Nothing about skiing is cheap. Not the season pass or daily lift ticket, not the equipment or clothing, and definitely not the housing or nightly accommodations. And judging by my American Express bill, not even the après ski drinks would be considered affordable by ordinary standards. But when you live at a ski resort, it’s normal to get a little jaded and lose sight of reality. We watch visitors drop $10,000 on a weekend of skiing so often that spending $200 to sip a few cocktails inside what most would consider a haphazardly erected greenhouse seems like a steal. While it’s true that under any other circumstance I don’t think my ski buddies would consider this a reasonable sum of money to exchange for the ambience provided by painter’s plastic, we’ve managed to find it acceptable, chalking it up to the cost of having a social life in Park City. Cheers to the Vintage Room.
If you’d have asked me last week, “What’s the least expensive thing about skiing?” I’d have probably answered, “Getting to the mountain.” Taking into consideration we have a free bus system and my Jeep is paid off. But now, even that is questionable.
Last week, the luxury 4X4 vehicle manufacturer, Land Rover, debuted its 2023 Range Rover Sport Deer Valley Edition. For a mere $165,000, you can be one of only 20 people to drive this custom SUV, which comes with fitted roof box for skis, “Deer Valley Edition” etched across the doors, and the signatures of Lindsey Vonn and Ted Ligety incorporated into the cupholder cover. And if that’s not enough, owners will also receive a special note indicating they’re one of just 20 people on the planet openly vying for the title of “Most Aspirational Bougie Driver.”
There’s no word yet on whether snowboarders will be allowed to purchase the vehicle.
The announcement about the marketing partnership between Deer Valley and Land Rover was filled with buzzwords carefully crafted to entice a very specific clientele, explaining that the “Deer Valley Edition is influenced by the beauty of the iconic high-altitude locale.” And that the vehicle “has been tastefully elevated to support those who pursue adventure in cold weather climates.” The press release went on to state that the 20 vehicles were “created to appeal to the most dedicated Alpine Winter lifestyle enthusiasts.” It’s unclear to me why alpine or winter were capitalized. You’d think a company selling $165,000 vehicles could afford to install Grammarly on at least one computer.
The press release revealing this limited-edition SUV made its way across social media, accompanied by the expected amount of eyeroll emojis. I’m on a group text with several Deer Valley ski buddies — the ones whom I regularly après with inside a translucent tent — and this announcement became the subject of our recent group chat. While expensive, most of us decided that if the Range Rover came with a designated parking spot at the resort, it’d be worth the price tag. One friend disagreed though and said that for $165,000, he’d expect to pull up to the Sterling chair and toss the liftie his keys.
I’m also on a group chat with friends who ski at a different resort. I asked them if their home mountain boasted any partnerships like this and they seemed comically perplexed by the suggestion, explaining to me that Land Rover was the perfect fit for Deer Valley because “It will go for two hours, then require a 90-minute rest break.”
I offered that while it might putter out by mid-day, there’s no better place to recover than a Saran wrap-inspired tent serving $40 cocktails.