Local legend has it that the peak\u2019s profile is an indigenous princess lying on her back. She sacrificed herself to the mountain spirit after her lover was ambushed and thrown from its slopes to his death. <\/p>\n
The side profile of Mount Timpanogos, Utah, is said to resemble a woman lying on her back. Source: mtpleasantpioneer.blogspot.com<\/p>\n
Redford soon added to his local property portfolio by buying the local ski area, renaming it Sundance after his law-evading character in the 1969 Oscar-winning movie.<\/p>\n
The movie and Redford are constant themes throughout the Sundance Mountain Resort. <\/p>\n
The first chairlift is The Outlaw Express. The local watering hole, The Owl Bar, includes a bar dating from the 1890s that used to be on the outlaw trail, and would have been frequented by the real Butch Cassidy and the real Sundance Kid. <\/p>\n
Redford bought the bar in 1994 and moved it piece by piece from its original setting, in Thermopolis, Wyoming, to Sundance, where it was restored to become the centrepiece of Sundance\u2019s local. It even has old bullet holes in the woodwork, a sign of its dodgy past in times of dodgy gambling.<\/p>\n
The Owl Bar at Sundance Mountain Resort, which features a Rosewood bar from the outlaw trail in the 1890s. On the left is a photo of Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Katharine Ross from the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Photo \/ Derek Cheng<\/p>\n
Redford died in 2025 at his home near the resort, but his voice still greets you from the TV screen in your room at The Inn.<\/p>\n
\u201cOther resorts have had more money than I did to build bigger things, but there was a human quality that was missing,\u201d says the familiar, soothing baritone.<\/p>\n
This is a marketing strategy, but it\u2019s also true. <\/p>\n
There are plenty of bigger, glitzier ski resorts closer to Salt Lake City airport; the luxurious Grand Hyatt in Deer Valley, for example, is a place where everything feels brand new, novel, and cutting-edge innovative. <\/p>\n
Sundance wants you to feel like you\u2019ve walked into something warm and familiar. It\u2019s the ski resort equivalent of an open fire in a wee log cabin in the mountains. <\/p>\n
The Inn at Sundance Mountain Resort, under the gaze of Mount Timpanogos. Photo \/ Derek Cheng<\/p>\n
The Inn, the main accommodation, is timber, with abundant outdoor walkways and a stream that runs alongside it. Old books adorn the communal rooms and corridors alongside art and furniture that, somehow, looks new and well-loved at the same time.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a different kind of luxury: rustic, homely, isolated from the bustle of its contemporaries, and still only an hour\u2019s drive from SLC airport.<\/p>\n
The skiing also bucks the modern trend of bigger and bigger. Total terrain is actually smaller than Cardrona and Whakapapa, while Sundance\u2019s nine lifts are far less overwhelming than neighbouring Park City Mountain\u2019s 41.<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t lack in convenience, though. We literally step out the door, clip into skis and slide over to The Outlaw Express. <\/p>\n
Early March 2026, and the natural snow has all but disappeared on the lower slopes of Sundance Mountain Resort. Photo \/ Derek Cheng<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also 200m lower in elevation than any other ski resort in the Wasatch. In the middle of the warmest winter on record<\/a> and with over a week since the last snowstorm, Sundance is particularly bare for our visit at the start of March.<\/p>\n Higher on the mountain, the beginnings of moguls are emerging in what off-piste terrain is still skiable. But lower down are sections where there is literally no natural snow, and certainly none of dry, fluffy, abundant powder Utah is famous for<\/a>. <\/p>\n Machine-made strips of white, where the carving remains exemplary, are the only respite. <\/p>\n Redford was aware of the altitudinal challenges and sought to diversify, with a focus on those aspects most likely to trigger a sense of awe: art and nature.