Several independent filmmakers, including Peter Baxter, submitted projects to the Sundance Film Festival and were promptly turned away. Baxter and his cohorts each felt their films should be seen, and so they got together to watch them.

"We all got rejected that's how we got started," said Baxter. "Some great things come out of rejection. Instead of just walking off into the sunset with our tails between our legs we decided to collect ourselves together. There were 12 features and 13 shorts the first year. Now we show over 100."

Baxter currently serves as the president of the year-round independent film organization that has continued to hold a festival in Park City at the same time as Sundance.

"It's something we were doing for ourselves together, but we realized there were other filmmakers like ourselves who wanted places to show their work," he said. "It's becoming more and more challenging to get noticed."

This year's festival includes more than 10 divisions: teleplay, horror, $99 short film, anarchy online, dramatic feature, short, documentary, screenplay and video game.

Baxter, a filmmaker who is currently working on a documentary of his own, said this year's crop of docs shows just how far the festival has come in terms of originality and quality.

"From a documentary point of view, 9/11, Katrina and war documentaries are around, but there was an increase in social documentaries as well," he said. "A lot of filmmakers are following what's going on the in world and in America and making their films."

"These films are labors of love and the quality shows that," he continued. "The program is at a very high standard right now. It is independent filmmaking as its best. A lot of the films that didn't make it into the festival this year are very, very good."

In choosing the finalists, Baxter said seven or eight other filmmakers watch each film and decide which to accept. He also said the judging is based purely on quality, not subject or theme.

"It's funny how themes work at Sundance because we don't have any," he said. "We don't have anything specific we're looking for. All of our programmers are filmmakers themselves and that's very important to us. We don't look at themes or fashions the quality of the films wins out."

Despite the fact that the festival was born out of the ashes of rejection, Slamdance does its fair share of dismissal. More than 3,600 films were submitted for the 100 slots the festival allows.

"We received over 3,600 film entries for 100 spots, which made it a very difficult competition this year," Baxter said. "The standard of independent filmmaking has increased its value, and not only independently, but for how well these films can go on to success commercially."

Another high point of the 2007 festival is the Anarchy Online competition where short films are posted online and available for viewing via the Internet.

Slamdance selects three nine-minute films every month from March to November. Each monthly winner will compete against the finalists online at the end of the year as well as screen at twice during the Slamdance Film Festival.

The horror film competition is in its first year. The grand prizewinner will have their screenplay made into a feature motion picture. Angel Baby will purchase the rights to the winning original screenplay and will produce a feature film in association with Liberty Studios, the oldest continually running movie studio in New York City.

"The move we made with the horror competition is a natural progression for us," Baxter said. "It's something we discussed for a while, but it had to be done in the right time and place."

Back for its third year is the Guerrilla Game Makers Competition, which pits 14 independently made video games against each other. The competition is similar to the film festival in that it features independent works by up-and-coming creators in the industry.

"Video games today are as important and influential as movies have ever been," said Baxter. "The type and standard of creativity we are seeing at Slamdance Games is akin to the trailblazing days of independent filmmaking, a time that artists reacted with more imagination and against the generic fare of the movie studio."

The 2007 entrants have themes ranging from "biting indictments of modern corporate culture to fantastical adventures crashing castles," said Guerilla Games competition director Sam Roberts. "We have interactive fiction, beat-em-ups, non-traditional puzzle games, and experiments in flow theory."

The 14 finalists for the 2007 competition include Book and Volume, Braid, FlOw, and Super Columbine Massacre RPG, which has players reenact the 1999 Colorado high school shooting.

Baxter said he is excited about the quality of the finalists in all the divisions. There are too many quality projects out there, he said, for just a one-week festival. That's why Slamdance has gone year-round.

"What I'm most excited about is the overall program and the overall quality of it," he said. "The goal is to continue and build on what we have established in supporting emerging talent, not just at the festival but year-round. I am particularly interested in continuing in the physical presence we have in Park City, but also from a virtual perspective and what we can do online. It's a great time to into independent film."

The post Slamdance prepping for round 11 appeared first on Park Record.

Once again, Park City proved the doubters wrong.

Bus ridership was up significantly from previous weeks and from last year. Eric Nesset, fleet and transit manager for Park City Municipal, said the week of Dec. 25-31 set records with 94,189 passengers, up from 65,200 the week before. During the same time period last year, there were about 92,000 passengers. Nesset said typical ridership in the winter is about 10,000 per day.

For the year, more than 1.9 million riders used the bus system, compared to 1.7 million in 2005, an increase of about 10 percent. Both years were records.

"I think we'll probably reach 2 million next year," Nesset said. "The biggest increases are in the county routes. The city route are pretty mature, they been around for years, but we still see some increase there."

A good portion of visitors to Park City come for the three world-class ski resorts, which all reported having very successful weeks during the holidays.

"We had a fantastic Christmas week and it looks like we'll be setting records by the end of this week," Communications director Erin Grady said.

Deer Valley, one of two Utah resorts that limit the number of guests each day, sold out several days between Christmas and New Years'. Grady said the resort limits its numbers so that there are always enough seats in the on-mountain lodges during the lunch rush.

"We do it for the guest experience and so people can always find seating at all of our lodges," she said. "We have the capability of putting more than 44,000 up the mountain per hour, so it's not about lift capacity, it's more of a matter of guest experience."

