On the eighth day of the ski patrol union strike, Park City Mountain opened Friday with about as much available terrain as just before the strike began, at 23% of full capacity, and 30 new trails coming on line this week.The resort has struggled with the lowest snowfall in 30 years up to Christmas Day and then 3 feet since then, the annual onslaught of peak holiday crowds, and, of course, with the striking ski patrollers on picket lines instead of the mountain.To say many customers have been displeased is an understatement, though others have taken the week at least somewhat in stride. “This past week, when there were 50 of 350 trails open, the lines have been outrageous,” local resident Burton Kloster said while waiting in line for the Silverlode Express on Friday morning. “There’s been limited grooming, but in general it has been fine. You gotta do the best you can with what you got.” Having lived in the area for seven years, Kloster said, “It’s a far cry from last year and the year before. But as a local, I can afford to be a little more selective. It’s not like I just spent $40k for the week and I’m unhappy about it. We’ve had pretty good snow here this past week, temps have been unseasonably warm. In general, I have no complaints.”Kloster’s brother, on the other hand, is one of those visitors who cannot afford to be quite as selective with his skiing days. “We’ve been coming here for seven Christmases in a row and this year’s are the worst lines ever,” said Kloster. “I haven’t been able to ski in the last two weeks for more than two contiguous hours due to lack of openness. There’s no real plan.” Kloster said he has previously appreciated the presence of Park City Mountain operators on the mountain and feels that is missing this week. “You see no executives from Vail saying anything, and no presence from anyone on the ski hill, much less when you get off the bus at the picket line — you are not then greeted by a Vail executive thanking you for coming today,” he said. “There is a lack of touch in what is normally a decent-touch environment. We’re really feeling the loss of the ski patrol, and it’s something that hopefully will come to a resolution soon.” Bonanza Express experiencing lines on Friday morning. Credit: Klara Meyer/Park RecordZach, a retired military member from Ogden who wouldn’t give his last name, feels similarly. He has chosen to ski at Park City Mountain over closer mountains to his home because of their generous military discount and the runs he has enjoyed for years, he said. He waited in the singles line at Bonanza Express for 20 minutes before we caught up on the chair.“Even with long lines, I will come (to Park City Mountain), but a couple of days ago I was out here with my kids, and it was just a sea of crowds,” he said. “There are a lot of folks going a little faster than they should be when it’s crowded like this. It makes me worried to bring my kids out here when it’s like this.” Zach said he has always appreciated the presence of mountain safety and ski patrollers on the mountain, controlling crowds, slowing speedsters, and maintaining authority on safety. He didn’t notice as much of their presence this week. “What I really enjoy about Park City over everyone else is that when it’s crowded, there’s always patrollers out to keep it safe and keep people slow, but that seemed to have been missing last week,” said Zach.Miranda Smith came to Park City Mountain for the holiday to teach her daughter to ski. Despite the lines, her experience has been very positive, she said. Smith and her family were waiting in line at the Bonanza Express on Friday morning.“Lines have felt long, especially in the afternoon, but it’s really not bad. We’ve never skied here before, so we don’t notice a big difference. We have a beginner with us and are just having a good time learning,” said Smith. Deirdra Walsh, vice president and COO of Park City Mountain, last week emphasized the prioritization of opening beginner terrain. “That is a limiting factor that we have for some of the terrain that we have open, but we’ll continue every day to operate safely on the terrain that we have with the people that we have and prioritize the terrain that is the most popular this time of year,” said Walsh. “That’s intermediate and beginner terrain, and we think about that first, and that might have some delays in terms of other terrain around the mountain.”Mike Zich traveled to Park City with his wife and three kids from Indianapolis for their fourth season at the ski area. They come for the greens and blues, he said. Zich and his family had gotten two runs in by 9:50 a.m. on Friday before waiting in the Silverlode Express line.  The Zich family tends to arrive early to get fresh tracks on groomed corduroy. On Thursday and Friday, they said it was difficult to find those early moments on the groomed runs because of how many folks were on the slopes. While Park City Mountain trails were well covered, guests including Kloster and Zich felt the grooming was limited and that runs became bumpy much faster than they would have liked. With the traffic on the slope, many runs were left icy and skied off within one to two hours of opening on Friday morning. Despite this, the trails have a great base for people to work with and ski safely on all day.“The skiing is just as good, but it’s just a matter of longer lines and the slopes are quite crowded. It’s manageable. We’re no professionals — we ski once a year and come out for the greens and blues,” said Zich.Kevin, who declined to give his last name, was visiting from Las Vegas with family from Australia, and he said he wished he had chosen differently before skiing at Park City. He surveyed the trail map at the top of the Town Lift, asking around for others who knew where might be a good spot to avoid the crowds Friday morning.  Skiers experience lines at the base of Park City Mountain on Friday. Credit: Clayton Steward/Park Record“Lines yesterday were awful. We were waiting a half-hour to 45 minutes at a minimum. I have an Epic Pass. It made me want to see if I could get my money back,” said Kevin. “Nothing is open, lines are long. If I would have known, I would have gone somewhere else. Perhaps Colorado, or even just Solitude and Alta nearby.” “I only heard about the strike about two days before and it was too late to pull the ripcord. I have relatives visiting from Australia. I really wanted to show them a good experience, and they are not getting that,” said Kevin. Many of the skiers and riders had heard about the strike before arriving at Park City but felt it was much too late to change their plans. “This is our fifth season here. We’ve skied other places, but this has always been our favorite,” said David Tolliver. “So far, it’s the most congested I’ve ever seen. I don’t know if it’s due to the strike or the influx of people, but it’s a bit aggressive with how many people are here now.”Tolliver waited in the Bonanza Express line for over 30 minutes to take his first run of the day.“We heard about the strike on Instagram last week, but we’ve had this trip planned for a year now, and we were going be here come hell or high water,” said Tolliver. According to the Epic Pass app, wait times at Park City Mountain on Friday ranged between 0 and 40 minutes. By midday, a 20-minute wait was reported at the Bonanza Express, 15 minutes at the Orange Bubble Express and Silverlode Express, and 5 minutes at PayDay lift. At 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Timberline lift was reporting a 40-minute wait.The post Park City Mountain opens Friday at 23% of capacity; here’s what guests think appeared first on Park Record.