Park City ski schools?

November 8, 2009 8:40 AM

Can you suggest the best ski school in Park City, UT for my wife and kids (age 4 and 7) who are all first-timers? Obviously can be different programs for each, but needs to be on the same mountain. 2-3 days would be ideal, to leave some time for getting out on our own thereafter.
posted by MattD to sports, hobbies, & recreation (3 answers total)

A former Park City resident I met recommended Deer Valley for first-timers because it's so luxurious. I had mentioned some fear/anxiety about learning to ski, so she suggested I go to Deer Valley for my first lesson(s) because they sort of hold your hand through the whole thing. Might be a bit pricey, but if you're already committing to pay for lessons, it's worth doing the math.

My husband adores The Canyons because, in his experience, it's so big that it never feels crowded. The teensy bit of "skiing" I've done (in Wisconsin), I spent most of the time being terrified I'd crash into a small child, so an uncrowded resort appeals to me--perhaps your wife might feel the same.

(I haven't taken lessons at either place yet, they just sound nice.)
posted by Meg_Murry at 11:03 AM on November 8, 2009

Agreed with both Deer Valley and the Canyons. I took ski lessons at both of them, though I was around 24-25 when I took them.

However, for what it's worth, I noticed that there were many dozens of children on the bunny slopes at both places taking lessons. (Though the kids don't take lessons with adult novice skiers--they're separate classes.)

Both places seems to try to create a "family" atmosphere and that seems to extend to the lessons for young kids.
posted by dfriedman at 1:25 PM on November 8, 2009

I was about to second Meg_Murry and then saw that Meg_Murry wrote the comment. And she's my wife.

Anyway, yeah, you can't go wrong with either.
posted by rbs at 5:41 PM on November 8, 2009