Many people throughout the country get together with family or friends on Thanksgiving. They sit around a table sharing stories, eating turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce. They plop down on the couch to watch football. Then they go shopping, racing others to get the best deals.
But many Parkites have had a different Turkey Day tradition: skiing.
Usually by Thanksgiving, snow covers the mountains surrounding town. This allowed the original ski areas of the 60s to open in December, letting locals and visitors enjoy the slopes heading into the Holiday season.[i] Based on expected snowfall, sometimes the resorts would aim for a Thanksgiving opening.[ii] If they got lucky with a snowstorm, they could open earlier.
But relying on nature’s own snow was risky. In the 1976-1977 season, it just didn’t snow. There wasn’t any snow come Thanksgiving. As December approached, Park City Ski Area VP of Mountain Operations Phil Jones and his crew scrambled to try and make artificial snow, tapping into the Park City Golf Course’s irrigation system to bring water to a makeshift snowmaker at the top of the Payday lift. The resort wasn’t able to open until January 5.[iii]
Nick Badami, the ski area’s owner (he had bought it in 1975), realized the resort needed to make a commitment to making their own snow if they wanted to be successful, getting skiers to the resort as early as possible.[iv] Phil Jones and his crew continued to upgrade the snowmaking system and in 1984, with the help of a snowstorm to open the ski area on November 11, the resort unveiled the new Pioneer chairlift on November 21, the day before Thanksgiving. Plenty were eager to ride the new lift and ski down Park City Mountain on Turkey Day.[v]
As the resort improved, Nick Badami’s son Craig, the VP of marketing for Park City Ski Area, wanted the world to take notice. Using his father’s influence on the board of directors for U.S. Ski Team, Craig was able to convince the board to approach the International Ski Federation about hosting a World Cup event in Park City. Park City Ski Area was granted a World Cup event for March 1985.[vi] The event was a success and the World Cup returned in March 1986 (just the Women’s World Cup this time).[vii]
One of the things that marked the event as a success, aside from the athletes complimenting the resort on the good snow conditions despite temperatures reaching over 50 degrees, was Craig’s commitment to making the World Cup an event, rather than just some races.[viii] Some reportedly said that the World Cup in Park City was a rock concert posing as a ski race – or even the other way around.[ix]
Credit: Park City Historical Society and Museum, Park Record Collection
Craig wanted the event to be even bigger, and with the success of the first two events, he was able to schedule the Park City World Cup race in late November, during Thanksgiving week, for the 1986-87 season: the first races of the year in the U.S.[x]
And so began the tradition of hosting “America’s Opening,” holding it on Thanksgiving weekend through 1995, with one exception – further intertwining skiing and Thanksgiving in Park City.[xi] America’s Opening lasted until November 2003, with the event being hosted on the weekend before Thanksgiving until its final year, when they scheduled it one last time on Thanksgiving weekend.[xii] The annual event, with its concerts and high-level snowmaking, had ultimately helped Park City and Salt Lake City gain support to host the 2002 Winter Olympics.[xiii]
Credit: Park City Historical Society and Museum, Park City Mountain Resort Collection
Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at the Park City Museum!
[i] Hampshire, David. “PCMR marks 50 years, and the rebirth of town.” Park Record. December 21, 2013; and Larry Warren . Park City: Mountain of Treasure. (Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Company, 2004), pages 84-85.
[ii] “Park City Winter Scene.” Park Record. November 23, 1972.
[iii] Hampshire, David. “Park City Mountain Resort enters the world stage.” Park Record. December 24, 2013; and Larry Warren. Park City: Mountain of Treasure. (Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Company, 2004), page 125.
[iv] “Park City past, present, and future.” Park Record. November 25, 1982; and Larry Warren. Park City: Mountain of Treasure. (Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Company, 2004), pages 125-127.
[v] “Snow-making continues.” Park Record. November 27, 1980; “Ski Season Begins.” Park Record. November 15, 1984; Hanskat, Randy. “Pioneer lifts off at the Park City Ski Area.” Park Record. November 29, 1984; Larry Warren. Park City: Mountain of Treasure. (Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Company, 2004), pages 125-127; and Randy Hanskat. “Pioneer lifts off at the Park City Ski Area.” Park Record. November 29, 1984:
[vi] Adler, Dave. “Park City Ski Area gets ready for first Utah World Cup races.” Park Record. March 14, 1985: Larry Warren . Park City: Mountain of Treasure. (Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Company, 2004), pages 132-135; and David Hampshire. “Park City Mountain Resort enters the world stage.” Park Record. December 24, 2013.
[vii] Photo in collection with built-in caption: 2004.84.1.7.8; and Larry Warren. Park City: Mountain of Treasure. (Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Company, 2004), pages 135 and 137.
[viii] Warren, Larry . Park City: Mountain of Treasure. (Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Company, 2004), pages 133-137; and 144-145; and David Hampshire. “Park City Mountain Resort enters the world stage.” Park Record. December 24, 2013.
[ix] Hampshire, David. “Park City Mountain Resort enters the world stage.” Park Record. December 24, 2013.
[x] Hampshire, David. “Park City Mountain Resort enters the world stage.” Park Record. December 24, 2013; and Larry Warren. Park City: Mountain of Treasure. (Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Company, 2004), page 139.
[xi] “America’s Opening, past & present.” Park Record. November 17, 1994; and Articles mentioning the dates of the World Cup event:
“America’s Opening is skiers’ choice for Thanksgiving.” Park Record. October 22, 1992; and a couple dozen more.
[xii] Warren, Larry . Park City: Mountain of Treasure. (Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Company, 2004), page 146. Plus two other articles.
[xiii] “America’s Opening is near.” Park Record. November 2, 2000.