This season The Canyons Ski Resort is offering passes with varying degrees of benefits and which is reflected in the price. The basic pass is called the Silver Pass and the upgrade is the Gold Pass. There is also a Canyon Club platinum level membership. The price for the Silver Adult Full Season Pass is $999 until October 15th, $1,299 after the 15th. In comparison, the Gold Adult Full Season Pass is $1,399 until October 15th and $1,699 after the 15th. So you will save $300 if you make your season pass purchase now. There are also discounts for purchasing up until October 15th for most of their other passes, including the 5 and 10-day coupon books.

So what is the difference between the Silver and Gold passes besides the $400 price difference? There is a Canyons Silver vs Gold Season Pass Comparison Table that shows exactly what you get with each level. With the Gold pass compared to the Silver Pass, you get 1 more day lift ticket for friends or family, 2 more complimentary lodging nights, 2 more adult ski or snowboard lessons, 1 more gold level ski or board tune and two lunch entrees at The Cabin vs one appetizer or desert (for Silver Pass holders). Both Silver and Gold Passes include Up To 4 Buddy Passes Per Day For $59 Each, 15% Discount at Canyon Mountain Sports & One Sweet Ride, 15% Discount on Ski & Snowboard Rentals, Unlimited Hot Chocolate, Coffee or Tea, Weekly Winter Mountain Tour and Summer Lift Privileges. There are some restrictions with these benefits which you can read at the comparison table link mentioned above.

So head on over to The Canyons Resort Season Passes before the savings end on October 15th. The Park City Mountain Resort also has a similar pass offering with different levels of benefits. Their season pass prices will be going up after October 31st.  The Deer Valley Ski Resort also offers discounts for ski passes prior to October 31st as well.

Related Park City Utah Information:

• Park City Ski Passes Pre-Season Discounts
• Purchase Your Park City Discount Ski Pass Today!
• Park City Ski Resorts Opening Dates 2009-2010 Ski Season – Deer Valley, The Canyons & Park City Mountain Resort

The event continues with a jam-packed day of activities that should provide something for everyone. From flyfishing along with a gourmet lunch riverside with fine wines to mountain biking paired with lunch and yes, wine this is definitely an outdoor Park City, Utah event. Lots of wine seminars and paired activities will be plentiful during this Wine Classic. Make sure you take a look at all the event listings and sign up soon, some are already sold out. Follow the link at the bottom of this post to view all event details and to purchase tickets.

The Park City Food and Wine Classic winds up on Sunday with a morning revival High West Brunch. What better way to wrap up a great weekend than brunch at High West? Join us as we toast the conclusion to a wonderful weekend and bid one another farewell until next year’s Classic. Includes two adult breakfast beverages. High West Distillery, $45

Here’s a video from a couple years back to give you an idea of what the event is all about:

Park City Food and Wine Classic

2010 Participating Park City Restaurants in the Food & Wine Classic
Bangkok Thai On Main
Blind Dog Restaurant
Comunal Restaurant
Donovan’s Steak & Chop House
Easy Street Brasserie
Edible Wasatch
Forage Restaurant
Good Karma
Hapa Sushi Grill
Healing Palate /Jason Kiefer
High West Distillery
J. Wong’s Asian Bistro
Jean Louis
Jupiter Bowl
Kerrygold | Irish Dairy Board
Lugano Restaurant
Mercer Wine Ice Cream
Mustang
Paralel 88
Park City Private Chefs
Red Pine Cafe At The Canyons
Ruth’s Chris – Hotel Park City
Shabu
Sky Lodge
Sonora Grill
Spruce At Waldorf Astor Ia
Stein Eriksen Lodge
Sugar Buzz
Talisker On Main
The Bridge Cafe And Grill
The Cabin Restaurant
The Coper Onion
The Mountain Grill At Yarrow Hotel
Westgate Grill
Whole Foods
Yelow Snow Ice Cream
For more information, please go to the Park City Food & Wine Classic website. And don’t forget there are plenty of other Park City summer activities going on this season.

