Park City Mountain, Deer Valley executives prepare ski season recap for City Hall leaders
There did not appear to be the angst last winter that made the previous ski season so challenging

Park Record file photo by David Jackson
The top staffers at Park City Mountain and Deer Valley Resort are scheduled to deliver a recap of the ski season during an appearance at the Marsac Building on Thursday, a visit with Park City leaders that is planned in the weeks after the end of an extraordinary winter.
Deirdra Walsh, who is the vice president and chief operating officer of Park City Mountain, and Deer Valley President and Chief Operating Officer Todd Bennett are slated to discuss the winter with Mayor Nann Worel and the Park City Council. Mike Lewis, who is the senior director of base area operations at Park City Mountain, has been tapped to accompany Walsh on Thursday.
It is unlikely the resort executives and the elected officials will delve into a detailed discussion about policies or programs at Park City Mountain, Deer Valley or City Hall, but the gathering is expected to be important nonetheless as the sides continue to attempt to address the impact of the tourism industry on the wider community.
Park City Mountain in a prepared statement in response to a Park Record inquiry about the appearance said Walsh and Lewis expect to address what the resort sees as the successes of a system of paid parking and parking reservations that debuted during the 2022-2023 ski season on the Park City side of the resort. The paid parking and reservations were dramatic steps that were designed to reduce traffic headed to and from the base area.
Deer Valley in a prepared statement said Bennett intends to address the overall operations of the resort as well as what was learned during his first ski season at the resort. Deer Valley said the 2022-2023 winter was a “record season across the board including snowfall, days open, visitors and guest and staff feedback.”
The recently closed ski season followed a year after a 2021-2022 winter of angst that challenged the resort industry, particularly Park City Mountain, and the community. In that season, Parkites became incensed with the crowds and the traffic while skiers and snowboarders at Park City Mountain expressed frustration with a range of issues, including the amount of terrain that was closed well into the winter. There were staffing shortages in Park City that winter even as large crowds arrived to enjoy an outside activity amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The resorts took steps in anticipation of the 2022-2023 ski season in an effort to address some of the concerns that were raised in the winter the year before. The paid parking and reservations at Park City Mountain was one of the notable steps. Deer Valley, meanwhile, has since said people holding the multi-resort Ikon Pass will be required to make reservations before they are allowed to ski there during the 2023-2024 winter.
The recently completed winter brought staggering snow totals to the mountain resorts, allowing Park City Mountain and Deer Valley to extend their ski seasons.
The City Council meeting on Thursday is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. at the Marsac Building. It will also be broadcast online at http://www.parkcity.org.
Waving Hello to Start of 2023 Pride Month
The 2023 Park City Pride annual flag-raising event brought colorful crowds as members of the community gathered at Miner’s Hospital to support the launch of this year’s Pride Month. The sun shown bright, tulips bloomed vibrantly red and everyone was cheerful — of course, the coffee and donuts provided by the LGBTQ+ Taskforce didn’t hurt.

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