Utah

Last week Brian and I left Sydney in Michigan with the grandparents and flew to Salt Lake City, Utah. We stayed in Park City, where many of the 2002 winter Olympic competitions were held. On the first day we gained 2 hours, so we were able to buy an afternoon / night ticket to ski at Park City. It was 58 and sunny out so the snow was really soft and we were in sunglasses and without coats. It was great, although Park City blocked off most trails for the night skiing which was a bummer.

On Day 2 we drove to Snowbird to ski (45 minutes) and bought a tram pass. The tram held 125 people and took you directly to the peak of the mountain (picture above). It only took 12 minutes on this high speed tram to reach the top and from there you could get to the back bowls of the mountain as well. This is where we spent most of our day.

Tram to the top of Snowbird.

Back bowl at Snowbird

We had a great day at Snowbird until late in the day the fog rolled in. Below are 2 pictures of the start of it, but once it hit we couldn't see 5 feet in front of us. Of course we were at the top of the mountain when it hit and slowly we had to follow people who knew the mountain well down to the base. We were done for the day after this scary experience.

Since we finished on the mountain early on day 2 we had extra time when we arrived back in Park city so we went to the Olympic park. You can walk the entire park and see the free style course and training pool, the long jump and the luge, skeleton and bobsled track. We arrived at the right time and we were able to watch the Vancouver Olympic bobsled team from Korea practicing for the America Cup competition.

On day 3 we drove 45 minutes again to Alta. Alta had the best snow, after getting a few inches over night.

Day 4 we slept in and skied 3 miles down the road at The Canyons. It was sunny and warm once again and we enjoyed a grilled lunch outside mid mountain.

Our hotel in Park City was great. It was right on the main road for 3 ski resorts, Park City, The Canyons and Deer Valley (all within 6 miles of each other). We enjoyed a fabulous free breakfast every morning before skiing and the hot-tub every night after skiing. We had to be back in our rooms by 6:30 though because that was when the cookie man at the hotel delivered fresh cookies and hot cocoa to your door. It was all of the special extras at the hotel that made it a great place.