Adventures

Summer lovin’ had me a blast, summer lovin’ happened so fast. Are you serious? You don’t need to wear a watch to know that school just started, heck, the traffic since last week in SLC has been ridiculous. And, that long weekend which marks the end of summer—Labor Day Weekend in Utah—is here as well. Maybe you don’t want to stay home and clean out your garage? Taking it up and out of the valley is the most sensible (and 10 degrees cooler) way to spend it.

2019 Soldier Hollow Sheepdog Classic Festival   Aug 30 – Sept. 2, 2019

“Yer aff yer heid!” Men in kilts throwing stones and cabers, sheepdogs herding sheep, western arts & crafts, loads of food vendors and the all-new bohemian beer garden. Nothing else says Labor Day Weekend in Utah like the Soldier Hollow Sheepdog Classic. Starting on August 30, get in on this four-day party in Midway for the fun at the McSoldier Hollow Nordic Center. In addition, a Navajo Rug Show is sponsored by Adopt-a-Native Elder, which features finely woven traditional Navajo textiles and demonstrations by Navajo artisans. Visit the site for days and times of events.

This year, Oktoberfest will feature scenic helicopter tours of Little Cottonwood Canyon from  Powderbird. Make reservations 801-933-2222. Tickets are $250 per person and available for all ages. The flights will run on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Snowbird’s 47th Oktoberfest Celebration

Oktoberfest runs from August 17-October 20, 2019 at the Snowbird Resort in Little Cottonwood Canyon, and will be open this coming Saturday, Sunday and Labor Day. Get up to Snowbird for family-friendly face-painting, live music & entertainment, biergartens, food venues and did we mention beer? While it’s free to enter, there is a $10 fee to park and they encourage carpooling. To keep our downstream watershed pure, no doggies are allowed up LCC, the lodge, or good gracious no people, in your vehicle. Park and ride at one of the lots at the base of Little and Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Snowbasin is Open for Labor Day

While this isn’t technically a festival, it’s good to note that the Snowbasin Resort will be open on Labor Day, Monday, September 2nd and it’s the last day to lock in the early-bird discount rate for the 2019-2020 Winter Season Pass. If you come and print off your season pass you can enjoy a day on the mountain too. Snowbasin’s Needles Gondola will be open for lift-served mountain biking, hiking, and scenic gondola rides from 10 am-6 pm. In addition, they are offering their Saturday Special for Labor Day, buy online at least a day prior and you’ll get 2 burgers, 2 drinks, and 2 adult scenic gondola tickets for $45.

Miner’s Day in Park City 

Closing out Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 2, 2019, the Park City Rotary Club will host the town’s 123rd annual Miner’s Day. Starting with St. Mary’s $5 pancake breakfast in the City Park and the Miner’s Day Funky 5K (Athlete 360). At the top of Main Street witness the Running of the Balls, as 1000s of numbered golf balls will be released into the street to win prizes including season ski passes and hotel vacations. The Miner’s Day Parade ends with a BBQ lunch, including drinks, games and live music. To learn more, visit parkcityminersday.org.

Flying Ace All-Stars at Olympic Park

On Sat. August 31 and Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019, witness skiers and snowboarders flying 60 feet in the air and performing acrobatic stunts before landing in the Spence Eccles Olympic Freestyle Pool during the Flying Ace All-Stars Freestyle Show at Utah’s Olympic Park. Following the show, you can explore the museum or test your own balancing skills on the three obstacle courses above the park. On both days the show begins at 1 pm, $10 for kids, $15 for adults and can be purchased online.

For more of what’s up in SLC, in the community, upon the slopes and beyond, read more here.

Who wants to buy a movie studio? Utah Film Studios has been put on the market by its ownership group, Quinn Capital Partners, less than two years after they acquired the property as part of a lawsuit settlement in 2017. The property is listed for sale without an asking price, but for those of you reading this, if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.

