The first portion of an expansion that will more than double the size of Park City's Deer Valley Resort will open a year earlier than previously planned.
Three lifts servicing what will become the new Deer Valley East Village will open during the upcoming ski season, providing access to 20 new runs comprising 316 skiable acres of terrain. Five-hundred parking spaces will also open.
One of the new chairlifts will be Keetley Express, Deer Valley's first six-person chairlift with a bubble. Scheduled to open this December, this lift will provide direct access from Deer Valley East Village into the existing Deer Valley resort area.
The extra two chairlifts, Hoodoo Express and Aurora, will service new beginner-level ski trails and return access into Deer Valley East Village.
Once fully open, the East Village expansion will include 3,700 skiable acres, bringing Deer Valley's total skiable acreage to 5,700, fourth largest in the U.S.
The expansion will feature 16 chairlifts and a 10-passenger gondola. Plans also call for a buildout of 800 hotel rooms, 1,700 residential units and 250,000 square feet of commercial space in the East Village.
This year's Deer Valley expansion is part of a $300 million 2024-25 capital investment program by Deer Valley owner Alterra Mountain Company across its portfolio of 16 North American ski areas.
As part of that program, Crystal Mountain in Washington State will fully launch its new Mountain Commons Lodge, offering enhanced skier services and dining options.
Mammoth Mountain in California will see upgrades to its lift system, including the replacement of the Broadway Express chair with a high-speed, six-person lift, which is expected to increase capacity by 25%.
Other resorts benefiting from the investment include Big Bear Mountain Resort in California and Sugarbush and Stratton in Vermont, all of which will receive new or upgraded lifts.
Additionally, several resorts will see improvements in snowmaking capabilities, with Winter Park in Colorado completing a $37 million, two-year snowmaking infrastructure overhaul.
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Robert Silk contributed to this report.