It seems obvious to me that skiing should be satisfying before we think about measuring it. To me, a good skiing experience means feeling in control, comfortable with the elements and having fun. So, how should we put numbers on that great sport? Many years ago, skiing acumen was often measured by ski length. If you were a male and skied on a pair of 223 cm downhill skis, you’d make a memorable impression. If the length was 215, you were looked up to, and if you wanted to “blend-in” with other “serious skiers” you couldn’t ski much shorter than 207. Of course, now ski length doesn’t carry the clout it used to and had nothing to do with the “amount” of skiing one could aspire to…

In the old days, skiing 15 days in a season was substantial; later, with a full, two-day weekend, doubling up that number wasn’t unusual during the course of a winter. Today, if you speak to some mature Deer Valley season-pass holders, they may confess that they’re doing their best to ski “their age” (that is, ski as many days in a season as their number of birthdays) or even aim for the century mark; in fact, I knew of a local contractor who had vanity license plates proudly stating “100 days” for the number of days he skied in a season. Granted, those are just days, like they could be years, but it doesn’t say how intense skiing can be, namely how many hours a skier is strapped to the skis, from just a couple of to a long, seven-hour day…

This is where the matter becomes tricky, because without some kind of ski-meter attached to the skis, how can we measure the daily dose of skiing? Europeans might be “measuring” their ski areas the right way; they don’t use skiable acreage, but “miles of ski runs” instead. It’s not uncommon to see some of their largest ski areas boast “50 miles of runs” or something like that. While this is a precise measurement, it doesn’t say much about slope and snow conditions and there could be some enormous difference between one mile of “green,” beginner run, and just one-tenth of a mile of “black diamond” chute! With the limitations of this linear measurement, there ought to be a better yardstick that relates to the total energy expended by the skier and this might be vertical drop.

“Vertical drop” is simply the measure of how tall a ski hill is; if the elevation at the top of the gondola is 7,950 feet and its base is 6,570 feet, the vertical rise is 1,380 feet. This measurement implies more than just a fixed distance but a variety of options to descend that hill. It could be a gentle slope or a more intimidating expert run blending mileage and difficulty in opposite proportions. The next logical thought would be “how much ‘vertical’ can be skied in one day?” Another loaded question, because it depends on the skier’s ability, the type of lift used, the steepness of the slope and both snow and terrain conditions. For some, 15,000 feet means a full day while for others it might be 30,000 or even more. If you’re worried about keeping track of all these numbers, there are even tools available, like high-tech wrist watches that will do the computing for you!

Modern infrastructure makes a big difference too; do you remember the old days when riding up a lift took forever? It wasn’t unusual that ninety-percent of ski time would be consumed riding up the mountain. This isn’t the case anymore, particularly in Deer Valley, where the vast majority of lifts are now high speed chairs and a gondola. Some actually stand out so much that “vertical skiing” records were broken just this year, with over 115,000 vertical feet tallied in just one day, most of it on “Sultan Express,” breaking a previous 108,000 feet record set back in 2007, in nearby Snowbird!

There are in fact very few ski-lifts, the world over, that come close to Deer Valley’s “mighty” chairlifts. Of course, you can always find a steep slope and hire a helicopter, but this can be outrageously expensive, not counting the “carbon footprint” consequences… All this means that with lifts like Sultan, Lady Morgan, Sterling or Wasatch, among many, Deer Valley Resort makes it possible to get a full ski day within a few hours, as long as you are in shape, can time your outing while other skiers have lunch and pick well-groomed runs. With all the extra time left from your “compressed skiing-time,” you’ll be able to catch up with your work, go shopping, enjoy more après-ski time and indulge on a leisurely dinner. But again, that’s all about quantity and never forget that quality of skiing is job-one, long before considering metering everything in your skiing life!

Photos from Saturday, December 26, 2009

Courtesy of John Vrabel