Park City Mountain Resort also reported strong numbers for the week, and resort spokesperson Krista Parry said because of the growing popularity of the resort and the town, the weeks prior to and following Christmas were also busy.

"We had a very strong week," Parry said. "It's what we've come to expect during Christmas week. The interesting thing is that this week, the week following Christmas, has been very strong as well."

"Last week was pretty much on par with where we've been in the past, but this week, through Park City Mountain Reservations, bookings are up 22 percent from where we were last year," she continued.

Despite the lack of Utah's famous dry powder, Parry said guests packed the slopes for the groomed runs and soft snow that the resort is known for.

"Our holiday guests like to have good snow conditions, but they like to have the blue-bird skies," Parry said. "They ended up getting both."

Parry said the new Alpine Coaster was a huge hit over the holiday with young and old alike. With people riding once and going back for another ticket, she said many had just as good of a time on the coaster as they did on the slopes.

"Another one of our successful programs was our Signature 5, which reached capacity several times during the week," she said. "Nobody had a class that was larger than five students per instructor and the parents were ecstatic about that. Our ski school instructors and supervisors did a great job making the program a success during our busiest times."

Much like its two counterparts, The Canyons also had great numbers to end the year. Libby Dowd, The Canyons spokesperson, said the great weather and happy guests made it a good experience for skiers and snowboarders of all skill levels and ages.

"It was a great week at The Canyons," Dowd said. "We saw record numbers and we put the new six-pack lift at Tombstone to the test. The upgrades that we made over the summer to both Tombstone and Red Pine Lodge proved to be well worth it. With the sheer vastness of the resort we are lucky to be able to comfortably fit all of our guests. Even with record numbers of skiers and boarders, guests can smoothly navigate The Canyons and find plenty of terrain to cruise without feeling cramped at all."

Hilary Reiter, director of communications with Ski Utah, said the success was not only seen in Park City, but throughout the state's many resorts.

"What we're hearing from resorts is that they had super holiday periods that spanned three weeks," she said. "Park City, for example, is at 67 percent occupancy this week, which is well above where they were last year."

Powder Mountain had an excellent week, she said, and attributed that to great response to advertisements and articles done in national publications.

Wolf Mountain, despite low elevation, made snow and had a highly successful holiday week.

Alta's general manager reported they were "super busy last week, but not out of control busy," Reiter reported. She also said Snowbird was also at about 100 percent lodging for several days during the holiday.

Reiter said that with the lack of snow on the east coast that many skiers in that region were forced to come west.

"Another good thing to note is that the northeast doesn't have any snow this year," she said. "Anyone planning to ski Vermont, New York or anywhere else back there had to come west, which helped the numbers here."

"Even though locals might not have been impressed with the ski conditions, they were actually the perfect conditions for the average tourist coming to Park City to ski with their families," she continued. "Locals might not have gotten out on the hill because they didn't think there was any powder out there, it kept the tourists happy."

The post Park City, resorts see an influx over the holidays appeared first on Park Record.

Rybak began as food and beverage director at Park City Mountain Resort in September.

"My grandmother watched me while my mom and dad both worked and as a kid I started cooking in the kitchen and had a knack and a love for it," Rybak said. "We're in this country of fast food and things, but my family was very good about sitting down together for a meal once a week. It was instilled in me that it was important."

From those lessons learned while he was young, Rybak discovered food was more than just food to him it's an entire experience, and more.

"Food is celebration," he said. "You have to eat to maintain life, but we're lucky here in this country to be able to sit down and celebrate and I think that's what a lot of our guests want to do. I really get a lot of pleasure out of it."

Rybak went to culinary school in Ohio and earned his certification as an executive chef before working for 21 years at Keystone resort in Colorado.

"I am a certified executive chef by trade," he said. "Through the American Culinary Federation you do a hands-on cooking test and a written test with additional and background educational classes and certain criteria you have to meet a long the way."

At Keystone, he said he was in charge of "a gamut of things from all the food and beverage on the mountain as well as a four-diamond restaurant and a family restaurant, a fondue restaurant and others."

Wanting a change of scenery, he came to Park City to run all of PCMR's on-mountain dining, which includes Legacy Lodge, Summit House, Snow Hut, Legends Bar and Grill and Kristi's Coffee House.

"I was looking to move on," he said. "I did it just for a change, to broaden my horizons, take on a new challenge and add a new chapter of my life and career. Moving to Utah as a state wasn't really a factor. I moved here because I was offered a great position with a great company and that was my focus. I'm pretty career driven and want to challenge myself every day. This just makes sense."

Of the five main establishments Rybak is in charge of, three are lodges offering everything from typical mountain food to more sophisticated tastes. Each lodge has similar menu items, but each also has a specialty.

"In those places we serve everything you'd expect to see on a ski mountain like burgers and chili fries," he said. "But then at each establishment we try to have a focus, like at the Snow Hut we have a roast turkey platter that makes you think of Thanksgiving when you get it. At Legacy Lodge we feature our fish tacos and our salad bar, while at Summit House we key in on the burrito station that is very good and very value driven."

Although he could change the menus if he desired, Rybak said everything will pretty much stay the same. He said he has a staff that knows what they're doing and he isn't going to mess with it.

"Right now I have a great chef who has been with the resort for several years as well as a great crew," Rybak said. "There are no monumental changes I want to make in any way. My focus is to raise the bar a little bit, dot the i's, cross the t's and give the guests what they want."

