Deer Valley, UT Report: Still Finding Powder Despite No Fresh Snow

family fun at deer valley — My parents and brother, fellow Snowbrains writer Joseph Phillips. Image: Connor Phillips

Report from 28th February 2020

I just wrapped up a three-day ski trip to Deer Valley. Here’s what the snow was like:

Though it had not snowed for some time, the groomers at Deer Valley are kicking butt! The groomed runs were great, especially in the mornings before some of the more popular runs got skied out.

Mogul runs were on point. There were some chest high bumps across the mountain, and knee-high ones too. I came across some sections of moguls in which individual bumps were carved into a steep face, which made it hard to link turns. But time will fix that.

Deer Valley ski lift — The top of Empire and mogul perfection. Image: Connor Phillips.

In my opinion, the Empire Express lift serviced the best snow and the best terrain. That’s where I found the highest concentration of soft snow.

There was still powder! Some of the tree runs and Daly Bowl had soft snow. I even found untouched snow in the trees. When you are telemark skiing, 2 inches of snow can feel waist-deep.

Dropping into Daly Bowl. My camera died right when I got to the powder… Video: Connor Phillips

Conditions improved over the course of the three days. It was great to see some slick icy patches get groomed over and softer over the course of the trip.

deer valley ski run — The view looking down at Jordanelle Reservoir. Conditions and weather were the best they could be given that it hadn’t snowed in a while. Image: Connor Phillips.

The weather was cool and sunny. With snow on Sunday followed by cold, sunny days, conditions for next week look prime. I wish I had delayed my trip by a week!