ting up a supervisory structure and shift- ing managers around “so it won’t be all new people on the expansion side. We’re trying to get supervisors hired and trained in our culture so new hires get the leader- ship they need and are prepared.” Graff notes the mountain ops depart- ments have been fully staffed in recent years. It helps, he says, when people see an opportunity for growth. “It’s really highlighted the need in the industry to focus on technical skills like snowmak- ing, grooming, patrol, skills like that.” Maintaining the culture. For Ben- nett, it’s about “stretch assignments.” “The most important thing in leadership development is focusing on the Deer Val- ley culture and what got us to where we are today,” he says. “As we double the size of the resort, how are we growing and stretching our leaders? We know that if we do those well—maintaining the culture and growing our leaders—the smaller challenges will be real, but bet- ter aligned to fall into place.” Customer satisfaction is a cultural tenet, as well. “You think about Whis- tler-Blackcomb or Park City-Canyons— there have been mergers and acquisitions of neighboring resorts. But our culture is
so important to us and who we are that we were adamant from day one that this was going to be Deer Valley, not ‘May- flower’ and ‘Deer Valley,’” says Graff. “It’s important that it feels like Deer Valley when you ski over.” Design. Having the same fami- ly design the new and original terrain helped it click, he says. “The way the runs are designed in the expansion are simi- lar to how existing Deer Valley runs were designed, so it’s all very natural.” One thing to consider in a project of this magnitude, Graff adds, is to “get end-users involved in the process as early possible.” Operations teams—snowmak- ers, patrol, and groomers—were involved in the design and construction processes from the get-go. Because of this, during the busy summer, the construction had no major alterations, “just minor tweaks that will make our lives as operators much better down the road.” Deer Valley will continue to limit the number of skiers on the mountain per day and require reservations as in the past, though it’s unclear exactly what that will look like. “We’ll have to see how it balanc- es out and will err on being conservative,” says Bennett. “We expect the number of
skiers on the mountain to go up, but it’s got to be done in a more measured way.” The operation, says Bennett, was examined through the constraints of dif- ferent things: parking spaces, line length, indoor and outdoor F&B seating, density of skiers on trails. “We’re always trying to balance that, and we’re looking at that through the same lens. New lifts and new trails should reduce the amount of time in line, but we’ll have more parking, so we’re trying to find that balance.” Until then, the team continues to successfully balance every aspect of this gargantuan project. Below: Deer Valley East skier services will operate out of a temporary facility this winter. Bottom: This overview shows the scale of the expansion property (green) compared to the existing resort (gray).
9,350’
PARK CITY OLD TOWN
Mayflower-Deer Valley Overview
PARK PEAK EXPRESS MID LOAD
PARK PEAK FACILITIES
Legend
HAIL PEAK 7,585’
Planned Mayflower Lift Existing Deer Valley Lift Planned Ski Trail by Ability Level Planned Development Planned Ski Patrol Planned Mayflower Ski Area Existing Deer Valley Ski Area
PARK PEAK 9,350’
BIG DUTCH PEAK 8,170’
BONANAZA FLATS
BALD MOUNTAIN 9,340’
FLAGSTAFF MOUNTAIN 9,100’
EMPIRE PEAK 9,570’
SULTAN’S NOSE 7,770’
EMPIRE CANYON LODGE 8,300’
MAYFLOWER VILLAGE 6,530’
LADY MORGAN 9,000’
SILVER LAKE LODGE 8,100’
EMPIRE VILLAGE
THE COMMUNITY AT VELVAERE 6,510’
PARK CITY MOUNTAIN RESORT
SCALE (ft)
800
2,400
1,600
0
3,200
Contour Interval: 50’
N
DEER CREST
Prepared by:
PARK CITY OLD TOWN
SNOW PARK LODGE 7,200’
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