Park City Mountain Resort - History

History

The present resort was opened on December 21, 1963 as Treasure Mountain by United Park City Mines. This company was the last surviving mining corporation in Park City, and the resort was opened with funds from a federal government program meant to revive the economically depressed town. When it originally opened, it boasted the longest gondola in the United States, as well as a double chairlift, a J-bar lift, base and summit lodges, and a nine-hole golf course. The gondola was a four passenger Polig-Heckel-Bleichert (PHB, a German aerial ropeway company). Its sister lift was built at Sugarloaf/USA in Carrabassett Valley, Maine, after top members of Sugarloaf's management visited Park City's lift.

When the slopes first opened to the public, a special Skier's Subway was used to transport skiers nearly 2.5 miles (4.0 km) into the mountain through the pitch-black Spiro Tunnel on a mine train, where skiers then boarded a mining elevator that lifted them 1,750 feet (530 m) to the surface, and from there they had access to the entire mountain. Aerial trams once used for hauling ore were converted into chairlifts. To this day, there are still more than 1,000 miles (1,610 km) of old silver-mine workings and tunnels beneath the slopes at Park City Mountain Resort and its neighboring resort, Deer Valley.

Treasure Mountain's name was changed to the Park City Ski Area for its fourth season of 1966-67, and in 1996, became known as the Park City Mountain Resort. The resort has grown to include eight peaks and nine bowls, with 3,300 acres (13.4 km2) of skiing and 16 chairlifts. The resort has also developed summer activities including an alpine slide, alpine coaster, zip-lines, and several hiking and biking trails.

A sister ski area, known as Park City West (renamed Wolf Mountain and now known as Canyons Resort) opened in 1968, and Deer Valley Resort opened in December 1981, at the site of the former Snow Park (1946–69).

Park City mountain resort is home to many ski schools run by the mountain, but is also home to privately owned ski schools. (Park city freestyle, Axis freeride, Park city ski team) Run by Mick Berry- Park city freestyle, Chris “Hatch” Haslock- Axis Freeride, Jesse Hunt- Park city ski team

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