Deer Valley’s Expansion: The Playbook for Exploring New Terrain

Deer Valley Resort is entering a new era with an epic terrain expansion that’s essentially doubling its skiable acreage. Over 100 new runs across 3,700 added acres are coming online, along with 10 new lifts. This means fresh playgrounds for beginners and experts alike, from open glades at 9,300 feet to steep chutes off new-found ridgelines. With so much uncharted territory opening, skiers need a smart game plan. Below is an expansion guide and playbook for exploring Deer Valley’s new advanced terrain using apps like Tracked Out, combining old-school wisdom with new-school tech.

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.

With so much new terrain available, it’s important to have a plan for exploration. 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. Finally, once your mental map of the run is complete, you enter free-ride mode, and it’s time to take your foot off the brake and trust your mental map. 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.

There are also tools that can help create a game plan to help get to free ride faster, allowing skiers to maximize their fun. The Tracked Out app provides detailed maps of over 4,000 resorts worldwide, for free. Tracked Out maps feature official trail maps with satellite and terrain overlays, allowing users to explore runs and identify features (such as cliffs) before they arrive at the slopes.

Here’s how to create a game plan for exploring the Deer Valley expansion:

1. 1. Download Tracked Out
   2. Use the search feature to find and select Deer Valley
   3. Explore new trails to better understand their unique features, like potential glades, chutes, cliffs, and creeks. Utilize slope highlighting,satellite views, and trail explorer to find the trail features that interest you, or stay away from the things that don’t.
   4. Create a game plan or have the app help you create one.
   5. Download the map for offline use as cell service is poor in the canyons of Deer Valley.

Deer Valley Terrain Expansion Highlights:

For folks newer to skiing or interested in cruising groomers, use Tracked Out to explore Green Monster, a 4.8 mile long green run that goes from the top of Park Peak to the new base area. Long green trails like this are a perfect time to work on dialing in balance, speed control, and turn shape. The Tracked Out app includes real-time coaching with Ski Sensei, providing skiers with on-the-go feedback to help improve ski technique. The Pinyon Express zone is another terrain expansion highlight, featuring a ton of new green trails, and an excellent opportunity for green circle skiers to explore new runs!

In the blue square zone, Deer Valley’s new Vulcan Express zone boasts new groomers as well as a ton of gladed skiing. Glades are the perfect opportunity to practice pre-ride, re-ride, free ride! Use Tracked Out to figure out which aspects are north-facing, and which are south-facing. (Hint: terrain with a southern exposure can provide a lovely spring skiing experience on warmer afternoons!)

And finally, for folks determined to shred, explore the runs off the Revelator Express. A quick lift ride and a left off the lift brings skiers to a series of steep runs dropping off Redemption Ridge’s northern aspect. Virtually explore this new terrain using Tracked Out’s maps by tapping on trails like Cataract, Nemesis, and Papa Joe to view each trail’s terrain profile and the unique traits such as cliffs, rock bands, trees, and creeks so you can find the best terrain for your ski or riding style.

But Tracked Out isn’t just a map. Use the app to track your skiing for the day, including stats like top speed and total vert. The app generates session summaries that are easy to share on social media, and the map visualizations let you relive your day run by run. Plus, the Ski Sensei provides actionable coaching to help you improve your skiing, so you can start your next day with a confident plan of where and how to ski.

If you’re stuck at home dreaming of a trip to Deer Valley, Tracked Out can help you prepare for your vacation ahead of time by helping you explore the expanded terrain from your couch (or your desk at work… we won’t tell!)