Related Park City Utah Information:

• The Canyons Ski Resort Spring Break and Spring Gruv
• Park City Utah Fourth of July Celebration

Starting at 7:30pm, The Canyons Resort will be having a free concert in the resort village followed by fireworks at 9:30pm. The Disco Drippers will be providing the live music. The venue will be open at 4pm if you want to set up your blankets and chairs early and grab a spot on the lawn. The Cabriolet and Frostwood lifts will be open from 4:00pm – 11:00pm.

The weekly Park Silly Sunday Market will be taking place in town on Saturday instead of Sunday to accomodate the 4th of July parade on Sunday. Sunday morning activities start early with the traditional pancake breakfast from 7am-10pm and 8am 5k Fun Run which benefits the Park City Ski Team. This is followed by the 4th of July Parade downtown starting at 11am.  There will be 85 floats in tow celebrating Park City’s history, from “Silver to Snow”. The parade starts at the top of Main Street to the 9th Street intersection, over to Park Avenue and continues to City Park.

Stick around after the parade for music, food and plenty of activities in City Park. From noon to 4pm at the music pavillion, free music from Park City Concerts will be given by Motherlode Canyon Band, The Codi Jordan Band and Tim Wray & Fat Paw among others. There will also be plenty of food and drink and vendor stands selling various items.

Then starting at dusk, ~9:30pm the ultimate fireworks display will begin. They will be shot off at the base of Park City Mountain Resort from the First Time parking lot. You will be able to view the fireworks from all over town, but ideal locations are from the Park City golf course as well as the Aerie and Boot Hill areas. The Holy Water Buffalo Band will be providing live music starting at 8pm at the Corner Store.

So lots to do and enjoy this weekend. Looks like the weather will be pleasant too with mostly sunny skies on Saturday and Sunday, highs in the low 70s.

Related Park City Utah Information:

• Park City Food and Wine Classic
• Park City December Events and Activities
• Park City Historic Walking Tours

Canyons Pond Skimming Contest

The Pond Skimming Contest is The Canyons’ most popular party and is the true indicator that spring has arrived. Contestants must dress in costume (the funkier the better) as they attempt to cross a 100-foot pond on skis or a snowboard. The pond and the excitement happen at mid-mountain just outside Red Pine Lodge. Must be 10 years of age or older to enter.

Schedule:
8:00am – 9:00am: Registration at Smokie’s
11:45am: Riders’ meeting at top of course (mandatory)
12:00pm: Contest start
12:00pm – 3:00pm: DJ Velvet spins tunes at the Pond
2:30pm: Awards Ceremony at the Pond
3:00pm: Live music by Big Head Todd & The Monsters in the Resort Village!

More info on The Canyons Pond Skimming Contest and registration

Canis Lupus Challenge

In the old days, it was called The Natural (natural halfpipe) and the James Bond trail (for resembling a banked bobsled run). Call it what you will. Canis Lupus is a 1/4 mile-long gulley that serves up banked walls, turn after turn and whoops that will throw you off track if you are not prepared. There will be a few banked slalom gates at the top, then a “not-so-straight shot to the finish.” Must be 10 years of age or older to enter.

Red Bull 1976 Games

The Canyons will be hosting a qualifying event for the Red Bull 1976 Games. Teams of four will compete for the glory and bragging rights of becoming the 1976 Games Champions. Competitions include Snowbladecross & Old School Air – all up at Red Pine Lodge area. Registration info to come…

Red Bull 1976 Games Event Schedule:
8:00am – 9:00am: Registration at Smokie’s
9:30am – 11:30am: Athlete Training
11:45am: Riders’ meeting at top of course (mandatory)
12:00pm: Snowbladecross start
1:00pm: Old School Air start
2:30pm: Awards Ceremony at venue

Then, hit up the Resort Village for a live concert by Robert Randolph & The Family Band at 3:00pm!

NOTE: No outside alcohol is allowed in for the spring concerts. But do not fret, they will have food and beverage options available in the Resort Village.