The studio casts a hulking silhouette over Park City’s eastern entrance in Quinn’s Junction. Its muddled development history left many Parkites wondering just what was going on behind those walls, but after the purchase and a name change to Utah Film Studios the operation seemed to be on stable ground. Utah Film Studios even appeared to become the epicenter of a rejuvenated Utah television and film development movement by serving as the studio location for Kevin Costner’s hit show “Yellowstone” and Ari Aster’s Sundance darling “Hereditary” among other projects. Alas, it appears as if the studio’s future is once again uncertain.

Utah Film Studios boasts 45,000 feet of state-of-the-art sound stages.

The property currently contains 90,000 square feet of developed space, including 45,000 square feet of state-of-the-art sound stages and 25,000 square feet of additional production space and offices. The listing, however, includes the entire property, which the City has approved for 374,000 square feet of development. With less than a quarter of available development completed, the Utah Film Studios property holds a lot more value to potential buyers than just the existing production space. The initial approval foresaw a hotel and film school among other ideas, but what the space will ultimately look like is anyone’s guess.

Longtime critics of the studio’s viability will likely take the news as a sign their predictions were accurate, but it’s unclear if the current ownership group ever planned to pursue additional development themselves or if a sale was always their next move. A sale of this magnitude likely won’t be complete before the end of 2019, but we will update the story as developments occur.

See all of our community coverage here.

Take a look to the east just before the sun comes up and you’ll see Sirius rising just ahead of our friendly neighborhood star. The dog star’s heliacal rise is what led the Greeks and Romans to refer to the annual midsummer heat wave as the “dog days,” but my dogs are obeying our ideological misinterpretation by lousing around even more than normal. Sure, people call it “a dry heat,” but it’s still hot.

The Moab area is paradoxically inviting this time of year—the desert is rather famed for being warm, after all—if you’re willing to abstain from its postcard-certified attractions you can find cool Moab adventures. Towering above Moab, the La Sal Mountains are an oft-overlooked asset with elevation-induced coolness. Deep within the walls of Cataract Canyon, the Colorado River provides an oasis among an arid sea of rock. Look high or low, and you can find unexpectedly temperate climes in unlikely places.

Experience a Mountain High Yurt

Photo courtesy Talking Mountain Yurts

 

Whether you’ve just finished up a mountain bike ride down the Whole Enchilada or gotten off the river, it’s important to keep cool by ingesting an outrageous number of refreshing calories at Milt’s Stop & Eat. Milt’s isn’t a well-kept secret, but once you put down a buffalo burger and shake with homemade ice cream—I’m particularly partial to Oreo and peanut butter—you’ll know exactly why Moab’s oldest restaurant is still so popular 65 years after it opened.

356 S. Mill Creek Dr, Moab, 435-259-7424, miltsstopandeat.com

“Geyser Pass is right around 10,500 feet. Mount Peale is the highest point in the state outside of the Uintas. People don’t realize how big the La Sals really are,” says Jonathan Dutrow, owner and operator of Talking Mountain Yurts. Talking Mountain operates three yurts, primarily for backcountry skiers in search of southern powder on the steep slopes of the La Sals, but the Geyser Pass Yurt is open year round and is an ideal high-elevation getaway.

“Because the yurt’s up so high in Geyser Pass, The weather in the summer is much cooler than people expect,” Dutrow explains. “It’s a perfect starting point for Moonlight Meadows, Burro Pass and the famous Whole Enchilada mountain bike trails. There are four pretty impressive peaks you can hit in an easy day, and you can quickly get to Clark Lake, which isn’t accessible by car so it’s rarely crowded.” The Geyser Pass Yurt comfortably sleeps eight, which makes the $175 for the first night—$125 for each subsequent night—a bargain. You can park about 70 yards from the yurt, allowing you to get gear for the whole family up there without drama.