Kristi's is the meeting place on the mountain, he said, with families and friends gathering to grab a mocha before heading out into the cold. He also said it's a great place to warm up and enjoy a sandwich.

"It's pretty much your full-service coffee shop," he said. "You can come in, rest by the fireplace and grab a latte. We also offer great pastries and sandwiches."

Legends is the premier restaurant at PCMR and it's also a private club. He said its menu diversity makes it strong, but keeps it inviting to anyone and everyone.

"It's a full-service private club and restaurant where we offer a sit-down dining experience," he said. "Our wait staff is dressed in ties and we'd like to think our guests can come in to get anything from a steak to pasta to a salad. On the private club end of Legends, we offer one of the best après ski experiences at the base of the mountain."

For someone who covers almost every type of food all in one location, Rybak said he doesn't favor French, or Italian or burgers, but just enjoys the experience of food in general, which is one of the reasons he said he doesn't need to change much.

"My feeling, and one of the reasons that I came here, was that I felt that my insights and thought on the ski-area food industry was much in line with what they were looking for here. My desire here is to run good business and make people happy. You can get that doing any type of food, you just have to do it very well."

Although he admits the lift ticket is the main thing people come to the mountain for, he thinks of the food and beverage side as second to none. In order to get people to come, he said, you need good skiing. In order to get them to come back you need good food.

"My feeling is that, yes, you're coming here for the skiing, but you return for everything else along the way," he said. "It starts when you pull up in the parking lot and ends when you drive away. It's everything in between people come back for and adds to that downhill skiing experience."

Selected by his peers as Chef of the Year 2000 in Colorado, he said he can't compare Keystone to Park City, although he quickly admitted he is extremely happy where he is.

"They're too totally different animals," he said of the two resorts. "You're going from Big Brother to a lot of room to grow. They're both great operations in their own way. But I'm enjoying myself. I have fun every day. I believe in the company and I know that we're growing and moving forward. That's an exciting thing."

The post New PCMR food and beverage director celebrating appeared first on Park Record.

More than 20 years before opening Mountain View Medical Supplies with his sister, Diane Malott, Pivo graduated with an undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Southern California, and then enrolled in the school's four-year pharmacy program before heading out to join the medical workforce.

"I graduated in 1988 then went to work for my father at a community pharmacy," Pivo said. "Then I opened my own store in 1990 and sold that in 2005 before coming here to work in Park City."

At the store he owned he acted as a traditional pharmacy and also sold medical equipment. It was then he began to notice the success of the supply side of his field.

"The medical supply side was growing and growing and growing while the pharmacy side was shrinking," he said. "I saw people needing a medical supply store to support them."

In 2005 Malott convinced Pivo to move his family to Park City, where Malott had been living for years. Wanting to combine her marketing background with his experience in medical supplies and business, Malott convinced her little brother to start the store.

"Diane has raised a family here in Park City and been a part of the community for 10 years," Pivo said. "She got to the point that she had done everything she needed to do to get her children ready for the future and was ready to do something for herself."

"I, on the other hand, was just bored of pharmacy and counting pills," he continued. "When I came up here she said that we should do something together and we noticed there was nothing like a medical supply store here, so we opened this together."

Despite warnings from friends about the dangers of mixing family and business, the pair has had a relatively smooth start to their venture together. Pivo said he couldn't imagine a better situation than getting the chance to work with his sister.

"We come from a family-operated business perspective our whole lives and it's never been a big deal," he said. "We've been best friends our whole lives and still are so we knew there wouldn't be a challenge there."

Pivo said they opened the store because they saw a need for it in the community. Too many people had to drive to Salt Lake City to get medical supplies, he said, since it's the type of business every injured person needs.

"We also opened this store to accent the growing medical community that's coming here and to help meet their needs and the needs of their patients," he said, referring to the announcement that Intermountain Health Care plans to build a hospital in the area. "But we are not here to compete with pharmacies, physicians, physical therapists or anyone else. We carry supplies others don't carry."

IHC plans to begin construction on a hospital to be located near Quinn's Junction in the spring, which Pivo said Mountain View will support by providing products to the community that patients will need.

Mountain View carries everything from wheelchairs to medical beds, orthopedic braces to portable oxygen.

"Our merchandise is, in the broadest terms, medical and wellness supplies," he said. "We only carry high-end quality products. We deal with a population that needs to feel they're getting the right product, a quality product, for the right amount money that is suited to the right injury or body part. You can find cheaper brands, but I don't believe you'll get the quality you're looking for. You won't get a hospital-grade product."

Pivo said there is a great need for medical supplies in Park City because it is such an active community with cycling, hiking, running and the winter sports the town supports.

"We serve local athletes, weekend warriors and the elderly population," he said. "We're serving Kamas and Heber, all the way out to Evanston. The elderly population here who use our services is larger than I thought it would be. I'm actually surprised at how much business we do in that area."

Mountain View's motto is " Get well. Stay well. Be well." Pivo said they back up the motto by having a health professional, and not just a salesman, help outfit customers with the appropriate medical supplies.

"I've dealt with all kinds of physicians and specialties. I know what the doctors want their patients to have. I don't have people coming back and saying their doctor wanted them to have something different."

