How Deer Valley Prepares For Worst Case Scenario: Wildfire
Laying pipe with heavy equipment. A hot engine can quickly spark a blaze. Credit: Deer Valley
Fires continue to rage throughout the western states. It’s an annual phenomenon: drought, dry grass, tinder-dry forests killed by bark beetles. Lightning strikes. Human carelessness. Just one spark can set an entire mountain ablaze.
For Deer Valley, it’s a normal summer. Hikers and mountain bikers enjoy the trails, and they dine outdoors on the patios. Aspen leaves ripple in the cool mountain breezes. Everything is right.
But the threat of wildfire is always there. And Deer Valley is prepared to fight back.
The resort keeps its extensive snowmaking system operational and ready throughout the entire off-season. Water for the system comes from the 20 million gallon reservoir high up on the mountain, and gravity feeds the network of snowmaking pipes that span the vast resort.
In addition, every mountain vehicle carries fire-suppression equipment. An errant spark from construction, maintenance or welding could start a catastrophic blaze.
Deer Valley is prepared to be its own first line of defense.
“But we’re not trained or prepared for a full wildfire battle. We’re back up for the professionals,” said Steve Graff, Deer Valley’s Director of Mountain Operations.
“We work closely with the Park City Fire Department. They have access to the mountain, they know the gate codes, and they know water is available for their attack,” he said.
Being ready to squelch a fire sounds straight forward, but there are intricacies.
If snow melt doesn’t fill the 20 million gallon reservoir, water is pumped uphill to fill it so it’s ready.
“And, every summer we work on the snowmaking system,” said Graff. “We make capital improvements, we repair hydrants, and we systematically replace pipes. That means some pipes are drained and temporarily out of service. Crucial weekly staff meetings inform everyone where water is available that week and where it is not—just in case.
Winter comes once a year, but “We start working on next season the day we close,” said Graff, and that includes preparing for the worst case scenario: wildfire.
He added: All ski areas do so much work behind the scenes and during the off-season that skiers never know about and never see. But it’s a testament to the dedication and hard work of everyone in the ski industry.
To read more from Harriet click here for her stories on SkiUtah.
Anticipation
A Chill Is In The Air.
It’s usually the cusp of late summer and early fall when I first start thinking about skiing. All it takes is some cool days and seeing the first leaves starting to turn. Wearing long slacks for the first time, turning on heat for the first time, and the beginning of football season get me thinking I’ll be skiing in the not too distant future. I hear weather reports of snow flurries in the high mountains and maybe even see photos of the dusting.
I start getting e-mails from ski resorts that have the audacity to put to print opening dates. Though I know these are pie-in-the-sky expectations I buy into the hope that they will open that early in the season.
Warren Miller Entertainment sends me a link to the trailer of their new film. I recall that as a boy, my father, a non-skier, took me to numerous Warren Miller films. It was just him and me, and I am forever grateful. I’m nostalgic when I hear Warren’s live narrations.
I start to visit my favorite online skiing sites. When I see something particularly interesting, I email it to my ski buddies. For the sake of my non-skiing wife, I try not to talk too much about skiing.
I daydream about special moments from last ski season. In the gym, I double down on ski-related workouts.
I start to make plans for the upcoming ski season. This includes visiting some resorts I’ve never been to. I think about friends I didn’t get to ski with last season and promise myself to make plans to do so this year. I’ve already renewed my membership in the Mountain Laurel Ski Club.
I make mental notes on things I need to do. I know I need a new parka. I think I’ll get my skis tuned. My snow tires should still be good, but I need new wipers.
I often wish I could ski year round but suspect this would detract from my passion for the sport.
My wife says I need to live more in the moment. Obviously I haven’t been able to limit talking about skiing. I know she’s right so I continue to enjoy my other sports and hobbies. But deep inside there is a longing to ski again.
Maybe I’ll write some ski articles.
This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Sep. 21)
Snow Is Happening Now, Winter Weather Prediction, Portillo Report, XC Binding News.
So it begins. There’s snow in British Columbia, some parts of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Check out the very recent snow map above from Snow-Forecast.com. The green represents snow; it’s not very much accumulation, —though we did hear Banff got blasted just today—but it’s there. Someone please ring a bell or something.
Sundeck at The Remarkables, Queenstown, New Zealand’s famous resort. Big snow happening there this summer. Credit: Snowbrains.com
And, we have heard that four resorts in New Zealand’s South Island have been forced to close because of too much snow this week. That reminds us of the snow-heavy winter we had in 2015-16 when the California Sierras were inundated. Such is the nature of climate change. Go to Snowbrains.com for the story on how epic snow closed the mountains in En-Zed.
Free (or Almost Free) Skiing For Seniors Listing Almost Ready.
This week, we are getting back into full swing here at SeniorsSkiing.com. Our correspondents are sending in early season stories which you should be seeing in a week or two. We have completed our research on where seniors can ski for free (or almost free) at ski resorts in North America. Yes, indeed, we are including Canadian resorts this year in our listing. It’s amazing how many resorts there are that do offer a significant break for seniors. Those discounts are out there; you have to look. We know our annual listing will certainly help.
We’re busy designing the Free Ski list and getting it ready for publication. Stay tuned. Until then, you can still access last year’s listing under Subscriber Only Content.
This Week
The Woolly Bear knows what winter will bring. Credit: TheInfiniteSpide
We’ve been paying perhaps too much attention to the winter weather forecasts this time around. That ol’ El Nino seems to be hanging in there, and if it does, it will definitely play a role in what happens in snow country. So, just to corroborate what we’re been hearing from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center, we branched off to collect some tradition folk nostrums of what winter will be. Find out what the old-timers looked to around this time of year to predict how much snow was in store for winter. We also checked the annual Farmers Almanac prediction. Read all about it.
Chile-based correspondent Casey Earle continues his series on skiing in Chile. He wrote some great articles orienting folks to what to expect down there and a recap of some of the principal resorts. This time, he zones in on Portillo, the venerable Chilean resort every skier knows about. Check out his resort review here.
Filled with amenities Hotel Portillo is the only place to stay at the resort. Credit: ChileSki.com
Cross-country editor and XCSkiResorts.com publisher Roger Lohr brings us some breaking news on the xc ski binding front. He describes the brand new Rottefella binding with a Move Switch that allows you to adjust the weight distribution on your skis. This could be an important break thru for senior xc skiers because it can actually enhance both glide and grip. Certainly worth a look if you are thinking about new xc gear.
On a more serious note, we have a new article on Sarcopenia this week, a condition where muscles become less efficient in seniors. We found it remarkable that we never knew about this condition until we were introduced to it through a contributed article by one of our readers last year. If we didn’t know, then probably a lot of our readers don’t either. Study this one, dear readers. The good news is that the weakening effects of sarcopenia can be mitigated through weight lift training.
If you have any story ideas, or want to submit an article, please let us know at info@seniorsskiing.com. The season has started, and it is time to get ready.
Remember, readers, there are more of us every day and we aren’t going away.
[authors_page role=contributor]