SnoNews

World-renowned Snowbird Resort  in Utah is getting in the game. The Bird will yank out the Little Cloud chair and replace it with a high-speed quad starting this summer. 

We’ve got an official gun, an official dessert, an official grass, an official cooking vessel, an official vegetable, so why not an official winter sport? Can another Winter Olympics be next?

It was smiles all around for the gang that showed up at Canyons March 31. It wasn't just the gorgeous spring weather and the Gruv setting up in the Village below, either. 

I just had a sweet relaxing day as a tourist in my own town. That's right. 

"I'm over it," my friend Susan said to me as I described my day at Alta.. "The traffic, the scene, the waiting in line everywhere. I don't need it. I can go to Solitude." She's right I thought as I paced myself through the last 24 hours. A storm had just raged over Tahoe and was headed our way.

Two hundred thousand acres. A working cattle ranch near the border of Wyoming and Colorado, owned by St. Louis Cardinals co-owner David Pratt. The Three Forks Ranch puts the ‘X’ in extreme luxury.

You don't have to be a halfpipe or slopestyle athlete to appreciate the competition throwing down at Utah’s Snowbasin Resort. In fact, Saturday's ski halfpipe finals for the 2012 Dew Tour drew huge crowds from skater teens to families.

Winter is the perfect time for great photos in mountains - lots of sunshine, bright white snow, smiling faces, a relaxed atmosphere. But anyone who has tried to snap the ultimate image of a priceless vacation knows that shooting outside in the winter has its drawbacks.

It's 2012 and Denver not Vegas. As much as those 19,000 attendees would like to get over that fact that the Snowsports Industries America (SIA) Snow Show has relocated, many still missed the Las Vegas party. 

All the people at the party were drinking wine in one room at Zoom but I wanted food and a bit less 'scene'.

Dear PCSkiGal: I think I want to see a Sundance Film Festival movie but everything that sounds interesting is waitlisted? Am I wasting my time? Should I even bother trying to go? I thought you might be the one in the know. ImpatientFan

Dear Impatient Fan: It's not as bleak as it seems. You definitely have a shot at seeing not only a movie but one of your choice. Sundance continues through this Sunday and ends on Monday with the Best of Fest screenings for locals. The tickets to the BoF have been divvied out but because everyone got two, there's a strong chance people can't make it. Start asking around. Same goes for tickets to the screenings of your favorite picks. Network. Post want ads on Craigslist and KSL; Tweet. Also, every morning at 8 a.m., the Sundance box office releases extra tickets to movies screened that same day. They will publish an updated list the night before at http://www.sundance.org/ticketchart/. Check the chart, then head up to Park City before dawn. The guys at the office told me some people start lining up at 3 a.m.!

WaitList

Plan to stand in line in the cold if the above doesn't work or have appeal. Now that the Fest is halfway through more seats become available. A good number of ticketholders start to blow off their movies toward the end of the Fest. They would rather ski, sleep, network, or they've OD'd on film. Choose movies that play in the early morning (before 9 a.m.) or super late evening (after 10 p.m.) that will screen at the larger venues: The Eccles Center, The Park City Library and the Prospector Square Theater. Get there TWO HOURS before show time to pick up a waitlist number and return 30 minutes before the screening.

FSBO

Disclaimer- I neither endorse nor deny the following suggestion.

People are selling their tickets. Check Craigslist under Sale/Sundance. It is what it is. Be aware, however, the box office says they will prosecute anyone reselling their tickets and will void them out as there is some sort of fine print allowing them to do so. I asked the workers in the box office, "Don't you guys have anything better to do than police your tickets?" and they responded, "Are you kidding? We're a non-profit, of course not."

Scalping is legal in Utah as long as the price is not greater than the face value of the ticket but Sundance gets to make their own laws? I think it's absolutely ridiculous and lame that ticketholders can be prevented from recouping their money in the event that they can't make it to a film. They are forced to purchase tickets so far in advance that the earth could end by the time the Festival comes around. You shouldn't have to be out the money; especially if the screening is sold out. Sundance made their money on that ticket. They shouldn't be entitled to double dip at your expense. Just saying...

The one relief you have is to  exchange your unusable tickets for another movie at the box office and but it must be done in person and costs an extra $2 per ticket (the original ticket value is $15). The box office will then resell your old ticket.

Now go out there and see a film before it's too late!

Photo: Park City during Sundance (Hollywood Reporter photo)

Kari Feinstein's Style Lounge has a certain kind of cache. Maybe it's just the way the organizer tags her personal name to the front. Usually, I'm good at going for what I want. 

Bing Bar in Park City, Utah, one of the main venues and sponsors of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, is at it again. You’re missing out if you’re not following them on Twitter (@teambing). 

I do believe my Alta pass has dust on it. Now, with this huge storm system that just rolled through the Wasatch, I can’t decide what’s more epic. Skiing or kicking off Sundance. Ah, the dilemma. 

My heart’s all a’ Twitter. Pun intended. This year, not only will thousands of bloggers delve into the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, but social media mentions will be off the hook. It starts with #Sundance but it doesn’t end there.

By the way, it’s time to know what a hashtag (#) is if you don’t already. The Twitter symbol basically signals a conversation about a topic. For example, if you ‘search’ #fail you will get a long list of tweets about things people consider a ‘fail’. Same goes for Sundance et al.

Good luck and happy Tweeting. Don’t forget to include hashtags in your tweets so other peeps who may not be following you can see them too.

Follow these popular hashtags regarding Sundance and you’ll never have to leave home. It’ll be just like you’re here- almost:

#ArtistServices

#TeamBing

#Film

#ParkCity

#Slamdance

#BingBar

#SFF2012

#indiefilm

#StyleLounge

#SundanceChicSuite

 Be sure to follow me @pcskigal and right here at SnoCountry.com.

Photo: Sundance Film Festival engulfs Park City, Utah

It’s a well-known tactic to create a festival to piggyback the marketing machine that is the Sundance Film Festival. Over the years there’s been Slamdance, Tromadance, Slamdunk, and X-Dance. 

You’ve found yourself in Park City, Utah over the last half of January. The place is overrun with “People in Black” (PIBs) who think they own the town.