“What a difference a storm makes,” said Krista Parry, director of marketing and communications for Park City Mountain Resort. “It just takes one big storm, like this one, to get the mountain in excellent shape.”

Park City Mountain Resort is scheduled to open Crescent, Thaynes and Pioneer lifts on Monday, December 14 to accompany the five lifts that are already running. The Resort’s snow safety and slope maintenance teams are working feverishly to open the majority of the terrain served via these lifts, once the snow safety team deems them safe. McConkey’s lift is scheduled to open on Tuesday, December 15.

Click the following link for a video showcasing the work required to open terrain after a storm of this magnitude: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5SY22OXy3s.

About Park City Mountain Resort
Park City Mountain Resort, the most accessible mountain resort in North America, is located in the heart of Park City, Utah and is only a 40-minute drive from the Salt Lake City International Airport. With 3,300 acres of unspoiled terrain, the Resort offers groomed Signature Runs™, bumps, powder, trees, eight peaks, nine bowls, four terrain parks, and the Eagle Superpipe. Park City Mountain Resort was once again ranked a top-five resort by the readers of SKI and Transworld Snowboarding magazines and a top-10 ski resort in North America by Conde Nast Traveler. For more information, visit www.parkcitymountain.com or call (800) 222-PARK.

“Thanks to cold temperatures we have made 200 percent more snow this year than we did at the same time last season,” said Brent Giles, director of mountain operations. “Our entire Resort team has been working hard to ensure we deliver the great mountain experience our guests have come to expect from us on opening day.”

The Resort is scheduled to have two runs available to guests on opening day. These include Homerun, serviced by PayDay lift, and Turtle Trail, serviced by First Time lift, with additional terrain available as conditions permit. Park City Mountain Resort will also open with an early season terrain park on Homerun including two jumps and 10 features. Lift ticket pricing on opening day is as follows:

* Adults (ages 13 and up): $50 full-day/$35 half-day
* Children (ages 7-12): $30 full-day/$20 half-day
* Children six and under ski free with a paying adult

Additional Park City Mountain Resort operations scheduled to begin on Saturday, November 21 include the following:
Legacy Sports: 8:00 am. – 6:00 p.m.
Alpine Coaster: noon – 4:00 p.m.
Kristi’s Coffee Café: 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Legacy Café: 10:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Legends Bar & Grill: 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6jZ6PSX7rg for a video showcasing Park City Mountain Resort’s preparations for opening day.

About Park City Mountain Resort
Park City Mountain Resort, named the most accessible mountain resort in North America by the readers of SKI magazine, is located in the heart of Park City, Utah and is only a 40-minute drive from the Salt Lake City International Airport. With 3,300 acres of unspoiled terrain, the Resort offers groomed Signature Runs™, bumps, powder, trees, eight peaks, nine bowls, four terrain parks, and the Eagle Superpipe. Park City Mountain Resort was once again ranked a Top-five resort by the readers of SKI and Transworld Snowboarding magazines. For more information, visit www.parkcitymountain.com or call (800) 222-PARK.

Terrain Park Manager Jeremy Cooper and park crew have built a variety of features on Homerun for opening day, November 21. Features include two 30-35 foot jumps, two 10 – 15 foot jumps and 10 jibs.

Additional opening day terrain will include two trails, Homerun, serviced by Payday lift and Turtle Trail, serviced by First Time lift.

Additional terrain and park features will be added as conditions allow.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pcmr/sets/72157622720096431/

“Park City Mountain Resort is committed to maintaining a leadership position in the action sports world,” said Jenni Smith, vice president of Resort Administration for Park City Mountain Resort. “We believe that Jeremy’s experience and passion will us allow us to continue to push our progression within the industry.”

Cooper began his career as a park builder at Mammoth Mountain in 2002 and became park manager at June Mountain in 2005. Under his management, June’s parks were ranked among the top in the country by several industry publications. In his new position at Park City Mountain Resort, Cooper will oversee the design, maintenance and construction of the Resort’s four terrain parks and of the Eagle Superpipe. He will also be responsible for managing the Park City All-Star team and will serve as the voice of Park City Mountain Resort in action sports forums and social networks.

“I’ve always kept an eye on what Park City Mountain Resort is doing and I am very excited to now be a part of this progressive team,” said Cooper. “I look forward to building upon the Resort’s reputation and pushing the limits of snowboarding and freestyle skiing.”

Cooper comes to the resort following the departure of Director of Action Sports Marketing, Jim Mangan. Mangan was successful in positioning Park City Mountain Resort as one of the most recognized action sports resorts in the world. He created a world-class team of athletes, with the Park City All-Stars, and designed terrain parks that were named the best parks in the country by several industry publications. During his tenure at Park City Mountain Resort, Mangan directed and produced two action sports films, “City. Park City.” and “I Ride Park City”, which featured several of the Park City All-Stars. Mangan is moving on to pursue a career in film.

