Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Fabulous Deer Valley!
These photos were taken on New Year's Eve, 2008. Wish you were here! Click to view.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Christmas in Park City
It is Christmas week in Park City and as it seems to be typical for the past few years it is snowing and snowing and snowing. We received close to a foot of snow last Friday. A few additional inches over the weekend and today is a full on white-out with an additional 12 to 20 inches expected. In addition, we are expecting an equally impressive storm on Christmas Day. Unlike most cities, ski towns are unique in that we eagerly anticipate and look forward to snowstorms, the larger the better.
Christmastime in Park City is a special time of the year. Main Street is very festive with lights and decorations. Visitors to town are busily shopping for last minute gifts and local restaurants are opening their doors to cold and hungry skiers. While this week before Christmas kicks off the holiday and ski season, the town does not become full until the day after Christmas. Once again Christmas visitors will find Park City piled high with snow and looking in every respect like the world class resort town it is. The improvements that all three Park City resorts have made over the summer add to the enjoyment of our skiers.
In real estate news, while the economy continues to teeter, buyers are here and many are finding extraordinary deals. Most everyone I speak with is convinced that we are close enough to the bottom of the market that combined with the lowest interest rates we have seen in years, that now is an excellent time to purchase for investment and personal use. The question that I ask everyone is “In three to five years do you feel that Park City/Deer Valley properties will be worth more than they are today?” The answers that I get are a resounding “Yes”. With this in mind, isn’t this the time to purchase your vacation property and start enjoying quality family time here in Park City?
Christmastime in Park City is a special time of the year. Main Street is very festive with lights and decorations. Visitors to town are busily shopping for last minute gifts and local restaurants are opening their doors to cold and hungry skiers. While this week before Christmas kicks off the holiday and ski season, the town does not become full until the day after Christmas. Once again Christmas visitors will find Park City piled high with snow and looking in every respect like the world class resort town it is. The improvements that all three Park City resorts have made over the summer add to the enjoyment of our skiers.
In real estate news, while the economy continues to teeter, buyers are here and many are finding extraordinary deals. Most everyone I speak with is convinced that we are close enough to the bottom of the market that combined with the lowest interest rates we have seen in years, that now is an excellent time to purchase for investment and personal use. The question that I ask everyone is “In three to five years do you feel that Park City/Deer Valley properties will be worth more than they are today?” The answers that I get are a resounding “Yes”. With this in mind, isn’t this the time to purchase your vacation property and start enjoying quality family time here in Park City?
Monday, December 15, 2008
Winter has arrived.
This past Saturday, winter finally arrived in Park City. Snow, cold, and more snow. It has now been snowing pretty consistently for three days. And while we’ve only received about a foot of snow out of this, it is white and looking very much like Christmas around here. The cold weather, high temperatures only in the teens, has allowed the resorts to make incredible amounts of snow. Snowmaking is running around the clock and the resorts are opening up new runs everyday. With Christmas week starting Friday, the snow and cold come just in time.
Last week I attended a panel discussion with several developers from Vail and Lake Tahoe. An interesting point from the developers in Vail was that when the Ritz-Carlton opened is doors in Beaver Creek they saw an immediate change in the type of visitor. The Ritz-Carlton brought a higher level of visitor that Vail had not seen before and they also experienced a sudden increase in real estate and a jump in prices. The point of this story is that we have two very high end hotels in the process of construction-the St. Regis and The Montage. The St. Regis is anticipating opening in 2009 and The Montage in 2010. The experience of these developers from Vail indicates that we will also experience a new type of visitor to Park City and, very likely, an increase in real estate prices. Factor into the mix lower real estate prices and a difficult economy and buyers of real estate in Park City this year could be feeling pretty smug in a year or two.
While the Christmas holidays are rapidly approaching, different property management companies tell me that there are still vacancies so make your plans and come visit Park City this Christmas.
Last week I attended a panel discussion with several developers from Vail and Lake Tahoe. An interesting point from the developers in Vail was that when the Ritz-Carlton opened is doors in Beaver Creek they saw an immediate change in the type of visitor. The Ritz-Carlton brought a higher level of visitor that Vail had not seen before and they also experienced a sudden increase in real estate and a jump in prices. The point of this story is that we have two very high end hotels in the process of construction-the St. Regis and The Montage. The St. Regis is anticipating opening in 2009 and The Montage in 2010. The experience of these developers from Vail indicates that we will also experience a new type of visitor to Park City and, very likely, an increase in real estate prices. Factor into the mix lower real estate prices and a difficult economy and buyers of real estate in Park City this year could be feeling pretty smug in a year or two.