After working as a pharmacist for nearly two decades, Pivo said he is happy about the switch, happy to be partners with his sister and happy to be in Park City. He also said his education isn't over. He will start at the University of Utah's graduate school of business in the fall.

Mountain View Medical Supplies is located at 1890 Bonanza Drive and can be reached by calling (435) 615-1073 during normal business hours, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Delivery is available.

The post Mountain View Medical open in Park City appeared first on Park Record.

Julie Wilson has been with Deer Valley for 26 years, 21 in her current capacity as director of food and beverage. She has seen all of the resort's growth, watching it go from the youngest of three Park City ski resorts to one of the top ranked resorts in the country.

"Since I've been here we've added some new restaurants that have been very successful," she said. "We have Empire Lodge and the Fireside dining. The growth of Park City is the growth of Deer Valley."

Even though the mountain seems to change and develop each year, one thing remains consistent once people get a job at Deer Valley, they stay there.

"One place Deer Valley doesn't see chance is in its personnel," Wilson said about her longevity with the company. "Our chefs and managers have been here at least 12 years, and most of them for more than 20. Deer Valley is a wonderful company to work for."

Despite being witness to the evolution of the mountain, Wilson said she, along with the other dining executives, has found something that works something that doesn't need to change much.

"There isn't a lot of change that's happened from last year," Wilson said. "With the restaurants the biggest change is adding another day for Fireside. We just try to perfect what we're already doing."

Fireside, one of the more popular offerings at Deer Valley, is held Wednesday through Friday evenings, which is one night more than last year.

"We have one more night open at Fireside," she said. "It's sold out so far in advance we added another night. It's a dinner at Empire Lodge that we started where we serve European Alpine cuisine from all of our different fireplaces."

From the five fireplaces come a variety of dishes, from cheeses to stews, short ribs to chicken, sausage to lamb. There are also several vegetarian selections.

Reservations for Fireside can be made by calling (435) 645-6632.

Another on-mountain offering is the more casual Royal Street Café, located at the southwest corner of Silver Lake Lodge. Open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, lunch and dinner are both served.

"We have Royal Street Café that is open daily for lunch and dinner," Wilson said. "It's a little more casual; it's nice fun cuisine. We serve during the day and skiers can take a run off and come in and eat lunch and enjoy a bottle of wine. There really isn't anything else at Deer Valley you can compare it with."

The Mariposa, a favorite of Deer Valley guests, is located at the Silver Lake Lodge and is only open for dinner, 5:45-9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Much like Wilson, the executive chef of the restaurant has been there from the beginning and has learned what works and what doesn't.

"A member of our wait staff told me the other day that he can't believe how many people leave The Mariposa saying it's the best meal of their life," Wilson said. "Considering who are guests are, that's a pretty incredible statement."

Rated No. 1 in the Zagat Restaurant Guide, the menu features veal, lamb, sablefish, duck and lobster to go along with other entrees a list of desserts, appetizers and wines.

"We have a wonderful tasting on the menu that gives a little sampler of the menu," Wilson said. "The rack of lamb we've had on the menu for 2 years. We can't take it off because it's the best rack of lamb people have ever had. Another thing that's been very popular this year is the lobster tail."

The Seafood Buffet at Snow Park Lodge, open for dinner from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, gives diners another on-mountain choice. Sushi, Salmon, five different types of fresh fish and non-seafood items such as duck and prime rib make deciding on what to eat first a tough decision.

"The mountain is known for its food and gets awarded annually as having the best on-mountain dining," Wilson said. "It's all what we feed our skiers. People remember Deer Valley for the food it's a big part of the ski day and they plan their day around where they're going to eat."

But it's not all duck and lamb. "You can pick up a burger and chili fries at all of our restaurants and it's the best chili you'll ever eat," Wilson said. "Everything we do here we try to make it the best. We blind taste burgers and fries to make sure it's all the best."

Although Park City is generally known as a winter town, Wilson said the food and activities at Deer Valley keeps the resort busy all year-round.

"The summers used to be a down time, now we're just as busy in the summer as we are in the winter. On Saturdays in the summer we likely have eight different dinners going on. Busy, busy, busy."

The post Deer Valley embellishes menus appeared first on Park Record.

Sunglass Pros, a high-end shades shop, recently opened a store on Main Street to go along with locations in Boston, Hawaii and Aspen and Boulder, Colo.

"The Park City store has been good so far," Hilowitz said. "We felt a big need there. No one in Park City was selling Cartier, Chrome Hearts, Lorree Rodkin and other high-end glasses. We have Gucci and brands like that as well."

From Cartier to Oakley, Sunglass Pros has a little of everything, ranging in price from $70 for a pair of sporty Ray-Bans to $4,500 for a pair of Pave Diamonds meant to turn heads.

"The average consumer in Park City is considered to be well above the average means with a very big need for these types of sunglasses, which was not catered to at all in Park City before we came," Hilowitz said. "We're able to help all those people that have to go to Las Vegas or California. They can get the exact same brands they can get there and now they can get them right in Park City."

Hilowitz said Sunglass Pros is unique is the way it presents, sells and maintains its merchandise, which is what has made it successful in all five locations across the country.

"We are the only ones in the country who present sunglasses the way we do," he said. "We consider ourselves the only true high-end sunglass retailer in the country. We're the only retailer of sunglasses who sell the sunglasses like jewelry, which means the customer doesn't have direct access to the glasses they're behind glass."