<\/p>\n He launched the Sundance Film Festival, celebrating independent movies, before it became too big for Sundance and was moved to Park City (and, from 2027, to Colorado).<\/p>\n There are still artisan spaces aplenty: a glass-blowing studio, hand-made jewellery, journal-making, and wilderness paintings on the hotel walls. <\/p>\n There\u2019s a stage for concerts \u2013 though weekend gigs are usually at the Owl Bar \u2013 and a wellness spa for those with muscle knots that need loosening. Horseback riding, hiking, mountain biking and fishing keep the guests entertained in summer.<\/p>\n Such is my eagerness for the hot pools that I immediately head there as soon as I\u2019ve checked in and dump my bags in my room. I\u2019m soon soaking \u2013 under Timpanogos\u2019 voluptuous curves \u2013 in an outdoor sanctuary of pines and aspens, amid a distinct lack of crowded bustle or racket of any kind. <\/p>\n Rowdiness expectations are completely reversed, however, for the nearby snowmobiling adventure at Wasatch Excursions.<\/p>\n A snowmobile is the winter version of the jet ski. Loud and proud, it\u2019s almost certain that the rider is having more fun than anyone in the rider\u2019s immediate vicinity. <\/p>\n These particular machines are new, or near new, and can exceed 100km\/h, a much more frightening prospect than my previous experience<\/a> where, despite my best efforts, my then-steed could go no faster than 70kmh.<\/p>\n We mount our mighty steeds and are shown the simplest of instructions. The brake, operated by hand, is obviously essential. A toggle for the thumb controls the throttle, revving the engine track that powers the two skis up front, which are steered by the handlebars. That\u2019s all there is to it.<\/p>\n There are some gentle roads for us to become more intimately acquainted with our rides, though how easily this can go pear-shaped is soon upon us; one in our party takes a line too close to the road\u2019s edge and ends up in the trees. She is thankfully unscathed.<\/p>\n The roads meander through gorgeously forested slopes to two groomed, open spaces: one that\u2019s flat, and one that climbs and then drops down a small hill.<\/p>\n The former is where we are acquainted with the intricacies of turning sharply at speeds faster than a gentle cruise. <\/p>\n The latter is where we are informed that our machines have a \u201cpower\u201d mode. The downhill section is where we really get to imagine our own version of the Sundance Kid. Powered up and my steed pointing downhill, I open the throttle all the way.<\/p>\n For an exhilarating moment, I\u2019m galloping towards freedom, outrunning a hail of bullets, dreaming of finding a perfect wilderness paradise to plant a stake in the ground: wind in my face, sun at my back, the speedo-needle nudging 100km\/h. <\/p>\n Checklist<\/p>\n Skiing in the Wasatch Range, near Salt Lake City, Utah<\/p>\n GETTING THERE<\/p>\n Fly from Auckland to SLC International Airport with one stopover in LAX (Los Angeles) with Air New Zealand, partnering with United Airlines on the Star Alliance for the LAX-SLC leg. <\/p>\n It\u2019s a one-hour drive to Sundance Mountain Resort.<\/p>\n SKIING THERE<\/p>\n US$159 for a day pass, US$799 for a season pass, and Sundance sometimes offers discounted S-Card rates.<\/p>\n Sundance is also included in these multi-resort passes:<\/p>\n ACCOMMODATION<\/p>\n A room at The Inn generally starts at around US$350 a night. <\/p>\n Snowmobiling <\/p>\n Starts from US$249 per machine<\/a> with Wasatch Excursions<\/p>\n ONLINE<\/p>\n sundanceresort.com<\/a><\/p>\nThe hot springs at Sundance Mountain Resort offers a peaceful sanctuary with a view of Mt Timpanogos. Photo \/ Derek Cheng<\/p>\n
Our snowmobile tour starts with a gentle ride on roads through forests of aspen. Photo \/ Derek Cheng<\/p>\n
Wasatch Excursions offers snowmobiling tours with new or new-near machines capable of hitting 100km\/h. Photo \/ Derek Cheng<\/p>\n