Aclutch of cars have pulled over, and drivers are peering into the woods and pointing. All signs suggest they’ ve spotted something worth watching. When mother moose and her baby meander toward the road, we head back to our cars and trail behind as they graze on ground cover. They seem totally oblivious to us watching them. It’ s a crisp September weekend. The protected woodland that’ s home to these massive herbivores is the Wasatch Range, which is currently putting on a flamboyant display of golden-yellow aspen trees. In the language of the Ute Indians, Wasatch means‘ high mountain pass’, so named because it offered them an easy entry into the Rocky Mountains. The 24-mile-long Guardsman Pass, a breathtaking road in the Wasatch Mountains, offers a plethora of vantage points to capture photos of the area ' s eggyolk-coloured leaves.
Nestled in these beautiful mountains is Deer Valley Resort in Park City, which, in recent months, has undergone a massive expansion that’ s seen an additional 10 new chairlifts and doubled the number
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of runs to more than 200. It’ s rare for such an established ski resort to have the opportunity to expand its reach to such an extent. There’ s more to the story, but the bottom line is that a land swap with the U. S. military enabled this property to be put into recreational use by the mountain community.
Park City is both the name of the city and the ski resort. Deer Valley is another ski resort with a storybook village— and they’ re right next to one another. Deer Valley Resort is pledged to the Ikon Pass network, while Park City Mountain is available to Epic Pass holders. Main Street serves as the dividing line between the two.
MOUNTAIN BEER FESTIVAL
Still in its early days, the four-yearold Mountain Beer Festival exclusively promotes Utah-based breweries. According to Josh Hockman, beverage director for Deer Valley Resort,“ organisers want to keep it small so that it fits nicely into the space adjacent to Silver Lake Lodge”, he tells me, and“ guests leave their vehicles in the Snow Park lot at the bottom of the slope, pick up a wristband and make their
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Clockwise from top left: A moose with a baby calf at Guardsman Pass; revellers enjoying Deer Valley Mountain Beer Festival; a can of the Heber Valley India Pale Ale; festivalgoers playing a game of cornhole Previous pages from left: Fall at Guardsman Pass in Utah; a cold glass of lager at the beer festival |
images: getty; Deer Valley Resort |