Canyons Regular, U of U Student & Freestyle Skier Extraordinaire

Produces All-Female Ski Video

Grete Eliassen has made a living walking on air.

So, what does a woman who rides down a mountain at 61 miles per hour and soars 31 feet into the air do when she's not winning medals at the Winter X Games?

Well, for one thing, she's studying to obtain her Bachelor of Science in business management from the University of Utah.

But the 24-year-old professional freestyle skier wanted something more.

An avid skier at Park City Mountain Resort and The Canyons, Eliassen felt she needed to do something that would leave her mark on the sport on a long-term basis.

She made a ski film featuring a cast of all-female skiers, which is a landmark achievement in the extreme sports film industry. It is one of the first films with an all-female cast.

"It's always been a dream of mine," Eliassen said. "I've always wanted to make a movie about skiing."

Eliassen, along with the cast and crew, produced the film over a period of two years. The film, "Say My Name," debuted last week in Los Angeles at the Red Bull headquarters.

On October 4th, 2010, the film was made available for purchase on iTunes, and Eliassen is beginning to see the fruits of her labor.

"The dream has never been just to throw out content," Eliassen said. "It's about getting better and watching and taking advantage of we really wanted to do with this."

The film, which was shot primarily in the Wasatch backcountry, also includes footage in the nation's capitol, as Eliassen and her female co-stars trekked out to Washington DC, to partake in the historic snowstorm that hit last winter.

"It was awesome out there," she said. "It was totally different, but so cool."

Eliassen was recently designated on the Action Sports portion of ESPN.com website as the "Best Female Performance in a Leading Role" for her role in the film and has been receiving praise for her job on the project.

Skiing is something that the up-and-coming star was familiar with even at a young age.

Eliassen grew up in Minnesota. Born to an American mother and a Norwegian father, she put on her first pair of skis at age two, and eventually moved to Norway at the age of 13 where her affinity with the sport really took off.

While living in Norway, Eliassen took Winter X Games gold in the halfpipe two years in a row in 2005 and 2006. She later earned a three-peat at the U.S. Open halfpipe competition, winning in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

In 2007, she won a $25,000 prize at Whistler's "Üllr Girl" competition. The competition consisted of four components: A big-mountain competition held in bounds at Whistler, along with a parks and halfpipe run and concluded with an arts element such as photography, film, art or music that each rider chose.

Grete donated all of it to charities such as the Women's Sports Foundation, and Stand Strong Again, a charity based for athletes with spinal-cord injuries.

Eliassen has twice traveled to Afghanistan on goodwill trips with fellow snow athletes to support troops in combat.

The state of Utah had always intrigued her, though.

She figured if she moved to Utah, she'd be able to get an education while being 15 minutes away from four or five top-notch resorts.

"It was the best option," she said. "It's the most convenient spot."

She has been a summer and fall semester student at Utah, taking off spring semesters to ski and travel.

This April, Grete etched her name into the record books; maybe permanently.

Eliassen eclipsed the Hip Jump World Record at the Canyons. After being approached by the resort and Red Bull, she decided she wanted to give it a shot.

A hip jump is jump designed to reach maximum height. The rider goes up off a straight jump and comes down on the left side.

Reaching speeds of 61 miles per hour is not for the faint of heart, especially considering she was preparing to hit the custom 30-foot hip jump.

"It was noticeably different," she said. "I had never gone that big. Ever. I hit (the jump) 10 times a day for two days before getting 31 feet.

"I wanted to go the biggest any girl ever has before."

She said she fell once after one of her skis caught an edge of the lip on the jump and became dislodged.

"It was scary," she said.

Eliassen's dream has been played out the way she planned, and she couldn't be more energized about it.

"(The film) works for women's skiing, for women who want to go out and hit a cliff for the first time," she said. "It's all about progressing the sport of women's skiing."

Grete's film, which continues to receive buzz in the extreme sports realm, will pave the path for her to work on more projects later on.

"It's a unique opportunity," she said.

As for staying around the Wasatch Front, Eliassen put her signature in cement.

"Ski-wise, I want to stay here for the rest of my life. I'm addicted to the Utah snow," she said.

by Jay Hamburger OF THE RECORD STAFF : The Park Record

For More Information on Park City and Deer Valley Contact:
Michael Lapay
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Mobile: 435-640-5700
Toll Free: 888-410-7653

mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com

DEER VALLEY Single Family Homes

Real Estate for Sale and Pending Sales

May 6th thru May 14th, 2010

For More Information on Park City and Deer Valley Homes contact:
Michael Lapay
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Mobile: 435-640-5700
Toll Free: 888-410-7653

mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com

*This information contained here in was obtained from the Park City MLS on April 8th, 2010 and is deemed accurate.  However, we do not guarantee its accuracy and all information is subject to chagne without notice.

Unlikely to Deter Park City Real Estate Buyers

Trends in Utah underscore national survey data showing consumers more

concerned about home prices, interest rates and unemployment

Press Release

PARK CITY, UT - The expiration of the 2010 Home Buyer Tax Credit on April 30th, 2010 is unlikely to put off Park City residents or visitors looking to purchase homes, according to Prudential Utah Real Estate. This reflects the results of a new Prudential Utah Real Estate and Relocation Services, Inc, a Prudential Financial, Inc [NYSE: Pru] company, national survey which reveals that consumers believe now is a good time to buy and are confident that home prices will rise. The survey of 1,000 Americans between the ages of 25 - 64 with at least $35,000 household income was conducted during April 15th - 20th, 2010.

In the national survey, more than 90 percent of consumers believe that the home buyer tax credits have helped both first-time buyers and the US housing market overall. Among consumers actually shopping for homes, 65 percent believe that the end of the tax credits will have little or no effect on their interest in purchasing a home.