While the Christmas holidays are rapidly approaching, different property management companies tell me that there are still vacancies so make your plans and come visit Park City this Christmas.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Snow is on the way
Deer Valley Ski resort opened last weekend with a limited amount of ski runs open. The good news is WE ARE SKIING! Even better news is that a major pattern change in the weather is forecast for this Saturday. It appears that winter will finally arrive as storms are stacked up in the Pacific and are aimed at Utah. If the forecast holds true I expect that by the weekend of the 19th all of the resorts should be near to 100% open...just in time for Christmas.Alta and Snowbird are about 70% open with terrific skiing. I expect to make the trip over to Alta this weekend to experience for myself the new snow. It looks like we may get several feet of snow over the weekend. And I will report on this next Monday.
In real estate news, while sales are certainly sluggish, they are not dead. Buyers are here and many are finding excellent bargains and are realizing that this is a great time to pick up a ski property. I
nstead of losing another ski season, without having a 2nd home here, deriving excellent income and enjoying the use of it, this really is a unique time and opportunity to invest in Park City/Deer Valley.With Christmas rapidly approaching the town will be busy and the condos full. So plan a vacation in January when the skiing is fabulous and no one is here. The first two weeks right after Christmas is historically a very quiet time as everyone is recovering from the Christmas holidays. The last 10 days of January the Sundance Film Fesitval comes to town. While the town is crowded, the ski slopes are empty. The end of January is the perfect opportunity to have the mountains to yourself and be able to take in some of the Sundance films. Start planning your trip now and come see why Utah’s motto is “The greatest snow on earth”.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Let the skiing begin
Thanksgiving has come and gone and we are ready for the ski season. All we need now is snow. November started very strong with several feet of snow, but for the most part it has been warm and sunny since. The good news is that, for the most part, nights have been cold enough to make snow. All of the resorts have been making snow every chance they can get, which allowed Park City Resort to open last Friday and will allow Deer Valley Resort to open this Saturday.
Snowmaking itself is quite an art and the Park City resorts have it down pat. There are two basic types of snowmaking systems, one is an air and water system and the other is an airless system. The air and water system has two hoses, each connected to an outlet. One outlet pumping water and the other highly compressed air. The two hoses are then connected to a “gun” which is really just a mixing chamber with a nozzle at the opening. Highly compressed air is pumped into the chamber and water is injected into this. This is then forced out of the nozzle at very high speeds, which breaks the water into a super fine mist that freezes on contact with cold air and falls as snow. The airless system uses a long tube with a fan blade at the bottom end and a ring of water injection nozzles at the far end or opening. The fan pushes a large column of air through the tube and water is injected into this column at the opening. The airless system can produce large amounts of snow in very cold temperatures and has an advantage of being much quieter than the air/water system. Here in Park City we see the ski areas using the airless systems in areas around homes and condos. The air/water system has an advantage in that it can be used at much warmer temperatures than the airless systems. In the air/water system air is forced through a small nozzle at very high pressure. As the air leaves the nozzle it rapidly expands which causes a cooling effect. Thus, in marginal conditions this cooling effect creates an effective temperature lower than the actual air temperature. The drawbacks to the air/water system are that it is very loud and does not produce as much snow as the airless system. Another expense to the air/water system is that is requires huge air compressors to force the air up the mountain under high pressure and also requires cooling units as air is heated when it is compressed. So in an air/water system the amount of piping throughout the mountain is doubled (one pipe for air, one pipe for water) and air compressors and cooling units have to be added. All of which greatly increases the installation and operating costs. Snowmaking systems such as we run here in Park City can pump 5,000-10,000 gallons of water per minute and costs several thousand dollars per hour to operate. While extremely expensive, snowmaking guarantees skiing when Mother Nature is fickle.
Both Snowbird and Alta ski resorts have been open since early November. As these resorts are higher in elevation, with a base of 8,000 feet and a summit of around 11,000 feet the temperatures are colder, and because of their unique geographical location in the Wasatch Range, they both receive much more snow than the Park City side. Unique to Utah is the Great Salt Lake and its effect on snowfall. Particularly this time of year, the lake is fairly warm. As cold, low pressure systems sweep down from the northwest and pass over the Great Salt Lake, large amounts of moisture move from the warm lake water to these cold storms. (Most everyone has heard about the “lake effect” storms coming off the Great Lakes-most notably Lake Erie-and hitting Buffalo, New York.) These cold storms, having picked up moisture across the Great Salt Lake, continue moving southeast and are forced into the ever narrowing Big and Little Cottonwood canyons. As the moisture laden clouds are pushed into the canyons they are also pushed upward until, at the end of the canyon, they hit the wall of the mountains. At this point the clouds are pushed upward dramatically and can no longer hold the moisture. As a result, heavy amounts of snow fall from these clouds as they linger over the crest of the Wasatch.
