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Ski Utah Enjoy wonderful winter days skiing under Utah's beautiful bluebird skies. By Georgette Diamandis Got four days to ski? Then head out to Utah for almost guaranteed good conditions and mountains that will blow your mind! I sampled four different resorts in just four days: Deer Valley and The Canyons in Park City, then Snow Basin in Huntsville and Wolf Mountain Resort in Ogden. Both of these resort towns are only an hour from Salt Lake City Airport, which I think is one of the nicest in the country. The resort's proximity to the airport means you can ski the day you arrive. In fact, at Deer Valley, you can ski for free if you show your airline ticket. I flew from New York out of JFK on Delta and the trip took five and a half hours because of strong headwinds. The flight was much shorter on the way back, because of the tailwinds, taking just under four hours. I have always heard about Utah's bluebird skies, but being from the East, where winter is usually one long succession of grey day after grey day, I couldn't understand exactly what it was like to have both sun and winter in one day. Then I experienced skiing under those skies with fresh powder snow in mild temperatures and caught the fever of skiing in Utah. THE WOLF CREEK RESORT My flight from New York arrived around 7pm. I was part of a "learn to ski" program sponsored by Ski Utah. Our group stopped in Salt Lake City to pick up ski rentals at a local rental shop called Ski'n'See. As it turned out, my boots were too tight, so I ended up renting different equipment at every resort I visited, which was easier logistically, since our group was visiting four different resorts in four days. If you have your own boots, it's always better to bring them, but I enjoyed trying out different ski and snowboard equipment. The first skis were shorties, not something I wanted to ski on all week, but fun for the first day. By the time we arrived at our destination, The Wolf Creek Resort in Eden, it was late, so dinner was ordered from the Wolf Creek Resort restaurant and we ate in the condo. The pecan-crusted chicken and mashed Yukon gold potatoes were a welcome change after a day of only airline snacks. The Wolf Creek Resort condo was beautifully furnished Southwestern-style, a brand new five-bedroom unit, with a hot tub in the back. All the bedrooms were spacious and the bathrooms were well appointed, most boasting Jacuzzi tubs. The next morning we awoke early, had breakfast, another hearty meal of huevos rancheros at the Wolf Creek Resort restaurant. The drive to the mountain was only 10 minutes and we were psyched for a full day of skiing. Our first ski resort was the family-friendly Wolf Mountain. The resort is small enough to feel quaint, yet challenging for intermediate skiers and an excellent place to snowboard at the Wolf's Lair Terrain Park. Most of my colleagues were first-time skiers and they were coddled with one-on-one instruction at the magic carpet ride beginners slope. I am an intermediate skier, but was on the trip to learn to snowboard and experience skiing on that famous Utah powder. The conditions were freshly groomed "corduroy" under a bluebird sky. I felt great getting my ski legs back after not skiing for six months. The best part about Wolf Mountain? The prices. It's $26 for an adult weekend day pass and only $13 for a children's half-day pass which goes from 1pm until 9pm. Wolf Creek also offers a four-night special for $600 per person which includes lodging in a two-bedroom condo at Wolf Creek Resort, all day lift tickets and a family lesson at Wolf Mountain. The price also includes ski shuttle to and from the mountain. . On the way out of Eden, we stopped to see the oldest pub in Utah, The Shooting Star. Unfortunately, it was closed the day we visited (Monday) and we weren't able to sample their legendary hamburgers. The authentic building transported me back in time. Eden is a sleepy little town, but if you want nightlife and still ski at Wolf Mountain, you can stay in nearby Ogden, which I did on my last night when I skied at Snowbasin ... but more about that later. PARK CITY The drive to Park City from Eden was an hour. We sat back and reviewed our first day of skiing and marveled at the landscape, so different from back east. The long plateaus had mountainous ridges that appeared blue in the setting sun, vacant except for black cows and dotted with the occasional horse. We arrived in Park City to check into the Treasure Mountain Inn. Their website is great; this is important because being a "green" hotel, they don't print brochures! Some of the rooms are privately owned and you really need to pick out the room you want on the website before booking. Most are beautifully renovated. I stayed in room 27 and was very happy with my one-bedroom suite right on Main Street. It was surprisingly quiet for this street, which is full of bars and shops. (I always pack