Deer Valley's Expansion: The Playbook for Exploring New Terrain - SnowBrains

"Deer Valley's expansion may be the largest ski area expansion in history. Prior to the expansion, Deer Valley was the 15th largest resort in the United States, boasting over 2,000 acres. The expansion, aptly named "Expanded Excellence," more than doubled Deer Valley's size, bringing the total to 5,700 skiable acres."

"One method of safe progressive discovery comes from mountain biking, and is called pre-ride, re-ride, free ride. When exploring a new run, you're in pre-ride mode, which means moving at a speed that will allow you to safely avoid any unexpected obstacles. On your next laps on the same run, you're re-riding, which builds out your mental map of the run, including pitch changes, double-fall lines, obstacles, and hazards."

"By following pre-ride, re-ride, free-ride, intermediate skiers can methodically step up to harder terrain, and experts can push their limits more safely. It's all about progressive discovery, and the Tracked Out app can help accelerate that process."

Deer Valley Resort is undergoing a historic expansion called "Expanded Excellence," adding 3,700 acres and over 100 new runs to its existing 2,000 acres, making it potentially the largest ski area expansion in history. The resort now offers 5,700 total skiable acres with diverse terrain ranging from beginner-friendly open glades at 9,300 feet to expert steep chutes. To safely navigate this vast new terrain, skiers should adopt a progressive discovery approach borrowed from mountain biking: pre-ride mode focuses on cautious speed to identify obstacles, re-ride mode builds mental maps of terrain features, and free-ride mode allows confident skiing once familiar with the run. Technology tools like the Tracked Out app can accelerate this learning process.

Read at SnowBrains