Despite not having immediate access to the sunglasses, Hilowitz said customers have a 360-degree view of each pair because of the way they are displayed. He also said needing an employees help to try on the glasses will allow the customer to learn more about each pair, how they fit and the various styles.

"The sunglasses are laid out in such a manner because a lot of the designs include details on the temples of the frame, and this way you can see everything about each pair," he said. "The way we have it set up you can see every pair of sunglasses all the way around, which is another good thing for the customer."

"The product is always immaculate because there's somebody always helping you," he added. "You don't just meander around aimlessly trying to learn things about the glasses on your own. There is a lot to buying sunglasses that people don't know about."

Another difference between Sunglass Pros and other stores is that Hilowitz hires licensed opticians to work at each location. Christina Christopherson, the manager and optician at the Park City store, does all frame adjustments and screw replacements for free on glasses sold at the store.

Hilowitz said he got the idea to have an in-house optician from his brother, Jeffery Hilowitz, an optometrist and business partner.

"My brother and I were in the prescription eyewear business in New York and we put several sunglasses on the wall and it became very popular," Hilowitz said. "Since then we've also been doing sunglass stores."

Hilowitz said Sunglass Pros is not the store for those searching for a $5 pair of sunglasses that won't be missed if they're lost. The shop is for the fashion-forward shopper wanting to sport the latest trend, he said.

"We're looking for an upscale customer that's very aware of fashion trends and wants to stay up to date," he said. "We don't really cater to the type of customer looking for a bargain and is not into quality and workmanship."

Hilowitz wanted to add a Park City location after several Parkites walked into his Maui store and told him to come to Utah.

"Park City is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen," he said. "The whole area of Colorado and Utah is awesome. Add Hawaii in there and I love making trips to all my stores."

Although he said he doesn't really have a home, Hilowitz spends most of his time in Boston, although he is currently running his newest store, located in Aspen, because his manager was a no-show on opening day.

"On our first day in business in Aspen my manager never showed up," he said. "I was here for the opening and when she never showed up I had to run the store by myself and try hire someone else. But this is a great place to work and a great place to shop I'm sure it won't be a problem."

Sunglass Pros is located at 577 Main Street and can be reached at (435) 655-2390.

The post High-end shades hit Park City appeared first on Park Record.

The results of a $60,000 climate-modeling study done by scientists from the University of Colorado at Boulder will be released. Using the latest available global warming data and satellite images, the study looks at what Park City's snow pack will likely be in 2030, 2060 and at the end of the century.

The event will include a panel discussion and question and answer session with some of the researchers, resort representatives and Mayor Dana Williams, as well as a presentation by singer Kathy Mattea.

Blair Feulner, general manager of event sponsor KPCW, said there are two different studies being presented. The first takes a look at seven different models of temperatures both at a mountain base and a mountain peak. The second takes information from the first, as well as data taken from snow and precipitation depths, and uses it to predict what the snow pack might be in the future.

"In the 26 years we've been on the air this is the most important thing we've been involved in, and it wouldn't have happened if it wouldn't have been for John Cumming and Powdr Corp," Feulner said. "It's a topic that we're pretty passionate about. We're all into it for a lot, but a huge amount of money came from Park City Mountain and Powdr Corp."

Brian Lazar, senior associate at Stratus Consulting and presenter at the Jan. 9 event, said he couldn't discuss the specific results of the study until then, but said the information is worth the wait.

"We did some projections for what the future climate might look like through the end of the century and how it might impact the ski industry," he said. "It will be a presentation of results from a scientific analysis. We started doing it in early October and wrapped up results in mid-December. I ran the study, Mark Williams worked as an advisor, and about six other scientists helped as well."

Williams will participant at the event with Lazar, and said he is lucky to have been able to participate in the research.

"I love doing this stuff," Lazar said. "A lot of my motivation comes from my being an old ski guy. I got into ski guiding long before I got into any kind of consulting work. If this kind of investigation gets public interest up and effects a policy I'm glad to be a part of it."

Gerald Meehl, senior scientist for the National Center for Atmospheric Research, served on the scientific advisory committee for the Canary Initiative in Aspen, Colo. He has also been involved in similar research for Park City and will participate in Save Our Snow.

Speaking of the Aspen project he said, "The idea was that snow elevation sensitivity could be one of the first indicators of climate change. It's kind of like the canary in the coal mine if there's a problem with the CO2 build-up the canary will die first and give everyone a good indicator that something is wrong."

"The interesting thing they noted in Aspen is that over the last three or four decades they've seen a decrease of 20 frost days, which has implications for snow making and for the ski industry from the impact of the warming that has happened already," he continued.

He said the warming trends would continue unless changes are made.

"You try to bracket the possible outcomes because there could be steps taken, policies put in place, that would decrease warming," he said. "If we were somehow able to go on the low-emissions pathway there will be more skiing into the 22nd Century. We can still do something about it, but if we're going to do something about it, it better be pretty quick. We're already seeing the effects on skiing and it's just going to get worse over the next few decades."

Although there is a significant elevation difference between Aspen and Park City, Meehl said there are enough similarities between the two climates to keep the results analogous, although he wouldn't talk specifics.

"In Park City the results would be comparable," he said. "The higher you are in elevation the longer you'll be able to sustain some skiing. There is definite elevation dependence. You'll see a significantly shorter ski season lower on the mountain."

