The Deer Valley Resort ski season is over. Park City Mountain will stop running the lifts for the season shortly. Yet there will likely be plenty of snow remaining from the extraordinary winter, especially at the upper elevations, for weeks after the end of the ski season.
Both of the resorts, though, say the terrain is off limits for skiing once the season closes, meaning so-called earn-your-turns skiing or snowboarding will not be allowed at Park City Mountain and Deer Valley. Skiers or snowboarders are prohibited from hiking up the slopes for some final runs of the season even if the spring snow can appear appealing.
There are safety concerns on the slopes as the resorts move from winter to summer operations and the terrain is not patrolled as it is during the ski season. Even if there is easy access to certain terrain that does not require a lift after the season, both the resorts say the public is prohibited at this point of the year.
Deer Valley in a prepared response to a Park Record inquiry explained “avalanche mitigation and routine snow safety work is not completed as it is during ski season and ski patrol is not onsite to aid in emergencies.”
“The snow pack is highly variable this time of year and the strict mountain closures are for everyone’s safety. Our crews are on the mountain completing many seasonal projects that require heavy equipment which can create additional transitions in snow conditions and hazards,” Deer Valley said.
The Deer Valley website also addresses uphill travel, saying “Deer Valley Resort . . . does not allow uphill travel of any kind within its Resort boundaries. This includes hiking, snowshoeing, skinning, or any other method of travel. No homeowners or members of the general public are allowed uphill travel access on the Resort property at any time.”
The Park Record on Wednesday afternoon observed a person outside Empire Canyon Lodge, in the upper reaches of Deer Valley, walk toward the slopes with skis outfitted with climbing skins. The person appeared to read a sign explaining the closure of the terrain and walked away.
Park City Mountain also provided a prepared response, noting people “will not be allowed to ski, snowboard, skin, snowmobile or otherwise travel over snow within Park City Mountain resort boundaries after May 1.”
“This is based on best safety practices: as our teams work to transition the mountain from winter to summer operations, heavy machinery and unmarked hazards will be present,” Park City Mountain said.
The resort also addressed how violations would be addressed.
“Park City Mountain operates on private property; in case of a trespass violation, we would start with resort staff engaging and educating, and escalate as needed. This is in accordance with our usual approach to violations of policy on site,” the statement said.
Park City Mountain on Friday reported a 135-inch base. The spring melt, though, is well underway and will likely quicken in coming days. The National Weather Service forecast for the Park City area as of Friday called for temperatures approaching 70 degrees by Sunday.
It is not common to see people on the slopes at either of the resorts after the ski season. The snow conditions by that time in many years are far from ideal, and skiers and snowboarders typically seem to move toward hiking and bicycling once the snow melts at the lower elevations of the state.
Notably, though, there were skiers and snowboarders seen at Deer Valley and Park City Mountain after the mid-March closures in the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic. There was lots of snow across the elevations at that time. The number of people on the slopes after the closures drew the attention of law enforcement.