You can find out more about all the events, concerts and special lodging packages at the The Canyons Spring Gruv website. They are offering some great discount lodging packages with rates starting at $59.50. We can get some awesome snowstorms in March and April, so come on over, enjoy the snow, the fun events, free concerts and warmer temps!

Related Park City Utah Information:

• The Canyons Ski Resort Free Lift Tickets and Breakfast Lodging Package
• Free Lift Ticket and Snowboard Lesson at The Canyons Ski Resort
• Park City Utah Spring Skiing

So perhaps you spend a little more to get a nicer room or suite in exchange for free lift tickets and breakfast. You may actually end up spending the same for the nicer suite as you would paying for a less expensive room where you had the added expense of having to pay for lift tickets and breakfast. Now if your breakfast consists of a cup of coffee and a granola bar, you may come out ahead – but getting a nicer room could be worth it in the end. Plus a nice buffet breakfast will give you that extra bit of energy to enjoy the slopes and not get pooped out before 10am!

Escala Lodges

Here is the lowdown on the ski/vacation package deal:

• Valid February 4, 2010 – April 11, 2010
• Choose either the Sundial Lodge, Silverado Lodge, Vintage on the Strand or Escala Lodges
• Lift ticket & breakfast vouchers have no cash value, are non-transferable and not for resale
• Not available for groups of 10 or more
• Offer may not be applied to existing reservations
• Price does not include taxes, fees or optional travel protection premiums
• Package based on availability
• “Other restrictions may apply” – guess you will need to ask them about what that means?

You can book the package online, Canyons Ski Resort Free Lift Ticket Package, or call The Canyons Resort directly at 1-(888)-CANYONS

All of the lodging facilities for this package are pretty much centrally located right near the slopes with easy access to either chair lifts or The Flight of The Canyons 8-person Gondola.  The Escala Lodges, pictured right, is one of the newest lodging facilities at The Canyons, located mountainside in the Resort Village. You can review each these properties at The Canyons Resort Lodging summary page. But remember not to book online from those pages. If you want the free lift ticket and breakfast package, follow the link further above or go to the hot deals lodging packages link from The Canyons drop down menu page.

Related Park City Utah Information:

• Free Lift Ticket and Snowboard Lesson at The Canyons Ski Resort
• Discount Lift Tickets for The Canyons Ski Resort
• The Canyons Discount Lift Tickets Full Day $65!

The key here is that there is a limited number. If you click on the link below it will bring you to the order page for tickets. I would recommend ordering them as soon as you can if you plan on going to The Canyons this season. Full day lift tickets normally cost $81 so you can save some cash and use it to buy lunch in between runs. Plus it goes to a good cause. Mountain Town Music is a non-profit organization which exists to produce, foster, and support live music which enhances the cultural experience for Park City and Summit County residents and visitors.

Go here to purchase your tickets: The Canyons Discount Lift Tickets $65

You can have your tickets delivered by mail for $1.00 extra or just pick them up at The Market Hall. They mention picking up your “$65 voucher” so they probably are not the actual lift ticket, but rather a voucher which you then can take to any of The Canyons Ski Resort ticket windows and exchange it for a lift ticket.

If anyone wants to pick up their vouchers at The Market Hall and don’t know where that is, it is a co-operative retail outlet located between Park City Coffee Roasters and Molly Blooms near the Post Office at Kimball Junction at 1680 East Ute Blvd. (435.645.6004).

View Larger Map

Related Park City Utah Information:

• Discount Lift Tickets for The Canyons Ski Resort
• Park City Discount Lift Tickets Only $33 Full Day!
• The Canyons Ski Resort Free Lift Tickets and Breakfast Lodging Package

So what’s the catch?  The deal only lasts from today until February 11, 2010. You have to purchase the tickets in advance online. Both tickets must be used on the same day by two separate people – so you can’t use one ticket one day, then come back and use the second ticket another day, kapish? Also, the food vouchers have no cash value and cannot be exchanged or refunded. You can redeem your vouchers at Red Pine Lodge, Sun Lodge or Smokie’s Bar & Grill and you can substitute the burger for a slice of pizza and side salad, sweet.