Dan Richardson, Canary Initiative manager for the City of Aspen, agreed the results would likely be similar, although he did not take part in the Park City studies.

"In Aspen, we found the average temperature has increased three degrees as opposed to a national increase of one degree," he said. "The scientists have said that if your climate is similar to Aspen, it's possible you'll experience the same impact."

The elevation in Aspen is roughly 8,000 feet, extending to more than 12,000 feet at the town's tallest peak. Park City sits at nearly 6,800 feet, with about 10,000 feet at the peak of Jupiter.

"Clearly it shows a trend, a pretty sound projection, that our quality of life is at stake," he said. "It doesn't matter what your occupation or what your quality of life builds around, this warming will affect you. It will likely have a huge economic impact."

"I think people should go to the Save Our Snow event," he continued. "The wow-factor is one thing, but we hope it encourages businesses to act and we hope it helps them to adapt. There is an amount of warming that has already been caused and an adaptation needs to happens so we can mitigate the changes we can still control."

Save Our Snow will be Jan. 9 at the Eccles Center starting at 6 p.m. Visit www.kpcw.org for more information.

The post Free Save Our Snow Jan. 9 appeared first on Park Record.

At his last job as executive director of Sundance Resort, Raymond T. Grant reported directly to Robert Redford. Possible presidential candidate Mitt Romney was his boss before that.

Prior to moving to Utah Grant worked for the Walt Disney Corporation, and served as the general manager to the American Symphony Orchestra.

Grant recently left the world of celebrity to take a position as the new director of programming and club operations at Promontory, The Ranch Club but his goal is to bring similar fame to his new employer as held by some of his old ones.

Grant said Promontory, a second-home community in Park City, is one of the premier communities in the country, and his job to get the word out.

"I've been brought in to animate the experience of Promontory by elevating the level of guest service," Grant said. "It's so much more than just a ranch club. It's a second-home community that is animated by distinguished programs in golf, mountain recreation, nature and the environment, and programs for children and youth."

"It's a second-home community in which the landowners buy the right to become a member of the club community," he continued. "So in other words, you can't be a member of the Promontory community without being a club member."

As far as memberships are concerned, Grant said there are varying levels, each of which includes different amenities.

"There are different membership levels: for example, you could be a homeowner that is a golf member, which would give you access to the golf courses," he said.

The golf courses at Promontory are one of its biggest attractions, Grant said. With courses designed by golf-greats Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus, along with a new clubhouse opening New Year's Eve.

"The clubhouse will have housed in it a restaurant that will allow me to pay attention to the particular focus of food at Promontory," he said. "When people think of food in a club atmosphere it's not always with a thought of distinction. What we have here will be so different."

The recently hired executive chef at the restaurant is Parry Hendricks, who was the executive chef at The Metropolitan in Salt Lake City.

"I'm already building this team of programmers, whether it be in food or in golf or wherever, that will hopefully set Promontory apart as a community with a difference," Grant said of the addition.

Besides good food and great golf, Grant said Promontory is focused on keeping open space a large part of the community while expanding available activities.

"Promontory itself has a landmass of about 7,000 acres," he said. "Out of that 7,000 acres, about 50 percent is considered open space, so this notion of associating Promontory as a champion of open space will become something in the very near future that I'll be spending a lot of my time on."

Grant said he has been surprised by how active the community members at Promontory are. He said they're always looking for new things to try, new challenges to conquer.

"The members of Promontory are adventurous," he said. "I've been in posts where the activities I was in charge of marketing had to be dumbed down. That's not the case here at Promontory because of how adventurous the guests here are."

Grant said his previous jobs prepared him to work at Promontory. His prior experiences helped him to put his "finger on the pulse of building community," which is the goal at Promontory. "Communities happen when people gather and people gather when programs are run the right way," he said.

"As executive director of Sundance I was in charge of all of the resort operations, which included Zoom in Park City," he said. "I was in charge of marketing; I was in charge of sales. But I was really brought it to expand the programs they have there, like I am here."

During his time at Sundance, ski sales grew more than 500 percent. He also helped occupancy grow immensely.

"I grew occupancy, which used to be around 37 percent during the Sundance Film Festival, to nearly being sold out all of the years I was there," he said. "I also helped Sundance expand beyond the offerings of film to more cultural offerings at the festival."

Grant said working for Redford was a joy and a privilege.

"It was remarkable," he said of working with the actor. "I felt honored to be invited into his creative orbit and that orbit is expansive he not only has interest in arts and culture, but is also very involved in things like the environment."

Before he took the job at Sundance in 2003, Grant served as the artistic director for the 2002 Olympic Arts Festival from 1998-2003.

"I reported directly to Mitt Romney and in his book he tells about the time he called me into his office and said, 'Ray, the good news is you get to have a cultural program, but the bad news is you have to raise all the money for it,'" Grant said. "With the help of many generous donors the 2002 arts festival became the first Olympic arts festival to be privately funded."

Born and raised in New York, Grant earned a master's degree in arts administration from New York University after completing his undergraduate work in music education and music therapy at Kansas University.

Although moving to Utah put him in an extremely different environment that New York, he said he was welcomed graciously into the Utah community.

"When you talk about 'the Church' where I'm from, you're definitely not talking about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," he said. "The community threw its arms open for this Catholic boy from New York who readily admits he is a sinner."