“We are grateful for the leadership and direction that Jim provided during his seven years at the Resort and we wish him the best of luck in his new endeavor,” said Smith.

Up to date information on Park City Mountain Resort parks and pipes can be found at www.pcride.com.

About Park City Mountain Resort
Park City Mountain Resort, the most accessible mountain resort in North America, is located in the heart of Park City, Utah and is only a 40-minute drive from the Salt Lake City International Airport. With 3,300 acres of unspoiled terrain, the Resort offers groomed Signature Runs™, bumps, powder, trees, eight peaks, nine bowls, four terrain parks, and the Eagle Superpipe. Park City Mountain Resort was once again ranked a Top-five resort by the readers of SKI magazine and a Top-ten resort by the readers of Skiing, Freeskier and Transworld Snowboarding magazines. For more information, visit www.parkcitymountain.com or call (800) 222-PARK.

For the second year running, the Burton Am Series competitions will take place at select stops. The Am Series gives up-and-coming riders an opportunity to automatically qualify for the US Open Snowboarding Championships, held March 16-22, 2009 in Stratton, Vermont. The Burton Am Series is a Swatch TTR 3Star event. Riders can register to compete in the Am Series here: www.burton.com/amseries. Special thanks go out to SoBe Beverages, Snowboarder Magazine and Swatch TTR for sponsoring the Burton AM Series.

Every stop on the Demo Tour will give riders of all ages the opportunity to try the latest Burton gear featuring EST and the Channel at no cost. To truly understand what Burton EST’s super natural performance can do to unlimit the way you see, feel and ride the mountain, you must try it yourself. There’s no better place to experience EST along with the rest of the 2009 product line than on snow. Riders must be 18 and provide a credit card and ID to demo. Minors must have a parent or guardian present with credit card and ID.

The Burton Super Demo Tour brings you free Burton Snowboard demos, thousands of dollars in product giveaways, and rocking après parties at every stop. Burton would like to thank Volvo, Paul Mitchell, Nature Valley, Emergen-C, Snowboarder Magazine, R.E.D. and ANON for sponsoring and supporting the Burton Super Demo Tour.

2009 Burton Demo Tour Super Stops
January 2–4 Copper Mountain Resort – Copper, Colo.
January 9–11 Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort – Truckee, Calif.
January 17–19 Bear Mountain Resort – Big Bear, Calif.
January 23–25 Keystone Mountain Resort – Keystone, Colo.
January 30–February 1 The Summit at Snoqualmie – Snoqualmie Pass, Wash.
February 6–8 Park City Mountain Resort – Park City, Utah
February 20–22 Spirit Mountain – Duluth, Minn. .
February 27–March 1 Mountain Creek Resort – Vernon, N.J.
March 6–8 Stowe Mountain Resort – Stowe, Vt.
March 14–16 Waterville Valley Resort – Waterville Valley, N.H.

To find a Burton Demo Tour stop near you, visit www.burton.com/unlimitour. For more about Burton Snowboards, visit www.burton.com or call the Burton Rider Service line at 800-881-3138.

Here’s our scheduled opening plan (conditions permitting*):

Friday, December 19
Thaynes Lift
Pioneer Lift

Saturday, December 20
Crescent Lift
McConkey’s Lift

Sunday, December 21
Motherlode Lift
Three Kings Lift
Mid-Mountain Lodge Restaurant

Tuesday, December 23
King Con Lift
Eagle Lift
Silver Star Lift (Uploading/Downloading only)
Eagle Superpipe

Thursday, December 25
Night skiing on PayDay and First Time Lifts from 4:00 – 7:30 pm

*Check our blog and snow report for the most up-to-date information.

You: “So, what is Competition Evolution?”

PCMR: The Intelligent Design (n.) -
1. a competition with a progressive approach to terrain park design
2. changes of the molecular elements in terrain park structure
3. a smart snowboarding course

The Intelligent Design at Park City Mountain Resort will combine all elements of competitive snowboarding including big air, half-pipe and jibbing in one course. The event will be located at the Eagle Superpipe, which will be transformed to host the new competition creation.

The Intelligent Design will take place on March 7, 2009, and will feature the top 20 male snowboarders in the world and $50K in prize money. Snowboarders will battle it out in a two-run qualifier in order to compete with the top 10 in a best of three-run final. The Intelligent Design is a Swatch TTR 5 Star event.

Colder temperatures have finally arrived after warm weather and a lack of precipitation has affected the region for the last two weeks. Park City Mountain Resort’s snowmaking team has been working non-stop to prepare the Resort for opening day. The snowmaking team continues to make snow this week, temperatures permitting, in order to provide excellent conditions for opening day, with wall to wall snow on the runs that are open.

