The papers are signed and the key to the front door has been delivered. On Friday, May 1st, Deer Valley Resorts officially took possession of Solitude Mountain Resort. It’s been known since last fall that Deer Valley struck the deal with Solitude, and Deer Valley personnel have been working alongside Solitude employees all throughout the 2014/15 ski season to get a sense of how the mountain operates. As a result, some big changes are coming to Solitude which will forever change the way people ski the upper mountain.
The first thing Deer Valley will do is tear out the Summit double chair and replace it with a high speed quad. But the biggest change is that the new quad will be accessed from the bottom of a new run that will be cut from the top of the Apex lift. This realignment will mean that skiers and snowboarders won’t have to ride Sunrise or Powderhorn II to get to Summit, which will massively decrease the time it takes to reach upper Honeycomb Canyon and the steeps under Summit. There is no doubt that this classic powder stash will get skied out much faster then it has in the past.
Other changes for the 2015/16 season include a remodel of the Moonbeam Lodge, and what Deer Valley calls “increased guest service presence throughout the resort.”
You can read the pull press release from Deer Valley below:
DEER VALLEY RESORT; PARK CITY, UTAH (May 1, 2015) – Deer Valley Resort successfully closed on the purchase of Solitude Mountain Resort on April 30, 2015. As of today, May 1, 2015 Deer Valley will begin operating Solitude Mountain Resort in its entirety. Deer Valley Resort appointed Kim Mayhew as Solitude Mountain Resort’s new general manager in January, which also became effective today.
“This is an exciting venture for both Solitude Mountain Resort and Deer Valley Resort,” said Kim Mayhew, general manager of Solitude Mountain Resort. “As a member of the Deer Valley team for more than 30 years, I look forward to sharing with Solitude Resort similar values and practices that make Deer Valley one of the best operated resorts in the country.”
“Solitude is an incredible resort and will be in great hands with Kim at the helm,” said Bob Wheaton, president and general manager of Deer Valley Resort. “Deer Valley staff worked hand-in-hand with Solitude staff this past winter to share knowledge and develop strong plans for the future.”
Deer Valley’s first capital improvement announcement to Solitude for the 2015-2016 ski season will be to remove the current Summit double chairlift and install a new detachable high-speed quad. Also, a new ski run will be cut from the top of the existing Apex Express chairlift to the bottom terminal of the realigned Summit Express chairlift, significantly lessening the current travel time to Honeycomb Canyon. Other priority improvements include; remodeling the Moonbeam Lodge restaurant, an increased guest service presence throughout the resort and new uniforms for Solitude staff.