With more than 120 homes under construction and 10 square-miles of recreation area at Promontory, Grant said his new community is doing well.

"I think the future is extremely bright at Promontory and not just in terms of good real estate values, but as a second-home community that can become very animated," he said. "The possibilities are more than any other community I know of."

The post Promontory hires new program director appeared first on Park Record.

Scott Wilson and his wife, Sabrina Hiteshew-Wilson, have each run an Iron Man, and both readily compare the race to their newest adventure owning a business in Park City.

"Running a store is very similar to running an Iron Man," said Hiteshew-Wilson about their new shoe store, The Active Sole. "There is so much trepidation in both, but after finishing a triathlon it feels so great and I'm sure it will turn out the same way with the store. Even though there is a lot of stress, it feels great now. We didn't have a lot of business experience and I'm really proud at how the store turned out."

The pair started doing triathlons five years ago while living on the East Coast and both completed an Iron Man last summer, which they agree was a huge undertaking. Wilson said the experience helped prepare them for owning a business.

"It helped prepare us for running a business because in addition to keeping our full-time jobs, we were trying to find time to train, so we're used to balancing busy schedules and things like that. Both mean lots of hours and lots of hard work, but both are very rewarding at the end of the day when it all comes together."

The couple got the idea of opening a store from a friend in Baltimore who left the area to open a shoe store and was extremely successful. Although they were both working in the insurance industry at the time, they were able to see the transition done effectively, so they wondered if they could do the same.

They traveled with a group from Utah to watch the Tour de France and after hearing raves about Park City for more than a week, the couple decided to visit.

They first set foot in Park City in November of 2004 and were permanent residents by March of 2005.

"We moved here about two years ago from Baltimore to do the outdoor stuff," Wilson said. "Unlike most people, we moved here for the summers. We felt there was a good market for a shoe store; originally we wanted it to be a running store, but didn't think there was a big enough market for something that specific, so we decided to open The Active Sole."

After deciding on a platform for the store, the pair needed to find a location. They searched Park City for open spots they felt would suit the business and found one at Redstone that fit like Cinderella's glass slipper.

"Just looking around town we felt Redstone would give us the mix of local and tourist business that we wanted," Wilson said. "We like the location and layout we're next to the restaurants and have the movie theater around the corner so people will find us as they're just walking around waiting for a movie or something like that. It's perfect for The Active Sole."

Hiteshew-Wilson, who buys the merchandise and decides what to carry, said many people take the name of the store to mean they sell running and athletic shoes when that is not the truth. Although The Active Sole carries a selection of sporty kicks, she described their selection as "on the comfortable side with a little bit of flair."

"Most of the stuff I'm looking for is shoes that people in Park City would want to kick around in," she said. "People here are into comfortable, but also in looking good and getting around."

The brands carried at The Active Sole range from Dansko to Patagonia, and MBT to Salomon.

"We carry several lines you can't really find anywhere else," Wilson, who runs the day-to-day operations, said. "We specialize in comfort shoes and euro fashion being fashionable, comfortable and active. Some people think because of the name that we are a running store, but we're not."

The couple chose the slogan "Shoes that fit Park City" because they felt the individuality of Parkites was being underserved in the area. Many were forced to go to Salt Lake or Denver to find the types of shoes that The Active Sole now provides from their Redstone store.

"We wanted to make sure that the shoes we sell fit not only the Park City lifestyle but fit our customers as well," Wilson said. "We were careful to carry lines that aren't just fashionable but are comfortable. We also want to have a better level of service. We wanted to generate relationships with our customers and make repeat customers."

So far, Wilson said sales have been good, although he's not sure if the rate of success is due to Christmas, the winter season or just great merchandise.

"We're still trying to get our bearings," he said. "With Sundance coming up I think we'll have extended hours and stay open while the movies are going on. We're also thinking of having a trunk show, which is where a certain line will come in with their reps and bring in more variety than we would normally carry, but we haven't locked that down yet."

Before opening the store, both Wilson and Hiteshew-Wilson worked in the insurance industry and actually met at work. She grew up in Maryland and attended Shippensburg University to study childhood education, while he grew up in Virginia and attended West Virginia to study political science.

Hiteshew-Wilson has continued to do insurance work from home while Wilson runs the shop.

"It's been fun but a lot of work, but also a lot of fun," Wilson said. "We're just learning as we go. Sabrina works from home during the day then comes in here evenings and on the weekends. We just wanted to be knowledgeable and helpful without being high pressure."

The Active Sole is located at 1640 Redstone Center Drive and can be reached at (435) 575-SOLE and info@theactivesole.com. The store is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon-6 p.m.

The post New store for The Active Sole appeared first on Park Record.

Ledonne said the shooting was a wake-up call, not only for the world, but specifically for him. He was headed down a similar road, he said, but rather than use murder as an outlet, Ledonne said he turned to film and theater.

On the sixth anniversary of the school shooting, April 20, 2005, Ledonne released his first and only video game to the public Super Columbine Massacre RPG (Role Playing Game), which the Guerrilla Gamemakers Competition of the Slamdance Film Festival named as one of it's 14 finalists for the 2007 event starting Jan. 18.

"I don't want to sound cocky, but I thought I would be a finalist, in part because they're the ones who asked me to submit it," Ledonne said. "For me, the real question was how much flack are they going to take for putting their name behind this game that has generated a lot of controversy."

