If you are looking for a quick trip to the snow capped mountains in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest, fly in to Salt Lake City Utah and you can be at the Inn at Solitude in less than 1 hour (www.skisolitude.com).
Solitude Ski Resort offers a variety of terrain for all skier levels – tree skiing, bowls, bumps and groomers. The steeps were a challenge and the groomers were great for speed – couple that with the bowls and bumps and you’ll find fun for all!
We made this trip in March last year and just missed a large snowfall the week before we got there. There was plenty of snow and sunshine and warmth for us to play in – but no pristine powder! The group I was skiing with made the best of the spring conditions. We started the morning on hard packed groomers that quickly softened (57 degrees) under the sun and warmth of the day. By 11:30am we were nicely settled into Adirondack chairs at the Roundhouse Lodge mid-mountain soaking up the sun and working on the “skier’s tan” – with a 30 SPF sunscreen, of course!
The views from the Summit are spectacular! I think the Summit Chair is slow on purpose – to allow everyone to experience the beautiful views of the Wasatch Mountains and Brighton Ski Resort 3 miles away up Big Cottonwood Canyon. The Wasatch Mountain rock is breathtaking and creates great couloirs for those who will hike and ski them.
Staying at the Inn at Solitude provides for a great ski-in ski-out experience. There are activities for the children and an on-site restaurant called “The Bernard”. Open for dinner it offers a variety of meat and fish dishes. The food is good, not great. There is the “local’s bar” across the walkway from the Inn called the “The Thirsty Squirrel”, a pizza restaurant and a Grill Restaurant across the way to feed those staying at the Inn and condos. If you are looking to get off the Solitude campus for dinner and you don’t have a car, call the Silver Fork Restaurant, they will pick you up and return you to Solitude after dinner (www.SilverForkLodge.com). They have an Inn there as well if you choose to stay off site.
The Solitude campus is a small area with few amenities. It is designed for the skier who is not looking for Après-ski activities. Getting out of Solitude to other ski areas (Brighton, Snowbird, Alta) are all accessible via the UTA bus system. If you don’t want to be tied to a bus schedule, renting a car at the airport is recommended to get around.
I hope you have a chance to visit – it is definitely worth the trip!