Todd Bennett

Above: Above: Todd Bennett, President and CEO of Deer Valley, UT. (file image). 10 January 2025.
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Snow Park Lodge. This AM, coincidentally I found myself standing alone with Todd Bennett, President and CEO of Deer Valley, at the order station of the breakfast grill. While we waited for our food to be prepared (me: fried over hard and side of sausage links), I introduced myself.

Me: "You're the head honcho here! My name is Steve Taylor. I'm a 25-year Deer Valley season pass holder. I'd like to say, you guys are doing a great job this year, a low snow year so far, in making the resort run effectively. In addition to preparation of skiable terrain, the attitude of the employees is excellent. I love those J-1 visa kids over at Empire Lodge... Kara from Ecuador, Camilla from Columbia, and Marco from Mexico to name three. Everybody, from lifties, to maze management people, to ski locker staff, to food service employees, has a smile on their face and is eager to help." I've skied four days over at Park City, most recently two days ago, and they don't have nearly the number of skiable options as Deer Valley."

Todd smiled. Why wouldn't he smile after my slathering praise of this season's Deer Valley operations? Todd engaged with me easily. "Yeah," Todd said. "I went over to Park City yesterday to ski just to see what's going on. I agree there is more open terrain at Deer Valley right now. I'm proud of our snow making. We've used 500 million gallons of water to make snow, so far, and we're still making it. Nabob (an important ski run on Bald Mountain) has a four-foot-deep base. By comparison, Alta has used 40 million gallons of water for snow making. Our average annual snow making water usage is 250 million gallons. Have you been to the new East Village base yet? You have to try the Keetly six pack lift... its state of the art. "

"No," I replied, "it's my intent to ski over to the East Village base today after I take my mid-morning break at 10:30 AM at Empire Lodge. Answer me this, Todd. I see you are blowing snow on the upper access run, off of Homeward Bound, to East Village. It seems to me that, as a south facing slope, you are going to have a hard time keeping snow there."

"Wrong," replies Todd. "That's a high elevation spot. Snow will take longer to melt up there than you might think We're going to blow enough snow there to keep it skiable through the rest of the season. By the way, we're opening Lady Morgan Lift today. You should go over and check that out."

Todd's breakfast order was delivered, and I could see my eggs leaving the frying pan to a plate garnished with an orange peel and a strawberry. I told Todd, "Hey, Todd, it was good talking to you. Keep up the good work." Todd smiled He said he was glad to have met me and went on his way.

At 9:00 AM the head maze manager lady notified those of us waiting to mount the Carpenter lift that its start might be delayed. She said she didn't think it would be a long wait. Impatient as I am, I shuffled over to the Silver Lake Express lift, rode it to Silver Lake, skied down to Crown Point, and from there to Mountaineer Lift. I did a turn on Jordanelle/Keetly. When I returned to the Mountaineer lift, I heard a shout, "Steve!" PGA, skiing with Page and Rolex, invited me to join his group. We did another (for me) turn on Jordanelle, this time to the gondola base, and then headed, at my invitation, over to my office, West Wing, Empire Lodge for a pit stop/coffee break. On the way, we stopped at the upper elevation entry point to get to the new east side area that I had been talking to Todd about. Sure enough, consistent with Todd's claim this AM, snowmaking was operating on "all eight" there. I would expect that new access route to East Village, off of Homeward Bound, will be open this weekend.

After a coffee break at Empire Lodge, the four of us skied what is now the longest run at Deer Valley: Ruby summit to East Village base: Ontario, Home Run, McHenry's. PGA said the run would take eleven minutes. My three companions might have skied the run in eleven minutes. It took me at least thirteen minutes, with unwanted lactic leg pain kicking in three quarters of the way down. Much of the new east side ski area is yet to open, but from what I saw, all the way down McHenry run, a green with a couple of blue sections, to the East Village base along with riding the new Keetly Express six pack lift, I realized that Todd's challenge this year getting Deer Valley up and running, was much more significant than I had realized.

I meant every world I said. In my exchange with him this AM, Todd seemed very much in charge of the Deer Valley operation and for me, having skied here for 25 years, seeing is believing. Bob Wheaton, to most people the gold standard in ski resort management, left Deer Valley in 2019. After Bob's departure, new resort owner Alterra had an on an off two or three years in running Deer Valley at the Wheaton level. I can say, unequivocally, that today, Todd Bennett may or may not have Deer Valley at the Wheaton level, but he's clearly getting close.