If a well-appointed yurt sounds a bit lavish for your tastes, there are nearly endless high-elevation camping options in the Manti-La Sal National Forest. Mike Craig is a ski patroller in Park City who worked summers as a mountain bike guide in Moab. Craig spent his off hours camping up in the La Sals, which allowed him to avoid succumbing to late-season heat waves. “There are primitive camp sites all along Geyser Pass Road. And they’re on public land, so they’re free. If you’d rather camp in a public camping area with some amenities, Warner Campground is above 9,000 feet right next to Warner Lake.” Craig says. “No matter where you camp, you can access great hiking and running trails. One of my favorites is the Miner’s Basin Trail. You start at Warner Campground and head up over Gold Knob with views of Canyonlands National Park and Castle Valley.” 435-260-7601, talkingmountainyurts.com

Get Wet With Some River Rafting Fun

Photos courtesy OARS

Moab’s parched character draws apt comparisons to a Martian landscape, but the Colorado River has carved through the land, indelibly altering the scenery and providing the perfect playground to beat the summer heat. Cataract Canyon is the jewel of whitewater rafting in Southern Utah, a 46-mile chasm of jaw-dropping scenery and rowdy whitewater. Rafting in Cataract Canyon is like taking on a miniature version of the Grand Canyon, and while late summer may not have the massive flows you’ll find during peak spring runoff, the challenging whitewater provides plenty of thrills.

Photo taken during a guided OARS rafting trip down Cataract Canyon, Utah.

For the full Cataract Canyon experience without having to manage the myriad logistics of a multi-day adventure through technical whitewater, book a trip with OARS. You’ll enjoy several days of relaxing flat water floating and one day of raucous rapids. Along the way you’ll stop to explore side canyons and ancient ruins, float through Canyonlands National Park, eat incredible meals while camping under the stars and enjoy a scenic flight back to Moab after entering Lake Powell. Plus you’re never more than a quick jump away from cooling down in the water. The minimum age for six-day trips down Cataract Canyon is nine years old. Trips can be booked directly through the OARS website. 800-346-6277, oars.com 

For more outdoor fun click here!

Professional cyclists are flocking to the Beehive State as the Tour of Utah kicks off for the sixteenth time on August 12. The annual road biking spectacle will challenge world-class riders with a leg-torching 38,000 feet of elevation gain over seven days through Utah’s famed mountain ranges. Three past Tour of Utah Champions—Joe Dombrowski, Lachlan Morton and Rob Britton—will take the starting line to compete alongside athletes from UCI professional teams, including 24-year-old Giulio Ciccone, who won the King of the Mountains jersey at this year’s Giro d’Italia and wore the yellow leader’s jersey for two days at the 2019 Tour de France.

Tour of Utah riders relentlessly attack the mountain stages.

The Tour of Utah starts on August 12 with the prologue at Snowbird where riders will speed through an individual time trial up Little Cottonwood Road. Over the course of the next week the race winds its way from Logan to Powder Mountain Resort, from Antelope Island State Park to Salt Lake City before a brutal final stage that begins and ends on Park City’s Main Street on August 18. Check out the full list of stages and venues for this year’s Tour of Utah to catch all the action in person.

Witnessing these superhuman riders in action will likely get your motivational juices flowing, so jump on that rare rush of fitness inclination, and get ready to ride your own mini tour.

Gear Up for Your Ride

You’re going to need a bike. Yes, the rusted-out Schwinn in your garage is probably fine and that now-disgraced-former-hero was right when he said “It’s not about the bike.” However, few things are more inspirational than new bike day, especially when you can get a killer deal from a local Utah Company.

Fezzari Bicycles was born and bred in Utah—many of their bikes bear the names of famous local mountains—and they offer a unique direct to consumer sales platform, which substantially lowers the cost to you. Typically a bike goes from the manufacturer to a distributor to a bike shop to the consumer, with markups all along the way. By cutting out the middle part of that transaction, Fezzari provides a comparable high-quality product for less money.

The Fezzari Empire delivers great bang for the buck

Our top pick for your budding cycling obsession is the Empire. The bike is named for the epic climb up Empire Pass and features endurance-focused geometry that is not only efficient, but is also ultra comfortable on long rides. While not cheap at $1,699, the Empire is a complete steal for the package you get, and you can be sure your legs will give up long before the bike you’re on does.

Ride Your Own Tour

I wouldn’t deign to suggest you attempt following the Tour of Utah’s actual route—most of us mortals would expire along any one of the race’s formidable stages—but that doesn’t mean you can’t experience Utah’s highlights from the saddle. Here are a few options to get started.