This is just another way to get Park City discount lift tickets.  You have to do some searching around, but they are out there if you take the time to look. I just found out about this deal today because I signed up for email alerts for such special deals with The Canyons. I do the same for Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley Ski Resort.  So save some cash and take advantage of as many discount lift ticket deals as you can. I rarely pay full price for lift tickets anymore and neither should you if you can’t or don’t want to.

For more information and how to purchase these lift tickets go to The Canyons Pair Pass

Don’t forget to check out other possible lift ticket deals at Liftopia Park City Discount Tickets

Park City Discount Lift Tickets – Our summary page of other ways to get Park City lift ticket discounts.

Related Park City Utah Information:

• The Canyons Discount Lift Tickets Full Day $65!
• Park City Discount Lift Tickets Only $33 Full Day!
• Free Lift Ticket and Snowboard Lesson at The Canyons Ski Resort

Park City Free Lift Ticket Quick Start Vacation Offer

1) Register for your free lift ticket voucher at Park City Quick Start Offer

2) Bring the voucher, same-day boarding pass and out-of-state id to a lift ticket window at Deer Valley, The Canyons or Park City Resort

3) Get your same-day free lift ticket and enjoy the rest of the day skiing or snowboarding (except no snowboarding at Deer Valley) at the resort of your choice!

Some of the restrictions:

• OFFER NOT VALID – 12/25/09-1/2/10, 2/13/10 – 3/27/10
• Offer valid for Salt Lake City International Airport arrivals via regularly scheduled commercial airline only
• Not valid for Utah residents
• Boarding pass must be presented at time of program redemption. There are no exceptions to this rule. So print out 2 copies of your boarding pass, either at home or at the airport kiosks, just to be safe.
• Lift tickets are non-transferable, not for resale and have no dollar value
• There are some other minor rules & regulations – just follow the Quick Start link above for further details.

I think this is an offer you must take advantage of if you arrive early enough. Heck, even if you can get in only an hour or two, it’s still worth it. You can kind of get a feel of how things works, where the lifts go, slope conditions, etc. – sort of like a dress rehearsal for your paid day of skiing the next day.

Don’t forget to check out other possible lift ticket deals for the rest of your stay at Liftopia Park City Discount Tickets

Park City Discount Lift Tickets – Our summary page of other ways to get Park City lift ticket discounts.

Related Park City Utah Information:

• Free Lift Ticket and Snowboard Lesson at The Canyons Ski Resort
• Park City Discount Lift Tickets Only $33 Full Day!
• The Canyons Ski Resort Free Lift Tickets and Breakfast Lodging Package

Qualifying Burton Snowboard Purchases:
Blunt
Blunt Primo
Blunt Wide
Bullet
Chicklet
Chopper
Clash
Custom Smalls
Dom Grom
Feather
Feelgood Smalls
Operator Smalls
Shaun White Smalls
Stigma
The Social
Verdict

What do You Get with Your Free Lift Ticket & Snowboard Lesson Package?

Basically you get a free Learn To Ride lesson package.  The Canyons is an official Learn To Ride Center and offers the clinic to first time snowboarders normally for $99. I did this lesson a few years back and thought it was a pretty good deal and the instructors were great.  They give you a full day lesson and full day lift ticket on the beginner lift at mid-mountain, just next to the Red Pine Lodge.  They also normally give you the full day of equipment rentals with this package, but in this case you already got your Burton Board!

