The Culture of powder days.

            Growing up in a community that depended on how many inches of snowfall it received each winter season can be stressful. That sounds ridiculous but in the ski resort town of Park City, UT that is the case. The economy, employment rates, real estate, schooling and more all depend on four and half months out of the year-the sacred ski season. With a year around population of no more than 8,000 people and having only one high school within a 35 minute radius Park City is an exclusive community. The environment is special, generations of families depend on whether the white stuff flies starting in October. If the first snowfall has not happened by Halloween, panic ensues, there should be a couple solid inches on the upper mountain by Thanksgiving and the base of the resort should be built up by the third week of December between natural snowfall and the snow guns (snow making devices).  The year around preparation for the ski season is seen in every aspect of life back home and I want to take you through parts of that experience.

            Ski season officially ends in April for the Canyons, Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley at the end of April.  That makes May the month of rest, the only month out the year that people are not focusing on the upcoming winter. Starting in June come property evaluations, looking at chairlifts, lodges and the idea of expansion in ski resort property. Did you know that a chairlift can cost anywhere between 1 to 10 million dollars? It depends on size (quad, T-bar, etc.) and if it is high-speed or not. That is a huge investment for a ski resort, that does not included inspection fees and helicopter rental for installment.  As visitors come they have no idea of the behind scenes work it takes for a ski resort of function at it’s peak. That though is the goal, the best resorts in the country want to make it seem as though that everyone is on a vacation at the resort. At major resorts around the country such as Deer Valley (where I work) the behind the scenes is comparable to Disney Land in a sense, there are underground tunnels connecting aspect of the resort, codes and signals and special accommodations and masses of employees each with specific and unique job.

            The skiing spills over even in schooling in the community. The school calendar gives a full week off for Presidents in February because the town becomes so populated and busy, it is easier to gives families the time off and not to coordinate around the chaos of the visitors. In elementary school it is only half day Friday because kids are required to participate in a winter sport the other half of the day ranging from skiing to ice skating, this includes public schools. The community places high value on every child having skills in winter regardless of socio-economic status. You also will find attendance rates in the high school extremely low on a powder day, I have even found myself sitting next to a teacher on a chairlift one time where we were both supposed to be in his classroom at that time. The values of the community are reflected in the significance that we place in skiing.

            You always hear about Texas football, and how Texas life lives for football season. The time, passion, money and future that people place into those high school games.  Park Cities version of Texas football, is ski racing.  The stakes are high, most young athletes aspiring for the winter Olympics. The Olympics is something that every athletic kid dreams of but in Park City that is a reality, a reachable goal. We have a school in Park City called: “The Winter Sports School”, that school year is June-November so that some of the most high performing winter athletes can still receive a high school education but not when the winter season is at is peak.  Every afternoon kids leave school 2 hours early to head to the mountain and stay out long past the sun going down into the frigid night to run iced racecourses. I did it myself, enduring bruises form the gates all down my right side, spending most weekends away from home and when I was not on the snow, I was in the gym doing a workout called: “dry-land.” Dry-land training is the off snow work that puts every skier body into elite shape through grueling run work out and sprints that simulate the 20 second course. You spend your summer traveling the world from Mt. Hood in Oregon to Chile to keep finding now to practice on.   Skiing is the most time consuming sport for any high school student, it requires dedication that cannot be found in any other sport.  Ski racing is so momentary, kids in Park City spend their childhood looking to win based off a 15 second race, no more than that, it all comes down to that. Skiing with the elite is so momentary but the work is worth a lifetime.

A video that gives the vibe of the community, featured at Park City Mountain Resort- http://vimeo.com/35857064

           

It takes a community to run a ski resort, that cliché line actually applies in every way to the ski resort culture. Every person no matter how much they want to be involved has to be, it is what the pay check comes from.  Ski resort’s hire employees from not only the local area but reach even internationally. You need people to work retail, be ski technicians, work helicopters, mechanics, chefs, bakery, cleaning, ski instructors, ambassadors, life operators, communications, the list goes on but this is no small effort.  This builds a international community of people who all share a passion for one single thing-snow. Which is pretty cool, it creates an atmosphere around town that unites and inspires everyone to be apart of a larger picture.  Ski resort culture, the culture that I can leave but it cant leave me.