Sundance
Encyclopedia
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
located 13 miles (20.9 km) northeast of Provo, Utah
Provo, Utah
Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...
, spanning over 5000 acres (2,023.4 ha) on the slopes of Mount Timpanogos
Mount Timpanogos
Mount Timpanogos, sometimes informally referred to as Timp, is the second highest mountain in Utah's Wasatch Range. Timpanogos rises to an elevation of 11,749 feet above sea level in the Uinta National Forest...
in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
's Wasatch Range
Wasatch Range
The Wasatch Range is a mountain range that stretches approximately from the Utah-Idaho border, south through central Utah in the western United States. It is generally considered the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the Great Basin region...
. Snow skiing
Alpine skiing
Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...
began on the site in 1944. Actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Robert Redford
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
acquired the area in 1969, and established a year-round resort which would later spawn the independent Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
and the non-profit Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981 that actively advances the work of filmmakers and storytellers worldwide...
.
The mountain
Sundance Resort is heavily oriented towards advanced skiing; only three of the resort's 41 trails are marked "Easiest". Nearly 80% of the resort by area is designated "More Difficult" or "Most Difficult". The resort terrain climbs 2,150 vertical feet (2150 feet (655 m)) up the northeast slope of Mount TimpanogosMount Timpanogos
Mount Timpanogos, sometimes informally referred to as Timp, is the second highest mountain in Utah's Wasatch Range. Timpanogos rises to an elevation of 11,749 feet above sea level in the Uinta National Forest...
, reaching the crest of the ridge
Ridge
A ridge is a geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size. There are several main types of ridges:...
at Bearclaw Cabin. This restaurant at the resort's apex of 8250 feet (2,515 m) provides spectacular 360° views of the surrounding landscape, and of Mount Timpanogos as it rises to a height just short of 12000 ft (3,658 m). The mountain is serviced by three chairlift
Chairlift
An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs...
s and a handle tow for beginners at the mountain's base.
History
The ski area opened as Timp Haven in 1944 with a rope towSki tow
thumb|right|A rope tow or ski tow.A ski tow, also called rope tow or handle tow, is a mechanised system for pulling skiers and snowboarders uphill....
. It was run by the Ray Stewart family for over twenty years. Chairlifts were added in the 1960s.
Redford presumably acquired the site because his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen was from Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, and because the couple had built a home in the area five years earlier. The resort is named after the role he played in the 1969 film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a 1969 American Western film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman...
. The resort of Sundance is not to be confused with the town of Sundance, Wyoming
Sundance, Wyoming
Sundance is a town in Crook County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,161 at the 2000 census. The town is named for the Sun Dance ceremony practiced by several North American Indian Nations.-Sundance in popular culture:...
, the location from where the Sundance Kid received his name. Redford's 1972 film Jeremiah Johnson was filmed near the resort.
Park City, Utah
Park City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City's east edge of Sugar House along Interstate 80. The population was 7,558 at the 2010 census...
, is a competition for independent film makers, which has become extremely well known and popular in the film industry and media. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and also one of the largest in the world.
External links
- Sundance Resort.com - official site
- Sundance Film Festival - official site
- Raymond Stewart Collection - University of Utah
- Deseret Morning News - Sundance
- The Sundance Institute - Sundance.org website
- http://web.archive.org/web/20070926222012/http://www.skiarchives.org/Skiaffairs/skiaffair93.htm - 1993 Ski Affair - Sundance