While consumers remain unsure about the direction of the housing market, the survey reveals that they are optimistic about real estate values with 46 percent of consumers expecting real estate prices in their area to increase over the next year. Just 12 percent expect prices to decline. Over the next five years, 79 percent expect real estate prices to increase, with 20 percent expecting that prices will increase substantially.

"The federal home buyer tax credits clearly played an important role on a national level in getting the real estate market moving again," said Steve Roney, Chairman and CEO of Prudential Utah Real Estate. "The survey data shows that overall consumers believe the market has hit bottom and are more optimistic about the future."

Survey respondents identified concerns about rising mortgage interest rates and the national unemployment rate as the most important factors affecting decisions to purchase homes, along with more stringent lending criteria and fewer mortgage-backed securities pruchased by the Federal Reserve. The expiration of the tax credits placed lowest on their list of concerns. Among those who have recently purchased a home, 61 percent cited low mortgage interest rates as "very important" to their decisions an amount greater than either the tax credit or even cheaper prices. The 66 percent expecting interest rates to rise underscores potential headwinds for the market.

Despite the significant downturn in the real estate market, the survey underscores that the dream of home ownership and the perception that owning a home is a good investment remain intact. Among current renters, 75 percent sill believe owning their home is a better long-term choice than renting. The majority of consumers also believe that homeownership is a better investment than individual stocks or bonds (75%), mutual funds (72%), or savings accounts (74%).

"While the tax credits clearly helped stimulate the market, the more pressing concerns of people looking at homes in the Park City area are the availability and cost of financing, as well as if they are getting a good deal," added Roney. "Despite the market downturn, consistent with the national survey data, tha majority of our clients are more confident and, importantly, continue to believe that owning a home is a good investment."

The Prudential Real Estate Outlook Survey was conducted online. The margin of error is +/- 3 percent. A more detailed breakdown of the data is available, as well as supporting charts and visuals, at www.news.prudential.com.

For More Information on Park City and Deer Valley Homes Contact:
Michael Lapay
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Mobile: 435-640-5700
Toll Free: 888-410-7653

mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com



*This information is subject to change without notice.

Lindsey Vonn & Julia Mancuso have a new coach:

Mammoth's Chip White named Speed Head Coach

Park City, UT (April 28th, 2010) - Following 14 seasons as an assistant coach with the U.S. Ski Team's women's speed program, Chip White was named Wednesday as Speed Head Coach and will lead a highly successful group that includes Olympic medalists Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso. The announcement was made by Women's Alpine Head Coach Alex Hoedlmoser, who formerly led the speed program for the past six winters.

"Chip is one of the most experienced alpine coaches in the country and is absolutely the right man to lead the women's speed program," said Hoedlmoser. "I've worked with him for a long time and am completely confident that he can continue to move this team in a positive direction."

A resident of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., for the past 32 years, White was welcomed into the U.S. Ski Team family in 1990 then spent six years traveling a few months each season with as a guest coach with the men's speed team. He was offered and promptly accepted a job with the women's speed program in 1996.

"I'm fortunate to take over an incredibly successful program, but we still have a lot of work to do," said White. "My goal is to create a positive team environment that provides a spark of newness and excitement for all the athletes. We have two incredible talents with Lindsey (Vonn) and Julia (Mancuso), but everyone in this program has the ability to reach that level."

In addition to Vonn and Mancuso, White will continue to coach Olympians Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, Calif.), Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, Colo.), Leanne Smith (Conway, N.H.) and Chelsea Marshall (Pittsfield, Vt.), all of whom have posted World Cup top 10 results.

"I've been a part of these athletes' careers since they entered the U.S. Ski Team program. Each has the potential for a higher level of success," said White. "What we need to do is create a plan for each of them that makes athletic sense and allows them to achieve both their individual and team goals."

The first order of business for White is organizing a May on-snow camp at Mammoth Mountain before moving on to summer training in New Zealand and Chile, followed by final prep in Colorado.

"We're going to spend three weeks in Chile this year," said White. "The snow there is incredible and it's some of the best training we get all year. Athletically it makes complete sense to focus more time in Portillo and Valle Nevado instead of bringing the entire crew to Austria in October for what has been marginal conditions the past couple of years. So far, the response from the athletes on this has been incredibly positive."

Joining White on the women's speed staff is Jeff Fergus, who moves into the assistant role form the women's technical staff, and Chris Knight, who has worked with both the women's technical and speed programs. Hoedlmoser will also announce an additional coach following the Mammoth Mountain camp.

Trevor Wagner will continue to head the women's technical program, but has added former U.S. Ski Team coach Roger Bay from Montana's Bridger Ski Foundation and another coach also to be named following the Mammoth camp. Seth McCadam jumps from the women's technical program into the head coaching role of the women's Development Team.

"From Chip and Trevor on down to Seth in the development program, we've put together an incredibly talented staff with the energy and ideas to bring this team to the next level," said Hoedlmoser. "I'm excited about the direction we're moving in and the future of this team."

The 2011 U.S. Alpine Ski Team will be announced later this spring.

For More Information on Park City and Deer Valley Contact:
Michael Lapay
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Mobile: 435-640-5700
Toll Free: 888-410-7653

mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com

*Via FirstTracksOnline.com

DEER VALLEY Single Family Residences

Real Estate for Sale and Pending Sales

April 8th thru April 15th, 2010

For More Information on Park City and Deer Valley Homes contact:
Michael Lapay
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Mobile: 435-640-5700
Toll Free: 888-410-7653

mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com

*This information contained here in was obtained from the Park City MLS on April 15th, 2010 and is deemed accurate.  However, we do not guarantee its accuracy and all information is subject to chagne without notice.