a pair of earplugs, just in case.) I stayed there in early December when the rate was $240 per night, but it goes up to $400 per night for the holiday weeks and during the Sundance Film Festival. The hosts, Andy and Thea Leonard, are a young couple who love skiing and hiking Utah and enjoy sharing their wealth of information. The next day we took the 10-minute drive from Park City up the mountain to enjoy a heavenly day of skiing and to have breakfast at one of Deer Valley Resort's three lodges, Silver Lake Lodge. Deer Valley wasn't voted the #1 ski resort by the readers of Ski Magazine for nothing. The attentive staff, the free valet overnight ski check, the high speed lifts and over 2,000 acres of pristine groomed skiing country all add to this resort's great reputation. Plus, you really can't believe how good the food is here. For breakfast, we had many choices like tasty omelets or we could visit the breakfast bar, which offered up a large selection of fruit, cereal and house-made granola. For lunch, there's the famed salad bar, with more than 20 different salads to choose from ... or have them all! Plus you'll find Deer Valley turkey chili, burgers or deli sandwiches, made-to-order on great bread and delicious baked goods. This is not your typical ski lodge food. It's a little pricey, but so are most ski lodges where the food is often just average to bad. A salad from the salad bar and a drink was around $15. The cost of a lift ticket is $79 for a full day, $55 for a half day. The skiing was perfect on impeccably groomed slopes and the short lift lines made things even better. Deer Valley limits ticket sales to 6,500 tickets per day and I was told it's never crowded. My new friends and I took some time out to relax in the beautiful Stein Erickson Lodge and enjoy a cup of hot cocoa. The bar was beautifully hand painted, imported from Olympic gold medalist Stein Erickson's native Norway. The Jamaican bartender was super-friendly. I especially liked the fact that they didn't mind that we were only having hot chocolate. Then it was back to skiing for the afternoon under the blue sky, before enjoying some time at "the beach" – a group of lounge chairs set up outside to relax and catch some rays on the reflective snow (don't forget your sunscreen!) Then, back to the Treasure Mountain Inn to get ready for a night out on the town. Actually, we were having dinner at Deer Valley's Silver Lake Lodge premier restaurant - The Mariposa. Rated #1 in The Zagat Guide, we sampled the menu with special dishes like the Wild Mushroom Beggar's Purse, arugula salad and sablefish with tamari and ginger sauce. The restaurant was cozy and rustic and I found myself forgetting that we were just upstairs from the ski lodge. Deer Valley has 10 restaurants, one of which, The Empire Canyon Lodge, has fireside dining featuring a Swiss menu actually cooked right there in the four rustic fireplaces. After dinner, we explored some of the pubs on Main Street in Park City, but not too late, since we were scheduled to have our first snowboarding lesson the next morning at The Canyons. By the way, Deer Valley is one of the few resorts left that does not allow snowboarders. THE CANYONS We arrived in awe at The Canyons, a vast resort with almost 4,000 acres of ski and snowboarding terrain. I enrolled in the Burton Learn to Ride program, which consists of two, two and a half-hour lessons, Burton snowboarding rental equipment and a lift pass for just under $100. The lift pass is usually $79 per day, but if you're just learning to board like I was, you probably won't be getting off the Learn To Ride slope! Nervous as we all were, boarding the gondola with our newly-fitted, comfy boots and snowboard, we were relieved when we got to the top and saw the relatively flat learning slope. Our group consisted of six novices and a very patient instructor from Virginia with the patience, manners and accent of Ashley from Gone With The Wind. We spent the first two hours learning the basics of stopping and going but mostly falling on our backsides most of the time and laughing. I have to admit: I haven't had so much fun since I was a teenager and I'm looking forward to taking more lessons. Of course, I was completely protected with my helmet, kneepads and wrist guards ... only, I forgot the pillow for my snow pants! Afterwards, I enjoyed a much-needed and relaxing massage at The Canyons Spa. Dinner that night was at the rustic, yet elegant Cabin at Grand Summit Lodge at Canyons Resort specializing in Western beef and elk. OGDEN The next day, I left the group and went on to Ogden, an hour from Park City to experience a phenomenal ski resort – Snowbasin. I stayed at the Marriott Hotel, which offers a special of $189 for two and includes accommodations, hot breakfast, two tickets to Snow Basin or Powder Mountain and transportation to and from the mountains. Not a bad deal if you don't mind staying in a highrise hotel and want to experience