,” he said. “We just started out with a bang, and ended with a powder weekend, and it doesn’t get a whole lot better than that, I don’t think.”
But now that skiers won’t see the white slopes of Deer Valley again until the latter months of 2011, Wheaton and the staff at the resort have turned their focus to making the resort a summertime hit.
Deer Valley will open up an unprecedented third lift this summer for mountain-biking access as Ruby Lift will join the Silver Lake Express and Sterling lifts to provide access to some of the most attractive biking destinations in Northern Utah.
Wheaton said the success of last year’s summer season led the resort to try out a third lift for 2011.
“Last year was a very positive response to our mountain biking and scenic ride effort,” he said. “It was a good indicator that we can go along and open up Ruby.
“That’ll give us a whole another trail pod. So we’ll be working on that throughout the summer. We’re going to push hard and get a main artery (for bikers). We’ll be working on hiking and biking trails as well.”
He said the resort is also looking forward to the Deer Valley summer concert series and has a boatload of conferences, meetings, banquets and weddings scheduled during the upcoming summer months.
Wheaton also said Deer Valley will be hosting a slew of mountain-biking industry-related activities over the next few months.
“Last year, we had press week and press camp where major bike manufacturers brought their bikes to Deer Valley and invited the biking press to come up and demo new products, then shortly after that is a dealer camp, and they invited the dealers here.
“For us at Deer Valley, that’s certainly beneficial for us and everyone in town.”
The Deer Valley president reiterated that while Park City is best known for its snow, the summer months have almost as much to offer in terms of outdoor recreation.
“The amount of activities here in the summer is just incredible,” he said. “Everybody really enjoys being in town.”
After a memorable winter, in which the resort hosted the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships in early February, an event that Wheaton said was undoubtedly the highlight of his winter, he found himself skiing the slopes on the resort’s last winter day Sunday.
“I was thinking about it (Sunday),” he said, laughing. “We’re closing in two hours.”
When asked if he’s ready to take on the quick switch from snow to sun, he said, “(There’s) never a dull moment.”
For more information on Deer Valley’s summer operations, which are scheduled to begin June 17, go to www.deervalley.com.