This is a panorama series taken from Park City Resort's Pinecone Ridge.
Historically, Pinecone was only accessible to die-hard ski hikers willing
to make the long trek from Jupiter lift (or straight up from Thanes Canyon).
With the new Quicksilver gondola, access to Pinecone is just a short climb.
In this first pic, I look back at the short hike from the gondola mid-station
out to the highest point on the ridge.
Turning clockwise provides a better view of the gondola line showing the
three towers just before the gondola mid-station where I disembarked. The
foreground shows the terrain directly under the gondola line; in the back,
the valley of outer Park City.
Continuing to pan right, we begin to see the lowest runs of Park City that
are served by the King Con chair, and the bottom end of Thaynes canyon.
More Thaynes runs are seen here. The long diagonal cut of the King Con
lift line is clearly visible, though the bottom (loading area) of the
chair is hidden by the terrain. With a sharp eye, you can pick out the
bottom of the Motherlode lift.
The foreground here and the preceding photo shows the Pinecone Ridge slope
giving way to a very nice stand of Aspen. Many tracks lead down and into
the trees. However, descending via this route inevitably leads the skier
to a road that follows the gondola line and that requires a tedious uphill
climb before continuing the run down to King Con lift. In the background
we see the middle Thaynes runs and the diagonal line of Motherlode.
I believe all of the middle and upper Thaynes runs are visible here; that
looks like Keystone all the way to the right (the view of the lower half
being blocked by terrain). In the right foreground, the "lip" is a short
steep drop into the Pinecone terrain. Barely visible along the tree line
is a boundary marker rope.
Now 180 degrees from the approach, I believe we see Jupiter peak in the far
background. Upper Thaynes disappears behind nearer terrain. In the fore,
footsteps of the many skiers looking for the perfect place to drop into the
Pinecone area.
The gate in the mid-foreground gives access to a second slope of Pinecone
that avoids the drawback of the previously-mentioned hike out along the
gondola road. By rounding the next rise and descending there, skiers enter
mixed woods of pine anad aspen, finally exiting to a pleasantly graded return
to the King Con chair, no walking or skating needed. In the right background,
we begin to see the Canyons area of the resort (though it is not ski-accessible
from this vantage point.)
Completing the panorama, these final three photos show more views into the
Canyons area of the resort.