Adrenaline Rush
Art: Miles Parnell
Park City is the place to get your motor running with any number of activities adrenaline junkies love.
Known for its plentiful snow, Park City also offers up cold, hard and fast ice. The 2002 Olympic Winter Games are over, but there’s nothing holding you back from having your own Olympic ride down the Utah Olympic Park bobsled track at 75 mph. The thrill of a lifetime!
Do you like to fly? How about launching yourself off a ski jump to catch enormous air before landing? You can learn the art of Nordic ski jumping during a two-hour “learn to jump” clinic with experienced jumpers and coaches at the Utah Olympic Park.
Get your own bird’s eye view of the Wasatch Mountains — and throw in a few aerobatic maneuvers while you’re up there — while soaring. Check out Park City’s options for hang gliding, paragliding and scenic airplane rides over the Wasatch.
Rocket across winter wonderland on a snowmobile fit for the racetrack. Park City has multiple snowmobile outfitters whose guides will show you the way.
If you’re after a steep and deep virgin powder experience, boy do we have your ticket. Consider getting dropped out of a helicopter onto a mountain with freshies waiting just for you. The helicopter ride itself might be exciting enough! There are a few outfits around Park City that will gladly take you out on such an adventure.
Or how about skiing through the pristine Wasatch backcountry from one resort to the next, covering six in just one day? Most of Utah’s major ski resorts are within just a few miles of each other — as the crow flies, that is. With the able guides of the Ski Utah Interconnect Tour, you will start at Deer Valley Resort and continue on through Park City Mountain Resort, and over the pass into Big Cottonwood Canyon to Brighton and Solitude. After lunch and a moment for rest, the tour moves on into Little Cottonwood Canyon where you’ll end up with fresh face shots at Alta and finally Snowbird, where your ride back to Park City awaits.
Maybe you’re looking for a ride up the mountain in a snow cat? You can get some untracked powder this way, too, as well as spectacular views along the way.
If you want to stay in-bounds for your adrenaline rush, no worries. Park City’s three resorts have lots to offer. Park City Mountain Resort sports numerous terrain parks (one is even lit at night!), halfpipes and acres of free-riding, as well as the Eagle Superpipe used for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. You’ll find 146 trails spread over eight mountains at The Canyons, and if you’re up for it, give the infamous mile-long Canis Lupus a go. Get your groove on at Deer Valley Resort’s new TNT (Tricks ‘n Turns) Park, which features a new rail park on the Ore Cart run in Empire Canyon along with the Skier Cross venue. And if you’re into speed, check out the ski and/or snowboard race courses at each of the resorts. Courses are open daily for racing against your buddy or the clock.
Now for a suggestion on the warmer side of things: scuba diving! The Homestead Resort in nearby Midway has, get this, geothermal heated pools in which you can strap on your tank and disappear down under for a while.
Your comments may be edited for brevity and foul language.