Deer Valley, Utah Unveils Massive New Trail Map

This new terrain slice covers three lifts: Hoodoo Express, Aurora, and Keetley Express. The first two serve beginner terrain, while the latter, Keetley, functions as a link between Deer Valley’s pre-existing footprint and the new East Village. After disembarking Keetley, skiers can ride deeper into Deer Valley’s terrain on the Sultan Express—or stick around on the East Village side of the mountain. The three new lifts span about 300 acres and provide access to 20 fresh ski runs.
 
At many other resorts, this would be a significant expansion. However, at Deer Valley, the new 2024 and 2025 terrain offerings only represent a small tease of what’s to come. When the ongoing expansion is complete, the resort will encompass 5,726 acres of terrain, 37 lifts, and ten mountains. Before the expansion, Deer Valley was less than half that size, clocking in at 2,026 acres. Once the resort achieves its final, sprawling form, it’ll be one of North America’s largest ski destinations.

The next phase of Expanded Excellence—scheduled for the 2025 and 2026 ski season— is set to include six additional chairlifts, including a 10-passenger gondola, and nearly 100 new ski runs.

To produce the new map, Deer Valley enlisted Rad Smith, a now-established ski map painter who mentored under the previous generation’s mapmaking luminary, James Niehues. Niehues painted Deer Valley’s original map, making Smith’s involvement a full-circle moment for the mentor-mentee pairing.

In an era dominated by digital art tools, Smith preserves Niehues’ legacy by using traditional painting techniques. “As I got older, I always wanted to somehow combine art and science,” he said in a promotional video for the new map. “I feel like map painting is that perfect middle ground.”

Deer Valley is scheduled to open on December 7th, 2024.

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