The game, which features crude mechanics, mirroring graphics of early 1990's games from Super Nintendo, places the player in the shoes of the two perpetrators of the killings, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold on the day of the attacks. The game, which was originally a free download from www.columbinegame.com, remained underground for its first year of life, not receiving attention from gamers or the press until 2006.

"I created the game for a couple of reasons," he said. "One, I felt there was a different perspective to be explored to the Columbine shooting, having gone through the high school in Colorado experience during the time of the shooting. I'm just a guy who found this software that I could make my own game with."

"Another reason I made the game," he continued," is that I spent a lot of my childhood playing video games. In my opinion, video games aren't really at the point where they can make fun of themselves yet. I wanted make a game that was a satirical statement about our society and gaming, and about how our society reacts to tragedy. I wanted to wind all these things together."

In making the game, Ledonne said he nearly spent a year researching the Littleton, Colo., shooting, which culminated in the game's creation. The game contains dialogue between the two boys taken from their own journals, as well as a detailed down-to-the-minute portrayal of the events of the massacre, including the types of weapons the boys used.

"A lot of people are surprised that the game contains so much information, and that may be in part because people aren't used to video games providing information," Ledonne said. "I owed it to myself and anyone that plays the game to put myself into it and research it. But I wasn't alone in it there are a lot of people who take a keen interest in the shooting.

Despite the fact that Ledonne said some speculation was necessary to create the game, he stayed away from conjecture as much as possible in an attempt to "stick to the facts."

Ledonne said he would rate the game "M for Mature" by current video game rating standards, although he said he put it on the Internet so it would be accessible to all.

"By putting on the Internet and having it as a free download I'm ostensibly saying it's for anyone with an Internet connection," he said. "But the game is not intended for anyone, I'd say, younger than the age of 16."

The game is no longer available for download from the original host site because the server was overloading with more than 8,000 downloads per day. The game is now only available through P2P file sharing programs such as Limewire and Napster.

Ledonne said the Gamemakers' competition at Slamdance is a step forward for the video gaming world, giving the chance for "up-and-coming game designers to get their work seen."

"I'm really there because this game represents something," he said. "When given the opportunity I want to discuss and explore what this means for gaming and where gaming can go from here. Our culture is still trying to understand what video games are and because of that they are often put under a harsher lens than other forms of expression. Through time, hopefully, video games will be viewed as an artistic medium alongside films, books, theater and music."

Ledonne has begun work on a documentary called Columbinegame.com about the game and the people who have played it. The film will include responses from media about the game, including PC World Magazine naming it to the "10 Worst Games of All Time" list in October.

"Do violent video games inspire horrific, violent acts in the real world?" Emru Townsend, author of the PC World Magazine article asked. "No one really knows for sure. Do horrific, violent acts in the real world inspire violent video games? Absolutely.

As a game, Super Columbine Massacre RPG is appalling."

Other media have responded similarly, but not Sam Roberts and the Slamdance staff, who invited Ledonne to submit the game for the competition.

"A lot of people were talking about the game so I was aware of it," said Roberts, who serves as the director of the video game portion of the festival. "Part of my job is to be on the lookout for what games are out there and get them into the competition."

"If somebody had shot a documentary about Columbine and used all the same materials that Danny did and tried to do the same thing to get people inside the shooters' mind before the tragedy happened, no one would be saying that it's wrong," Roberts said, comparing the video game to a theoretical counterpart in film. "If I thought something was making a strong stream of independent thought and discussion, I would probably run it."

A committee of experts, each of which plays each game and votes, selects games for the competition. Roberts said he voted to include the game because of the impact it could have on gamemaking in the future, as well as its social implications.

"The reason I was interested in it from the beginning is to continue to push and support interactive entertainment and gaming as an artistic medium," he said. "Columbine immediately appealed to me in that way; the game is there to provoke thought and to make a statement. The reason Danny made that game is to get people to think about Columbine and to talk about it. We're here to support independent, edgy thoughts and films, and even games."

Roberts said there will be areas and times set up for free play of the games featured at the festival, but supervisors will monitor the room and make sure those playing the game are of the age for which it was intended.

"Last year we didn't admit any children who weren't accompanied by adults, but there will always be one or two staff members monitoring what's going on in the room," Roberts said. "I will do my utmost to make sure that Columbine is not played by people who are too young for the content, but if a child comes in with his father and they want to play the Columbine game, I will not stop that."

Kim Carson, vice president on the Park City Board of Education, said she is not pleased the game will be headlining in a visit to Park City. Referencing the frequency of copycat crimes from video games and movies, she said parents would be wise to keep their children far away from the game.

"My initial reaction to the game is that is very unfortunate that someone is trying to capitalize on that type of incident," she said. "Having kids play a simulated version of those events could give kids the idea to act it out rather than, as the creator states, 'be used as a tool to increase discussion on the serious issue of school violence.' I think it tends to blur the line between reality and make believe."

She said parents should be aware of the game's presence at the festival, but also said she was disappointed that festival executives gave their approval on the game.

"The Slamdance people are fully responsible for the content if they're going to bring it here," she said. "They have to be a little more judicious as far as what they put out to the public. I think a lot of time they want controversy so they pick something like this. Parents should just be aware it's there and talk to their children about it."

The post Game has players reenact Columbine shooting appeared first on Park Record.