Park City Mountain Resort offers more than 7,000 acres of terrain. Ninety-Nine 90 or Jupiter attract the experts while there are groomers across the two sides of the resort to keep intermediate and beginner skiers and snowboarders satisfied.
There are plentiful dining and après ski options, lodging that runs the gamut and, of course, Utah powder. It is one of the immediately recognizable names in North American skiing.
All that is why we see PCMR’s staggering drop in this year’s SKI Magazine rankings as an aberration that can be reversed.
The magazine’s readers put PCMR at No. 30 among resorts in the West. It was No. 13 in 2020. A drop like that was a shock even after the difficulties of the yard sale that was the 2021-2022 ski season at PCMR. It is one that will likely not be fully turned around by the time of next year’s rankings, regardless of how the resort performs in the upcoming winter, but PCMR leadership seems to understand that the issues were so broad as to require action well before the opening of the 2022-2023 season.
PCMR last season suffered from staffing shortages, terrain closures and unacceptable lift lines. Masses of local skiers and snowboarders were incensed with the situation on the slopes and too many visitors were left wondering about their choice for a ski vacation in an industry that is fighting to retain every one of them.
The top staffer at PCMR at the time, Mike Goar, did not shirk responsibility, instead acknowledging the problems and attempting to fix them even as the crowds continued to arrive. He has since left for a post in Europe with PCMR parent Vail Resorts, and it is up to his successor, Deirdra Walsh, to execute a plan for the 2022-2023 ski season that begins to address the various difficulties.
A month before the ski season is scheduled to start at PCMR, the resort has outlined various steps it will take to better manage the winter. There will be a paid-parking system on the Park City side of PCMR, which is meant to reduce traffic, and a limit on daily lift ticket sales. Those are two of the especially aggressive measures that we are eager to observe.
Numerous SKI Magazine readers will be on the PCMR slopes during the upcoming season. Everyone should hope their visits turn out better than those who were at PCMR last winter.
And hope the 2021-2022 winter, and the No. 30 ranking, are aberrations.