Emigration Canyon

The climb up Emigration Canyon is a great introduction to mountainous riding. The eight-mile climb gently rises approximately 1,200 feet from This Is The Place Heritage Park to the Little Mountain Summit with views of Mount Aire and Little Dell Reservoir. If you have extra gas in the legs, an additional seven miles and 1,500 vertical feet will take you to the Big Mountain Summit. Whichever option you choose, stop by Ruth’s Diner on the way down to undo all that hard work with some Mile High Biscuits and Country Gravy.

Antelope Island

Explore the largest island in the Great Salt Lake on two wheels. Park at any one of the parks on Antelope Drive in Syracuse and start turning your pedals west across the Causeway to Antelope Island. There’s a three-dollar day use fee for cyclists, but it’s well worth the investment. A counter-clockwise tour of the island will bring you back to the Causeway and the finish of the 48-mile ride.

Provo River Parkway to Utah Lake

The 35-mile point-to-point ride starts at Vivian Park and follows the Provo River Parkway Trail before joining the Murdock Canal Trail and Jordan River Trail to Utah Lake. The paved trails feature incredible views of the Central Wasatch, are delightfully devoid of vehicle traffic and end with the opportunity to cool off with a dip in Utah Lake. Just don’t forget to stash a car or arrange for a ride home.

See all our outdoors coverage here.

The mountain bike game in Park City is competitive, and for those involved, second chances don’t often come easy. It looked like Park City Bike Demos (PCBD) had reached the end of the line when they shuttered the business in August 2018, but the shop has found new life after being purchased and relaunched earlier this spring by Robert DeMartini, new CEO of USA Cycling and former CEO of New Balance.

PCBD started life as a mobile rental program with two converted cargo vans that would meet customers at trailheads or hotels in town, but quickly expanded to include a full-service bike shop on UT-248. “Around 90 percent of our customers wanted to be able to walk into a shop and have an experience that went beyond just rentals,” says PCBD Founder Andre Shoumatoff. “When one in eight of your customers ends up purchasing a bike, you’re really in the business of selling bikes more than just renting them.”

Park City Bike Demos aims to be a destination bike shop selling only the best and most trusted brands. You can find bikes from DeVinci, Ibis and Felt along with cutting edge suspension components from Utah’s own Trust Performance. Bike components aren’t inexpensive, so come test what’s right for you before putting down your hard-earned dough. 1500 Kearns Blvd, 435-659-3991, parkcitybikedemos.com

With the shop came a shift in priorities, including a focus on demo-ing and ultimately selling high-end bikes with rental credits. The try before you buy model was great for consumers—especially important when you’re about to plunk down thousands of dollars on a bicycle. The business, however, struggled to adapt.

“We made plenty of mistakes initially,” says Shoumatoff, who is still involved with PCBD as General Manager. “We were overly ambitious in some areas, which got expensive. We needed a space for such a large inventory of bikes that we ended up with a warehouse masquerading as a bike shop. But we maintained customer ratings that were consistently high, and that will always be our primary goal.”

DeMartini has helped to restructure the business, but will be relatively hands off in its day-to-day operations. His daughter-in-law Alyssa DeMartini is co-General Manager along with Shoumatoff, while Gina Magnuson—who has years of industry experience managing retail finance for Specialized and POC—will be in charge of the store’s finances. Today, you can walk into PCBD to test out their latest high-end products for around $10 less per day than at competing shops, and receive up to $600 in transferrable rental credits which can be applied to a bike purchase.

“The trucks were our origin, and they’re still prominently featured in our logo, but we’re trying to deliver an in-shop experience that’s unrivaled in town,” Shoumatoff says. There’s even a coffee bar in the shop, providing a space perfect for caffeinated discussion and the needed geeking out with other bike nerds.

Three things in life are certain: death, taxes and Vail Resorts acquiring more ski areas. The third item on the list reentered our orbit when Vail Resorts announced a merger agreement to acquire Peak Resorts, and subsequently assumed control of 17 ski areas across the United States. The resorts will be added to the Epic Pass for the upcoming 2019-2020 ski season following the deal’s closing this fall.

