The current (4-day) storm total at The Canyons is a mere 45″ of heavenly Utah powder. There is a reason this is called “The Greatest Snow on Earth.”

Northern Utah resorts have all received an additional 1- 3 feet of snow in the past 72 hours, on top of a whole series of storms providing endless fresh powder. Here is a sample snow report from Park City Mountain Resort:

New Snow Last 48 Hours: 13″
New Snow Last 72 Hours: 26″
Base Depth : 87″
Year to Date Snow Total : 210″

A historic day for American ski racing: Bode Miller just set the new American record for most World Cup victories with his 28th title, and he did it in dramatic fashion! Bode won the Men’s Combined (Downhill + Slalom) in the famed Hahnenkamm races in Kitzbuhel, Austria, and in the downhill he put down a spectacular run right on the edge of survival - he was going so fast he even clipped the course fence at 150+ kph on a curve but managed to stay on his skis. He tied for 2nd in the downhill but his results in the slalom + downhill awarded him the overall victory for the Men’s Combined event. Watch this phenomenal ride into the ski racing history books:

Click here to view YouTube video of his remarkable downhill run

IndieWIRE’s Andy Kaufman gives “Sunshine Cleaning” a glowing review, describing the latest effort from New Zealand’s Christine Jeffs as “an affecting, well-acted drama that casts an even brighter spotlight on rising starlet Amy Adams.” This one could be one of the breakout films from this year’s Sundance….

Check out the full review on IndieWIRE

Kim Voynar of Cinematical is reporting the same post-viewing buzz that we’re hearing about “In Bruges”…. it is hugely popular with a wide range of festival goers! Director Martin McDonagh and a terrific cast and crew have created what is already being talked about as one of the best Sundance films in years….. or at least that’s what the buzz says and the rest of us will have to find a way to see it for ourselves.

Visit Cinematical for lots of festival news and updates

Now you can experience some Sundance films from anywhere in the world, online! For the 10 days of the festival Sundance.org will stream one “short” film per day, for free, from the Sundance website. The film will change each day so be sure to check the site daily if you want to have a chance to catch all 10 short films. After that they will be available for paid downloads via iTunes, Xbox LIVE, and the NetFlix member site. [hat tip, IndieWire.com]

Click here to visit the FREE short films streaming page

[Jan. 16, Hollywood, CA] “I’m hitting Park City tomorrow, leaving at the crack of dawn to head for the cold. I’ll be covering the opening night movie, In Bruges. I’ve spoken to a number of folks in advance of the fest: we’re all fastening our seatbelts for a rocky ride. The conditions are ripe. Too many buyers, a strike, too many movies for sale….” visit the Thompson on Hollywood blog for Variety’s Anne Thompson commenting upon the 2008 Sundance Film Festival

[courtesy of Indiewire.com] “According to Sundance’s press office, 121 feature-length entries are being shown this year. With 87 being world premieres, 14 North American premieres and 12 U.S. premieres, most are unknown quantities. Further, there are 55 first-time filmmakers, including 32 in competition. And as reported yesterday in indieWIRE, there are some 100 films on the market for potential U.S. distribution.”

Visit Indiewire.com for more details

Many more arrivals over the past 24 hours……. the town is transformed. Sundancers often seem to be greeted with some of our coldest and snowiest days, maybe just maybe because the festival is in January….. this year is no different as the thermometer is dipping to some of the lowest lows of the year tonight and tomorrow night. Hope y’all brought a lot of warm layers!

Checking out some of the pre-festival buzz I find a lot of good info from the folks at Indiewire. Check out their site for all the scoops on who, what, where during the festival:

Indiewire.com

Have you ever wondered who is high up on those peaks and ridges launching the avalanche control “bombs” that we hear echoing on snowy mornings in ski country? Here is a memorable video of ski patrollers at PC Mtn. Resort setting off slides on New Year’s Day. Oh, and they do get to ski some incredible first tracks now and then….

Click here for Google Video of PC ski patrollers