Lindsey Vonn stops by Park City
Lindsey Vonn, the all-time women’s alpine World Cup wins leader, stopped by Park City on Tuesday to highlight Vail Resorts’ $50 million capital improvement plan for Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons Resort.
Along with PCMR Chief Operating Officer Bill Rock, Vonn spoke about the summer’s plans to connect the two resorts and what it will mean for the local ski community.
"This will be the largest resort in the United States and that’s something that’s huge," Vonn, a resident of Vail, Colorado, said. "To connect Canyons and Park City is something we’ve all talked about here in Park City, but never really thought it was anything that was going to happen. To make it happen in one summer is incredible. All my local friends are really excited about it."
The investment will be used to create a gondola to connect the two resorts, upgrade two existing lifts and add a 17,000-square-foot restaurant to replace the current Snow Hut at the bottom of Silverlode.
"Park City is one of the world’s foremost ski destinations," Rock said. "To have the United States’ largest ski resort right here in Park City, I think that’s something everyone in Utah can hang their hats on. Everyone knows about the great snow and the access to the airport — now to have the country’s largest resort, that’s just extra."
For Vonn, who has spent a lot of time in Park City and at PCMR, but has never skied at Canyons, having the connection will allow her to explore some new terrain on her next visit.
"If I had this opportunity before, I would have loved it," she said. "My first World Cup race was in Park City, so I have a lot of great memories from this resort."
Vonn wasn’t done in Park City after the media presentation, though. A group of young ski racers were in for quite a surprise.
"I’m going to do an autograph signing with some of the young racers," Vonn said. "I guess they don’t know it’s me coming, so I’m going to surprise them."
Vonn hopes to be in Park City more often, as she works on bringing her Ski Girls Rock program to Utah.
"I’m hoping eventually that the Ski Girls Rock program will come over to Park City," she said. "That’s been a huge success in the Vail Valley and Beaver Creek and also up in Afton [Alps in Minnesota] and Mt. Brighton [in Michigan]. That’s my next hope. There’s a lot going on to encourage and empower young women and hopefully we can make a big impact."
As of now, there are no concrete plans in place for a timeline to bring the program to Park City, but Vonn said she’s trying to move things along quickly.
"I just actually asked Bill, but we’re not 100 percent sure yet. I’m pushing him hard, so we’ll see," she laughed.
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