The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: January tenth, appreciating Park City panoramas.

In four weeks, the world's attention will focus on Salt Lake City, as it hosts the Winter Olympics. But much of the action will be centered 30 miles to the east, in one of America's trendiest ski resorts.

Park City's certainly had its ups and downs, no joke intended. The silver boom town took root along a pass through the Wasatch mountains on the main route east. A century ago, the whole rowdy town, then known as Utah's "Sin City," burned to the ground. It was quickly re-built, only to crash again during the Depression. By the end of World War II, Park City was a virtual ghost town.

Then three decades ago, good fortune returned, this time wearing downhill skis. The combination of Utah's legendary snow, savvy marketing and hard dollar investment have turned a miner's gulch into a glitzy mecca for sports, art and food. The town of 7,000 people and its three ski areas, Deer Valley, Park City and Canyons, host half a million visitors a year. That will be an avalanche, as Park City is the setting for a third of the downhill events, and the nearby Winter Sports Park hosts the ski jump, bobsled and luge events.

But Park City's annual major event actually starts today. Founded in 1979 by Robert Redford, the Sundance Film Festival is an eleven day celebration of independent movies, both documentary and dramatic. Arguably the world's most important forum for small budget films and a showcase for up-and-coming talent, the festival fills the town with celebrities and deal makers. This year, they'll screen 113 feature films, including 74 World Premieres. Many visitors will never even plant a ski pole in Park City's succulent snow.

FMI For Park City Visitors Bureau information call 800-453-1360 or www.parkcityinfo.com For Sundance Festival information 801-328-3456 (ticket info 801-521- 2525). Proceedings of this year's festival can be found at www.sundance.org

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