About the Package – Restrictions & What You Get:

• This is for first-timers, a beginner lesson, so if you are above that level and buy a qualifying board and do not want the lesson – the deal is transferrable – sweet! Just give it to a friend or family member as a gift and tell them to buy you lunch on the slopes in return!
• The full day lesson is 2.5 hours in the morning, break for one hour lunch, then 2.5 hours in the afternoon. This is plenty of time to get the basics down and learn enough to be able to do some turns on your own by the end of the day – if you can last that long!
• Must be at least 15 years old for the lesson
• Call at a minimum 48 hours in advance of the day you want to take your lesson.  This lesson package books up quick and there is no guarantee there will be a spot open on the day you want if you do not call in advance. The Canyons especially recommends advance reservations are made for lessons during their “Premium Periods” which are: 12/19/2009 – 1/2/2010, 1/16/2010 – 1/18/2010, 2/13/2010 – 4/11/2010.  If you have to cancel, do it at least more than 48 hours in advance, otherwise fees will be imposed.

So if you are looking to get a new snowboard, consider one of the Burton snowboards listed above and you get a free $99 lesson and lift ticket deal thrown in. Even if you do not get one of the Burton boards, you still should consider getting the Learn To Ride lesson and lift ticket package at The Canyons because it is a great deal, especially if you are a beginner.

More about the Go Snowboarding Free Lift Ticket and Lesson – there are 18 other resorts in the U.S. you can choose to take your lesson at besides The Canyons, they are all listed at the Burton site.

And here’s the Learn To Ride Snowboard Lesson & Lift Ticket Package at The Canyons with all the details about the lesson and how to make reservations.

Canyons Ski Resort – just our page with a summary of the features at the resort and links to other pages about getting lift tickets, lodging, live webcam, videos and more.

Related Park City Utah Information:

• The Canyons Ski Resort Free Lift Tickets and Breakfast Lodging Package
• Free Park City Lift Ticket – How To Get One!
• Utah Residents Ski or Snowboard Lesson $25 at the Park City Mountain Resort!

What Park City Pass did I Get (If You Care)?!

I ended up buying for myself the Adult Mid-Week Ski Pass from The Canyons.  The funny thing is, it’s not just a “mid-week” pass. It’s also valid on Sunday’s too! Even though I live here, I have never purchased a season pass.  In the past I have purchased a Canyon’s Cherry Picker 5-day pass, a 5-day pass at Park City and a 10-day coupon booklet at Deer Valley. This way during the season, I could ski at each one of the resorts without having to be tied down to only one place.

The draw back, of course, is that my skiing days were limited unless I purchased tickets at full price.  Therefore, I always felt like I had to wait for the perfect days to ski to take full advantage of that one day ticket.  I also felt like I had to ski or snowboard the entire day.  Now with the pass, I can ski for a few hours in the morning or afternoon whenever I have the time to and not feel guilty.

Oh and one big benefit from getting a season pass is all the extra benefits that the 5-day and 10-day passes do not have.  There are discounts at the cafes on the slopes, I can buy tickets for friends at a discount – up to four at $59 and one of my favorites – free lift access all summer long for mountain biking, hiking, disc golf or a lift to the Red Pine Lodge Restaurant.  I always wanted to do more mountain biking at the ski resorts, so summer 2010 will be my chance! Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley Resort also offers similar benefits when buying their season passes as well.

I’ll probably rotate through the resorts and get my pass at Park City Mtn. Resort next year.  Don’t know if I’ll ever get a season pass at Deer Valley because I’m learning to snowboard and as you may already know – no snowboarding allowed at the big D.  May still get a locals coupon book. It’s only $48/day for the Monday thru Friday booklet. Go here for more details: Deer Valley Locals Coupon Books

Anyway, follow the links below and if you are at all considering going skiing in Park City this year, get a discount pass now!.  You don’t even have to get a full season pass. They have 5-day and 10-day ticket packages too – all at discount if you purchase by today.

Park City Mountain Resort Ski Passes – purchase by October 15th

The Canyons Season Passes – purchase by October 15th

Deer Valley Season Passes – purchase by October 31st

Park City Resorts Pre-Season Discounts – Comparison of Savings

Related Park City Utah Information:

• The Canyons Resort Season Pass Discounts Ends October 15th
• Park City Ski Passes Pre-Season Discounts
• Park City Ski Resorts Opening Dates 2009-2010 Ski Season – Deer Valley, The Canyons & Park City Mountain Resort