Sundance

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Sundance in the fall.

Sundance Resort is a ski resort located 13 miles (21 km) northeast of Provo, Utah on Mount Timpanogos in Utah's Wasatch Range. Skiing began on the site in 1944; actor Robert Redford acquired the area in 1969,[1] and established a year-round resort which would later spawn an independent film festival and a non-profit institute of the same name.

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[edit] The mountain

Sundance Resort is heavily oriented towards advanced skiing; only three of the resort's 41 trails are marked "Easiest". 80% of the resort by area is designated "More Difficult" or "Most Difficult". The resort terrain climbs 2,150 vertical feet up the northeast slope of Mount Timpanogos, reaching the crest of the ridge at Bearclaw Cabin. This restaurant at the resort's apex of 8,250 feet provides spectacular 360° views of the surrounding landscape, and of Mount Timpanogos as it rises to a height just short of 12,000'. The mountain is serviced by three chairlifts and a handle tow for beginners at the mountain's base.

Panoramic view

[edit] History

The ski area opened as Timp Haven in 1944 with a rope tow. 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 was from Utah, 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, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The resort of Sundance is not to be confused with the town of Sundance, Wyoming, the location from where the Sundance Kid received his name. Redford's 1972 film Jeremiah Johnson was filmed near the resort.

The Sundance Film Festival, held 30 miles (48 km) north in Park City, is a competition for independent film makers that has become extremely well-known and popular in the film industry and media. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, and also one of the largest in the world.

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Coordinates: 40°23′36″N 111°35′19″W / 40.39333°N 111.58861°W / 40.39333; -111.58861