The mountains around you are reminiscent of the Canadian Rockies. The powder is unmistakably Utah. Yet there are no crowds, no industrial concrete structures, and no faux Alpine village. In fact there's not much development at all. And, Robert Redford just skied into the lift line and yelled "single".

Sound like some kind of strange dream?

The place was, at one time, only a dream. But with unwavering commitment from Redford, its founder -- who bought the area in 1969 partly to save it from a developer's bulldozer -- Sundance Resort has become a unique and well-loved resort, and, in the process, a dream realized.

Located on 6,000 private acres in the shadow of Mt. Timpanogos, the highest point in Utah's Wasatch Range, the resort offers 465 acres of skiing terrain. Though it seems obvious to assume the name came from Redford's famous 1969 role as the Sundance Kid, the resort's name, he says, evokes the way the sunlight dances off the Wasatch peaks.

Development at Sundance, (or the lack thereof), is guided by Redford's own philosophy, one that clearly favors the natural environment and understated elegance over all things crass and high-tech. While Sundance appeared to be falling irreversibly behind its competition during the capital improvements-frenzy of the 80's and 90's, the resort now finds itself filling a singular niche. In addition, its focus on the arts has expanded into a small empire of cultured enterprises, including the Sundance Institute, founded in 1980 to encourage independent filmmaking; the legendary Sundance Film Festival, held in Park City each January; Sundance Farms; a thriving summer theater program; and the upscale and eco-friendly Sundance Catalogue.

But skiing is still central to Sundance, and you can experience it here in rare solitude. 60,000 skier days is a strong season for the resort, while as Ski Magazine points out, "the Vail Valley racks up more business on President's Day weekend alone." One fixed-grip quad and two triple lifts serve the resort's 2,150 feet of vertical. There is plenty of challenge, and one recent visitor from Southern California found "no one there - no lines… just fabulous skiing."

As an increasing number of skiers decry the corporatization of the modern ski resort experience, Sundance offers a respite - an elegant oasis where size does not matter, and where the arts, the environment, and of course the skiing, are more important than fast lifts and palatial homes.

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