As the storms roll over the crest of the Wasatch to the Park City Mountains, the air drops down the back side of the mountains, warms up and can hold more moisture. Another unique feature to Utah’s weather is the basin and range. Between the Wasatch Mountains of Utah and the Sierra Nevada mountains of California are a series of relatively small north-south running mountain ranges. As low pressure systems move in from the north they are preceded by strong south winds. These south winds are funneled between these north-south running mountain ranges and sweep across the desert basins. As these winds move across the desert they kick up large amounts of sand and dust which, combined with the clouds, create additional mechanisms for snow to form. This is nature’s version of cloud seeding and is unique to Utah. Because of all of these unique geographic features, Utah receives more snow than would be expected in a desert State, with Snowbird and Alta receiving the majority of it. One other point is that as these storms roll across the western desert, they tend to dry out, creating the “Utah fluff” that we are so famous for.
Now that you know why Utah receives so much snow and why it is so light and dry, makes plans to experience it for yourself. To paraphrase the great ski film producer, Warren Miller, “If you don’t ski Utah this season, you’ll just be one year older when you finally do.”
Snowmaking itself is quite an art and the Park City resorts have it down pat. There are two basic types of snowmaking systems, one is an air and water system and the other is an airless system. The air and water system has two hoses, each connected to an outlet. One outlet pumping water and the other highly compressed air. The two hoses are then connected to a “gun” which is really just a mixing chamber with a nozzle at the opening. Highly compressed air is pumped into the chamber and water is injected into this. This is then forced out of the nozzle at very high speeds, which breaks the water into a super fine mist that freezes on contact with cold air and falls as snow. The airless system uses a long tube with a fan blade at the bottom end and a ring of water injection nozzles at the far end or opening. The fan pushes a large column of air through the tube and water is injected into this column at the opening. The airless system can produce large amounts of snow in very cold temperatures and has an advantage of being much quieter than the air/water system. Here in Park City we see the ski areas using the airless systems in areas around homes and condos. The air/water system has an advantage in that it can be used at much warmer temperatures than the airless systems. In the air/water system air is forced through a small nozzle at very high pressure. As the air leaves the nozzle it rapidly expands which causes a cooling effect. Thus, in marginal conditions this cooling effect creates an effective temperature lower than the actual air temperature. The drawbacks to the air/water system are that it is very loud and does not produce as much snow as the airless system. Another expense to the air/water system is that is requires huge air compressors to force the air up the mountain under high pressure and also requires cooling units as air is heated when it is compressed. So in an air/water system the amount of piping throughout the mountain is doubled (one pipe for air, one pipe for water) and air compressors and cooling units have to be added. All of which greatly increases the installation and operating costs. Snowmaking systems such as we run here in Park City can pump 5,000-10,000 gallons of water per minute and costs several thousand dollars per hour to operate. While extremely expensive, snowmaking guarantees skiing when Mother Nature is fickle.
Both Snowbird and Alta ski resorts have been open since early November. As these resorts are higher in elevation, with a base of 8,000 feet and a summit of around 11,000 feet the temperatures are colder, and because of their unique geographical location in the Wasatch Range, they both receive much more snow than the Park City side. Unique to Utah is the Great Salt Lake and its effect on snowfall. Particularly this time of year, the lake is fairly warm. As cold, low pressure systems sweep down from the northwest and pass over the Great Salt Lake, large amounts of moisture move from the warm lake water to these cold storms. (Most everyone has heard about the “lake effect” storms coming off the Great Lakes-most notably Lake Erie-and hitting Buffalo, New York.) These cold storms, having picked up moisture across the Great Salt Lake, continue moving southeast and are forced into the ever narrowing Big and Little Cottonwood canyons. As the moisture laden clouds are pushed into the canyons they are also pushed upward until, at the end of the canyon, they hit the wall of the mountains. At this point the clouds are pushed upward dramatically and can no longer hold the moisture. As a result, heavy amounts of snow fall from these clouds as they linger over the crest of the Wasatch.
As the storms roll over the crest of the Wasatch to the Park City Mountains, the air drops down the back side of the mountains, warms up and can hold more moisture. Another unique feature to Utah’s weather is the basin and range. Between the Wasatch Mountains of Utah and the Sierra Nevada mountains of California are a series of relatively small north-south running mountain ranges. As low pressure systems move in from the north they are preceded by strong south winds. These south winds are funneled between these north-south running mountain ranges and sweep across the desert basins. As these winds move across the desert they kick up large amounts of sand and dust which, combined with the clouds, create additional mechanisms for snow to form. This is nature’s version of cloud seeding and is unique to Utah. Because of all of these unique geographic features, Utah receives more snow than would be expected in a desert State, with Snowbird and Alta receiving the majority of it. One other point is that as these storms roll across the western desert, they tend to dry out, creating the “Utah fluff” that we are so famous for.
Now that you know why Utah receives so much snow and why it is so light and dry, makes plans to experience it for yourself. To paraphrase the great ski film producer, Warren Miller, “If you don’t ski Utah this season, you’ll just be one year older when you finally do.”
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