Olympian First Tracks program

PARK CITY — The Canyons Resort has announced their Olympian First Tracks program for the 2006-07 season — where skiers will have the chance to explore the resort before the runs are open to the public, accompanied by some of the most impressive names in the world of Olympic skiing.

The First Tracks program got under way Wednesday and will continue every Wednesday and Saturday throughout the season. Skiers can be the first on the lifts and on the slopes, accompanied by a resort insider and one of the Olympian ambassadors as a guide.

"It is like having your own private mountain," said Todd Burnette, The Canyons' vice president of marketing. "The addition of our Olympic ambassadors makes an already great program even better. Our ambassadors are not only incredibly accomplished skiers, but they are also really fun people to be around. Anyone booking the First Tracks program will have a morning they won't soon forget."

The twice-weekly sessions are $100 a day plus the price of a regular day pass. The price also includes breakfast at Red Pine Lodge.

Call 435-615-3449 for times, reservations and details.

The Canyons Resort in Park City is the largest single ski and snowboard resort in Utah and one of the largest in the United States. Additional details are available at www.thecanyons.com.

Carrie Shineberg, right, started racing in Vermont at the age of 7. By age 17 she was on the U.S. Ski Team and headed to the 1994 Olympics, where she was the top American finisher in the slalom. She went on to win three national titles, including a 1995 and 1997 overall title as well as a 1997 giant slalom championship. Shineberg now splits her time between New York City, where she works in journalism, and Park City, where her parents live.

One of the most decorated American skiers of all time, (37 World Cup victories and 11 national titles) four time U.S. Freestyle Skier of the Year (Ski Racing magazine) Trace Worthington, left, was recently inducted into the U.S. Ski Hall of Fame. He competed in the 1992 and 1994 Olympics in freestyle aerials and moguls as well as the 1998 and 1999 X-Games in skiercross. These days, Worthington continues to be in the spotlight as a broadcaster on numerous networks and has covered the past three Winter Olympics and the 2004 Summer Olympics for NBC. He lives with his wife, Trisha, and their two children in Park City.