Deer Valley is closing for the season today. We have 112″ base and the skiing is great – sunny, warm days with blue skies and plenty of snow. For me this was a good season – I skied 122 days, met some super nice people with whom I hope to ski again, improved my skiing and most of all I loved it all.
I was hoping to ski every day of Deer Valley season but the trip to Vegas and my shin inflammation kept me from the goal – maybe the next year.
I hope to start biking soon as well as explore some of the Utah’s famous National Parks. My backpack is almost ready. I’m still not sure how will I pay for it but I’m sure good things will happen.
If you want to keep up with me start checking my other blog and see you next season – so long – Mark

Alta got a big dump a couple of days ago and as usual Little Cottonwood canyon was closed the whole day. I was super excited as I had a day off the following day. I was on my way to ski 4 feet of powder by 8:00 AM – I was even going to use my powder skis for the second time this year. I had no trouble getting to SLC but when I got off the interstate the traffic going up the canyon was at a standstill. It took me extra 1.5 hour to make it all the way to Alta. What I found was disappointing – only 3 lifts were running and the wait at the Collins lift was over 20 minutes – something that I’m not used to. When I finally got to the top of Collins things already looked pretty much tracked out – not a surprise since most everyone was on that lift. What I found when I got off the lift was very surprising – about 10-15 inches of heavy cement like snow. With the warm temperatures and high winds the night before 4 feet of powder was transformed into 10 inches of crud. My powder skis skimmed the tops never getting even an inch of snow on top – face shots? – what face shots – snorkel skiing? – no sir.
I ate overpriced turkey sandwich on partially staled sourdough bread and went home.
You wonder if Alta really got 4 feet of snow – the attached picture verifies that – they did – driver of this sedan will have some work to do before taking it home.

old man winter is back. To say that this winter was strange would be an understatement. We had early snow in October, then early cold weather which allowed DV to make plenty of snow before the opening of the season and when early December dumped 3 feet of snow we were very optimistic about the season. The way it all turned out until about a week ago we had only 70% of normal snow fall. Due to El Nino effect there was a strong High Pressure system over us which caused most of the snow storms coming off the Pacific to split with the brunt of the weather going to southern Utah – Moab and Zion got about 150% of their annual snow fall while we were praying for the white fluff. We all were reminiscing the last April and it’s snow fall. Well – this year April it’s as unpredictable as the last year was – in the last week or so we had about 40 inches of snow and forecast for tonight is 2-3 feet of snow in the mountains. Skiing is fabulous – I managed to make a few runs on X-files yesterday and the attached picture speaks louder than the words do. I hope we get a real dump overnight and will be able to finish the season on the high note. Deer Valley is closing its season on the 11th, but if we keep getting the snow skiing at Snowbird and Alta will continue.

I love teaching skiing. In addition to being able to spend my days outdoors doing what I love to do it provides opportunity to meet interesting people whom otherwise I would not have met. From movie stars to industry moguls – they all are our clients.
Today I met an interesting family from the east cost – a physicist, an artist and their daughter singer and a historian. The weather was perfect and the skiing was great. If you are interested knowing whom I met check out this website .

After many days of hard work some of us decided to take a quick trip to the other side of the Wasatch mountain to play a little – we went to Alta resort – another “no snowboarding” paradise. Alta has awesome terrain but also needs a lot of snow before you can enjoy all of it. Snow in the northern Wasatch has been a little slow this year, every storm coming of the Pacific Coast gets split with the brunt of it going to southern Utah where the snow pack is over 200% of normal while we “enjoy” about 60% – life ain’t fair. Never the less we made the best of it. Mike was in charge of finding the worst snow and he did, with the exception of couple of runs where the snow was nice and soft we skied a lot of hard pack or crud – Mike promised that would make me a better man – I don’t care who you are that’s funny. Enjoy attached pictures of Bryan, Mike, Mark, Karen, Debbie, Javier, Bill and Dave mostly taken by our fearless leader – Mike.

The ultimate show of skills comes in the moguls, everything that we do right or wrong becomes easy to see. When we are off balance the next mogul will let us know – it’s difficult to hide any deficiencies in our technique. There are many ways to ski moguls, Thor – ski instructor at DV likes to ski and teach bumps and in the video below he shows his way of doing it. He conducts mogul clinics for instructors at DV as well as teaches it to his clients. Watch the video and if you are interested in advance mogul skiing contact Thor.

Mother nature finally started to cooperate and it’s about time. In the past week we had about 4 feet of snow and the skiing on and off piste is spectacular – it’s what you would expect from Utah. I met a few friends for a day of skiing and in the afternoon we managed to take a little video. Consider joining us – we would love to ski with you.

I’m sorry that I’m not keeping this website as active and current as I was hoping to but we are in the middle of our busiest time at Deer Valley – we are teaching and skiing everyday. As soon as the Holiday rush is over I will make an effort to post ski improvement tips and videos related to events at the resort – Happy New Year to all.

Just yesterday Mike and I discovered a new place to eat Nacho Mamas. Excellent Southwestern and Mexican cuisine just around the corner from the Main Str. Food is excellent, very affordable and the Margaritas are to die for. Click on the link above to get the directions and to take a look at the menu and when you go tell Liza that Mark sent you.

We all have waited and are very excited about the snow that we have received in the recent days. I don’t know about you but I seldom think about the men and women who make the Deer Valley the beautiful resort it is, from mountain hosts, through lift operators to maintenance crew. It takes 2500 individuals to bring this experience to our guests. We, as instructor enjoy the benefits of their labor – next time you see one of them say “thank you” – our job wouldn’t be possible without them.

Finally winter arrived. We got over 28″ of snow yesterday night and it kept snowing entire day and most of the night. It wasn’t the famous Utah powder but we needed a good base off piste and we got it now we can build on this base. The weather is forecasted to be warmer and there maybe more snow this week. So – pack your bags and join us in this winter paradise.

Here is a short video of Renee skiing Deer Hollow run – early season fun.

This is the first post in what I hope to be a weekly serving of tips on how to dress for skiing, what to drink or not to drink and most of all on how to improve your skiing. There are several of then instructors from Deer Valley Resort who will share their experience with you. I hope you find those tips helpful and if you do please contact us to schedule a lesson.
Dressing for skiing is pretty simple – the goal is to stay warm and comfortable. Make sure you dress in layers, have your heat warmers activated while eating breakfast so by the time you get to the slopes they are already hot, bring a neck warmer to keep the drafts around your neck from running down your back, use sunscreen and lip balm to protect them from winter sun, make sure that your long underwear is pulled out of and above the top of your ski boots, only a thin sock goes inside your boot – finally make sure that the color of your boots and socks MATCH.

The snow storm that hit southern Utah very hard, provided a little white fluffy stuff for us as well – no we didn’t get 2 feet of powder but we had about 12″ over the last two days. Deer Valley opened on Saturday with 11 runs and enough lifts to service the terrain. As always the trails condition are impeccable and quality of snow is the BEST in the North America. We are opening new runs everyday and are the #1 choice in the area. Please call Deer Valley at 435-645-6648 to book a lesson with me – ask for Mark Schindler – and I’ll see you on the snow.

Mike, Bill and I went to ski Park City Resort where we met Phil who is an instructor at PC. The weather was perfect and the two runs that were opened were in a very good shape. Deer Valley will be opening this Saturday so this was our last chance to experience another resort and pay for it.
Here is a video of our efforts: