A visit to the biggest mountain resort in America

Résumé détaillé

Park City Mountain is the biggest lift-serviced ski resort in America, and it’s only getting bigger in anticipation of hosting the Winter Olympic Games in 2034.

The numbers alone are impressive. 7,300 acres. Nine mountain peaks. 13 bowls. 43 lifts. More than 330 trails. Seven terrain parks. Two villages. A 10,026-foot summit. Utah’s Park City Mountain, connected to Canyons Village by the Quicksilver Gondola, is the biggest lift-serviced ski resort in America, and it’s getting bigger. Its new slogan, Park City Mountain is “Larger Than Life,” is backed by a massive multi-million-dollar investment plan — more than $200 million spent in the past decade alone — in anticipation of hosting the Winter Olympic Games in 2034.

There’s a lot of buzz. So, last season, we — a multi-generational crew of skiers and non-skiers — gave it a try. We had a few qualms. Would it be too big, too cumbersome to navigate? Would we spend too much time getting from one place to the next? Would it be too advanced for our novice skiers? Would there be enough off-slope activities to satisfy the group?

The trip started out smoothly from the get-go, with direct flights from Boston to Salt Lake City. A 45-minute shuttle ride brought us to our accommodations near Canyons Village. There is a slew of lodging options, including condos, super luxe mountain lodges, high-end luxury resorts, simple hotel rooms, and private homes and apartments. We opted for a private rental house that was big enough for the group and a short walk to a chairlift that took us to the Canyons Village base. Note: The new Canyons Village Skyway gondola will replace this chairlift and is slated to open this season.

Getting around the gigantic resort proved to be easy, with an efficiently designed network of shuttles, chairlifts, and gondolas that zipped you around the mountains and to and from the villages (with restaurants, bars, shops, and entertainment). The historic mining town of Park City — also filled with restaurants and shops — is a free 10-minute bus ride away from both Park City Mountain and Canyons Village transit centers.

We arrived in time to enjoy the festive après-ski scene at…

Début de l'article, extrait de The Boston Globe. Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.