You can see the multimedia album I created by visiting my website at www.mtoff.com. Go to the Discover and Travel section, where you can choose the Utah ski trip.

Let me know how you like it.

I love visiting Park City--though expensive, it is money well spent.

I found Kid's Mountain School to be a little laid-back. When I called to reserve, I was told they do not take any reservations for older kids. I was promised there was never a problem getting kids signed up on the day of the lessons. We didn't have any problems, but I did note that some other families were bumped, as lessons, especially afternoon half-days, were indeed sold-out.

The cost is $122, which includes lesson, lunch, and lift ticket. The classes run from 9:30am until 3:30pm.

The school does not have a main indoor gathering spot. You gather outside under a sign. It's hard to find the first time out. Park City does not do equipment rentals at the school; you are required to bring your own skis or rent before coming to class. I prefer the one-stop method. Helmets are not required; we tried to rent helmets and were told they don't rent them, due to insurance reasons. In California, we sing the helmet mantra, so it felt odd to allow the kids on the hill without helmets. About half the class was without. The older kids also don't wear class vests for the instructor to identify them.

The instructors were good, and they gave the kids a bit of a geography lesson; we had instructors from Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and Canada. The philosophy here is to get the kids to the next level on their own, so there is not a lot of babying here. The kids are expected to get up, carry their own skis, and keep up with the group. I personally liked the no-babying attitude, as it taught the kids to be independent.

The teachers really tried to keep the parents away. I appreciated this, as I often see parents who stick with the class and really disrupt and pull attention away from the teacher. So once the child is dropped off, it's "bye-bye daddy". The time I did not like it was during lunch. We have a habit of checking in at lunch and making sure everyone is okay. The instructors seemed really put out that we were checking and would not allow us to come into the lunch room. They got the kids and allowed them to come out in the hall. Lunch is pretty basic here: hot dogs, mac-and-cheese, juice.

The feedback from the teachers was great, and both our kids moved up to the next level. I was happy with the level of instruction here, and it takes a pretty serious approach to skiing. But if your child needs a lot of attention, you may want to look at Deer Valley, where the school does a lot more pampering.

I skied at Park City Mountain Resort. The locals will substantiate my claim that skiing during the Film Festival is probably the best skiing of the season. Lift lines were almost non-existent. There were many runs that I didn’t see another skier. It was fantastic. Ski and boot rental was $30. Full-day lift tickets are $69 for adults and $40 for children 7-12 years of age. It was the best $99 I spent during the weekend.

Best Thing We Did: Get the Mountain Direct Card! It saves a bundle on lift tickets, rentals, and food. It will also let you skip the ticket counter lines in the morning.

Both of my children went to ski school, and I cannot say enough about the quality of staff they have on hand. The ski school is top-notch and my kids did not want to leave.

Park City is huge. With 100 named trails (18 beginner, 44 intermediate and 38 advanced/expert) and 3300 acres, it caters to every skier and snow boarder whim. The young and/or adventurous can try the snow parks with half-pipes and man-made obstacles. Tamer intermediates like me can find all degrees of cruising runs as well as varying levels of mogul runs. I made it a point to cover all areas of the mountain, working from the Payday quad up and over to the King Con quad. The mid-mountain restaurant looked interesting, on the back side of Jupiter Peak, but time did not permit a stop. A ride up Payday and Bonanza lifts followed by a short ski down to Pioneer lift put me on the far side. Here I made a mistake. I jumped onto Jupiter lift for some crazy reason and found myself at the top of Jupiter bowl. From Jupiter Peak there is only one way down: steep, double black diamond, ungroomed, tree-filled runs. This is beyond my comfort zone, but I did master it. Somewhat spent, I took the long intermediate run, Thayne’s Canyon, down to King Con. This was a waste as the slope is little more than a snow road.. A better option would be to exit the Pioneer lift and cut over to Parley’s Peak which provides several options on the way to King Con.

We lunched at the Pig Pen, a "membership" club where a neighborly member offered to sponsor us. The Pig Pen is spartan, but the service was friendly and the views of the slopes from the second floor were pleasant. Three of us dined on a sausage and cheese platter. Nothing special, but an altogether economical lunch. Standard grill items such as hamburgers completed the menu.

After skiing we briefly stopped at The Moose. It has a green clapboard front with a decidedly old west feel, an outdoor counter, portable patio heaters and jumble of picnic tables. Inside, it has another counter serving grilled and limited deli items and two dining rooms. Both rooms are small and bare, one has a TV playing sports shows.

Check out Park City’s web site for information at www.parkcitymountain.com.

When the kids weren't having outdoor ski instruction they were having fun playing with each other or doing preschool-appropriate activities. I know so much about how their days went because I hung around a lot the first day. I felt very confident in the level of safety and security after what I saw. If your kid loses a glove or hat they have a huge lost and found she can borrow from.