Shaun White in I Ride Park City

Park City Mountain Resort has a detailed snowmaking plan in place for the next month that focuses on providing the most terrain open for all ability levels, affording Resort guests the best possible experience. The Resort’s strategy is to open the Lower Mountain first, and then move to the Bonanza and Silverlode areas, followed by King Con and finishing up in areas that are most needed. Of course, natural snowfall helps in allowing Park City Mountain Resort to quickly open more of the mountain.

Park City Mountain Resort’s snowmaking plan is as follows:

1. Focus on the Lower Mountain, including PayDay, Treasure Hollow, First Time and Pick N’ Shovel.
2. Shift of snowmaking operations to the Bonanza area, including Upper Homerun, Muckers, Claimjumper and ¼-Load.
3. Snowmaking in the Silverlode area to include Parley’s Park, Sunnyside and Prospector.
4. Snowmaking transfers to the King Con area, CB’s, Town runs and upper-mountain Terrain Parks. (Please note that the Town Lift is scheduled to open for uploading and downloading during the first week of December).

As part of the improvements, the Resort added a brand new high-speed quad, Crescent lift, from the base area. Crescent lift will open with the Upper Mountain.

Park City Mountain Resort operations continue to open this week and next:
Now Open
Legacy Sports: 10 am – 6 pm (on Friday, hours will change to 8 am – 6 pm)

Wednesday, November 26
Alpine Coaster: 11 am – 3 pm (on Friday, the hours will change to noon – 4 pm)
Kristi’s Coffee Café: 10 am to 4 pm (on Friday, the hours will change to 7:30 am – 5 pm)

Friday, November 28 (Opening Day)
PayDay and First Time lifts: 9 am – 4 pm
Legacy Café: 10:30 am – 3 pm
Legends Bar & Grill: 11 am – 7 pm

Friday, December, 5 (conditions permitting)
Gorgoza Park: (Sat/Sun) noon – 8 pm; (M-F) 1 pm – 8 pm

About Park City Mountain Resort
Park City Mountain Resort, the most accessible mountain resort in North America, is located in the heart of Park City, Utah and is only a 40-minute drive from the Salt Lake City International Airport. With 3,300 acres of unspoiled terrain, the Resort offers groomed Signature Runs™, bumps, powder, trees, eight peaks, nine bowls, four terrain parks, and the Eagle Superpipe. Park City Mountain Resort was once again ranked a Top-five resort by the readers of SKI magazine and a Top-ten resort by the readers of Skiing, Freeskier and Transworld Snowboarding magazines. As part of its overall environmental commitment, Park City Mountain Resort is powered by 100 percent renewable energy. The Resort invested $10.5 million in improvements for the 2008-09 winter season, adding a new high-speed lift, renovations to on-mountain dining, expanded snowmaking and a new run. For more information, visit parkcitymountain.com or call (800) 222-PARK.

Park City Mountain Resort’s snowmaking team has patiently waited for the temperatures to cooperate but a high pressure has loomed over the Utah region for the past week. Last night the overnight low temperature at the top of PayDay was 50 degrees, with a low at the plaza level of 38 degrees. The 10-day forecast looks very similar to the temperatures this past week, but it takes just one storm cycle to get the mountain in prime condition.

Ultimately, Park City Mountain Resort still needs a total of 72 hours of ideal temperatures (average of 20 degrees or less) to provide optimal conditions on lower mountain runs. This includes at least 24 hours to complete snowmaking on Homerun and at least 60 hours of ideal temperatures to complete PayDay and Treasure Hollow.

Reviewed Videos:
Think Thank “Stack Footy” Reviews
Autumn Line “Technicolour” Reviews
First Tracks Productions “Knock on Wood” Reviews
Burton “It’s Always Snowing Somewhere” Reviews

Coming Soon:
Rome SDS “No Correct Way”
Park City “I Ride Park City”
Leeward Cinema “My Own Two Feet”
Team Thunder “Gold Country”
Heart Films “Volume 3″
At Once Productions “Working Out The Kinks”
Sandbox Films “All Day Every Day”
Standard Films “Aesthetica”
Runway Films “See What I See”
Mack Dawg Productions “Double Decade”
Mack Dawg Productions “Down With People”
Grenade “The Boned Age”
“That’s It That’s All”
“Against The Grain – Tara Dakides”
Alterna Films “Knockout 10th Round”
FODT “Familia”
Absinthe Films “Ready”
Forum “Forum Or Against Em”

If you’ve already seen a few of this years videos jump in and start reviewing, you can even win new gear just for writing reviews.
Click here for instructions on submitting reviews.