The author just returned from a whirlwind three day trip in Salt Lake City, Utah. Thanks to Visit Salt Lake, Brighton Ski Resort, Alta Ski Resort, Snowbird Ski Resort, and Solitude Ski Resort for being such great hosts. Read my Examiner article here where I promise to write about the adventure as I experienced it.
New York bloggers pose the question if Salt Lake City is hip and/or trendy? I am not hip and certainly not trendy, so I am unqualified to answer, but I believe the city is a great gateway for amazing adventure.
5. The beer – One does not think beer when they think Salt Lake City, but believe it or not they have bars and more importantly they have several micro-brews that satisfy will satisfy even the most discerning of craft beer aficionados. They do not call Utah the beerhive state for nothing.
Uinta’s cutthroat is a tasty pale ale that is slightly hoppy that will have consumers drinking like a fish and for those who like to taste a beer that will put a little hair on the chest then try Wasatch breweries polygamy porter. The word around town is you cannot have just one. I am living proof of that as I gulped down two.
4. The food – I did not have a bad meal during my tenure in the city. Even though Tin Angel Café did not have a set of wine glasses that were the same their Chicken Al Forna made a perfect match for the growl in my stomach. Other highlights included the coconut flavor soup at Kimmi’s Mountainside Bistro which was incredible, and in a word the Log Haven restaurant was “lovely.”
This is not a food blog, so let’s get to the meat and potatoes of the list:
3. The resorts – Snowbird and Alta are up the Little Cotttonwood Canyon and Solitude and Brighton can be found in the Big Cottonwood Canyon. The resorts are only 20 minutes from downtown Salt Lake and only a half hour from the airport.
All four are awesome, but each one is slightly different and have their own unique ambiance and strengths. For instance, Solitude not only has great alpine runs, but they also have a complete Nordic Center with lessons, rentals, and miles of trails.
2. The snow – They call the Utah snow that falls on the Wasatch Mountains the greatest snow on Earth. The snow in Utah is second to none. Storms pass over the Sierras and then dry up over the desert. They proceed to dump copious amounts of powdery snow on the mountains near Salt Lake City.
Jared Ishkanian from Snowbird and formerly of Boston has skied all over the west and in his experience the quality of snow found in the area is second to none. Many people that I met in Utah were like Jared as they came to Utah to ski for a weekend or season and then never left.
1. The Wasatch Mountains – Freelance ski writer Peter Oliver said it best when he talked about the appeal that Salt Lake City has for adventure travelers. When it comes down to it the most important trait in a ski destination is the terrain. You can have the best resorts in the world, the most snow, but without the terrain there is nothing. The Wasatch Mountain range that surrounds the city provides the city not with a sensational back drop, but also the terrain for gnarly skiing and other adventure.
Come to Salt Lake City, Utah and eat, drink beer, ski, and it is impossible not to be merry.
Stay tuned,
TT
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Glad you had a great time Ted! Snow looks beautiful! For a “novice downhill skier”, glad you didn’t come back with anything broken!
Jeremy B recently posted..Budget Travel Intentions says goodbye
Great post Ted! You covered the best of SLC– awesome craft beer and great skiing. I see we even went to the same bar (the one with the ice strip to cool your beer). Excited to read your upcoming skiing articles. PS: Thanks for the link to our trendy SLC post
Wow Ted, that photo of the snow on the roof is pretty amazing! How many feet deep is that? I really could do with some snow and ice. Closest I get is sitting next to an A/C on full blast
Dave from The Longest Way Home recently posted..Food from Sabah Malaysia- Sotong Tom Yum
I would say that is about three feet deep maybe more. At the Nordic Center there was a sign that said they have received 401 inches of snow so far this year. That is pretty amazing.
Ted Nelson recently posted..Five reasons to adventure travel in Salt Lake City- Utah
And for the Dutchies (who are huge speed-skating fans), Salt Lake City is home to the Utah Olympic Oval, the world’s fastest speed-skating rink (the high altitude has something to do with it). The fastest times have all been recorded there. That’s another reason to visit SLC!
My 2 cents…
Keith Jenkins recently posted..A thrilling cable car ride in Hong Kong
Hi Ted, Great place, all pictures are amazing and after see this I also wish to go Utah. In this upcoming winter season I will sure do some planning for Utah.
Jenny recently posted..Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
Awfully cold…Looks like you have total fun in your trip. Never had the chance to have a ski vacation last season, so now I am planning to make a 3 days ski trip. Been to Park City 2 years ago and for a change I would like to head north to Alyeska.