the nightlife of Ogden's historic downtown. Once famous for the intercontinental railroad and the old main drag, 25th Street has had most of its buildings recently restored with trendy shops and restaurants. I checked out groovy bars like The City Club, featuring a Beatles motif and Rooster Brewing Co. where they have beer like Polygamy Pale Ale, Junction City, Chocolate Stout and good dinners. Utah has many private clubs, which means you have to pay a nominal fee (about $2 most times), to get in and drink alcohol. I trekked out in the cold to visit the recently renovated Egyptian Theater built in 1924 during the wave of King Tut mania when his tomb was discovered. It is one of the few Egyptian theaters left in the country. It is very cool, has an atmospheric ceiling with twinkling stars, graded light and seating. The painted hieroglyphics in the lobby are awesome. I got a peek at a local company performing The Nutcracker. The proportions of the stage made it look like a New York production. I continued walking to the nearby Solomon Center, which has a 13-movie theater complex, a Gold's Gym, "climbing wall", a wave rider and indoor skydiving. There is also a state Railroad Museum, which has country dancing on Wednesdays. I visited just before Christmas and the park was adorned with little houses filled with lovely Christmas scenes. Families were walking about, enjoying hot cocoa and watching an outdoor play. SKIING AT SNOWBASIN But I was there to ski, baby! So the next morning, I headed up to Snowbasin, the sister resort to Sun Valley, to experience some of the best conditions I have ever skied. The 17-mile trip is about 20 minutes from Huntsville. You may remember this resort as home to the women's and men's 2002 Olympic downhill and Super G events. Snowbasin has almost 3,000 skiable acres and the best snowmaking equipment in the US, in addition to the average 400 inches of natural snow fall per year. The two gondolas, one tram and six lifts servicing 14,000 people per hour, make this resort hard to beat. The line on a crowded day is no more than 15 minutes. I skied on a Thursday and practically had the mountain to myself. The view of the Wasatch Mountains from the summit of Mt. Allen is spectacular! I took a four-hour lesson with 40-year veteran ski instructor Dennis McKinstry, who had great positive advice. I enjoyed the long traverse from the top after having lunch at one of Snowbasin's elegant lodges, The Needles Lodge. I was impressed with the cathedral ceilings, fine carpet, furniture and the food served on china. Earl's Lodge and John Paul Lodge are just as elegant, with massive fireplaces and beamed ceilings. Saturday nights feature a supper buffet for $35 and include the gondola ride with all the spectacular scenery. The executive chef is from Tuscany so you know the food must be good! Sixty percent of Snowbasin is intermediate, 20% beginner and 30% advanced. For real adventurers wanting a guided, out-of-bounds experience, Snowbasin offers that for $180 including all avalanche equipment. Not for me, though! They also have an early bird guided experience from 7:30am to 9:30am with breakfast for $95 called First Tracks. This does not include the lift ticket, which is $62. Snowbasin also has an extensive Nordic trail system that covers 24 kilometers and is free of charge. You can even bring your dog, but keep him or her on the leash to protect wildlife (and your dog!) Wildlife includes bobcats, mountain lions, coyote, moose and mule deer. Snowbasin is a four-season resort and summer is great here, where the gondola and lifts are used to access hiking and mountain biking trails. OVERALL Come to Utah to experience skiing or snowboarding in any of the 13 distinctly different resorts, all with the same incredible powder that Utah is famous for. Spa treatments are available in downtown Park City at Mountain Body Spa or The Canyons. Even if you don't participate in winter sports, the quaint towns of Park City and Ogden offer great nightlife, shopping and unique restaurants. A quintessential Western winter experience you won't want to miss! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Hi, I am Georgette, a writer and artist (here's my website) based in Connecticut. I am also Johnny Jet’s older sister, who quite possibly ignited his first spark of interest in traveling to exotic places, when at the impressionable age of 14, he saw my trip to Australia last three years! Whether skiing in the mountains, snorkeling in the tropics, or exploring faraway cities, I am always game for traveling and the privilege of writing for my baby brother's website JohnnyJet.com. Of course, coming home to my husband Cam, our dog Baci, and three cats - Ace, Arrow and Wizard - is great, too! *Please tell us what you think of this week's newsletter! Note: This trip was sponsored by Ski Utah. *Please tell us what you think of this week's newsletter! |
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