The 17 ski areas include Vermont’s Mount Snow, New York’s Hunter Mountain; New Hampshire’s Attitash Mountain Resort, Wildcat Mountain and Crotched Mountain; Pennsylvania’s Liberty Mountain Resort, Roundtop Mountain Resort, Whitetail Resort, Jack Frost and Big Boulder; Ohio’s Alpine Valley, Boston Mills, Brandywine and Mad River Mountain; Missouri’s Hidden Valley and Snow Creek; and Indiana’s Paoli Peaks.

Though some of the new acquisitions are well-known staples of the New England ski landscape, many of the resorts in Peak Resorts’ portfolio are smaller areas near major metropolitan areas. It’s highly unlikely many Utah-based or intermountain-adjacent skiers will head to the Midwest to check out the relatively-modest slopes of Ohio, Indiana and Missouri, but there’s a high likelihood that skiers from Baltimore, Philadelphia, Cleveland and St. Louis will leverage their newly-local Epic Pass privileges with trips out west.

Undoubtedly, this is a boon to skiers who frequent the newly-acquired resorts who will enjoy an influx of resources to their local hills as well as more affordable access to the Utah’s famed powder. On the other hand, the same increased access will likely lead to more skier days at Park City Mountain. Your mileage will vary on the latter point depending on your point of reference. Vail Resorts is doubling down on their strategy of pre-selling as many skier days as possible to avoid the inevitable fluctuations in enthusiasm that correspond with unpredictable snowfall totals, as CEO Rob Katz articulated in public remarks to Parkites this spring. Local skiers who were miffed about unusually long lift lines last season, particularly at Canyons Base area, may not be as thrilled.

Vail Resorts is betting big on skier outreach in metropolitan markets as evidenced by the aggregate purchase price of $264 million for all Peaks Resorts common stock. Ski resort concentration—with all the fraught connotations it entails—continues at a relentless pace throughout the industry. Vail Resorts did mention in their accompanying press release they plan to, “retain the vast majority of each resort’s employees,” moving forward to lessen the specter of the corporate boogeyman coming to haunt smaller operations.

When the deal is done, skiers with full Epic Pass benefits will have access to a whopping 94 different ski areas. Choices for which ownership group to patronize are diminishing, but there will be no shortage of ski resorts to visit for those who hop on the Epic Pass train.

See all our outdoors coverage here.

While the thought of a hike up to the Living Room, or a quick trail run along the Bonneville Shoreline is amazing, the warmer temps are waking up otherwise inactive and hibernating serpents of the Wasatch. Snakes are a part of our landscape, and the fact that they include a warning rattle is an evolutionary benefit for everyone involved. The Great Basin Rattlesnake is the most common.

Did you know that it is illegal to kill any of the 31 snakes native to Utah? If you find one—on a trail or in your yard—contacting a snake removing professional, is probably a good move. There are only five documented Utah deaths connected with a snake attack, let’s not add your name to the list in 2019.

Prevention of Snake Attack

What to Wear: When hiking on the trails, always wear good shoes, it’s a no for “flip flops” or sandals. We know it’s hot but wear full-length trousers or pants. Bare legs and shorts are stylish, but keeping venomous fangs from reaching your skin has a functional appeal that surpasses fashion.

Stay on the trail or walkway. Walking off the trail damages vegetation and may also put you in an area where a resting rattler might strike. When climbing on rocks, make sure you can see where you’re putting your hand or foot. Snakes being cool-blooded, enjoy resting on warm rocks, and for gosh sakes, take those earbuds out, keep your ears on high alert for a rattler’s warning sound.

What to do (and not to):

• Call 911.
• DON’T cut an X into the skin and suck and spit out the venom with your mouth.
• STAY CALM, lay down and stay horizontal (movement pumps the venom around the body).
• REMOVE any tight-fitting clothing or jewelry, swelling may occur.
• DON’T wash it, snake venom on the surface of the skin may help the doctor determine the kind of anti-venom to use.
• You’re not gonna die (99.9 percent sure). Snakebite anti-venom is very effective in preventing permanent damage.

To read about a local snake charmer, David Jensen and how he removes snakes with a hook and tongs, go here.