Our ski trip encompassed Presidents’ Day weekend, so we were able to take in two full ski days. We tried two ends of the spectrum, Alta – a locals’ favorite with emphasis on the skiing – and Park City – a tourist resort with an emphasis on entertainment. The ski mountains offered distinctly different experiences, proving that Salt Lake City truly is a city of skiing options.

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

The ski resorts are all within a reasonable drive from the heart of downtown. At no time did traffic present a problem (we were there on a holiday weekend, though). We found a local neighborhood ski rental company and rented equipment in town (Sports Den Rentals, 1350 Foothill Dr., 801-582-5611). This allowed us complete freedom to choose any resort without the need to return our skis there on the last day. We were very pleased with the service and the equipment.

Our room was on the 16th floor with a view away from the center of the city. It was comfortable in all respects with adequate room for luggage and skis. There is a ski check at the Bell Desk as well. As Hilton Honors members, we were invited to the continental buffet on the key-access 18th floor. This buffet was essential for keeping our energy up during the morning skiing sessions. Standard items were available including yogurts, bagels, cereals, various juices and muffins. For traditional heavy breakfasts, the café in the lobby provided a buffet with sausage, bacon, potatoes and other fare. The downstairs buffet looked good when I checked it out, but we elected to eat the complimentary food upstairs.

Service was friendly and efficient, but we did get bad information from the Bell person who directed us to a "24 hour sandwich restaurant," Kokapelis, that was actually closed by 10:30pm. The restaurant was across the street in the Shilo Inn, so we did not waste much shoe leather over it. The desk clerk at the Shilo was very helpful and even called the Café Pierpoint to confirm that they were still open in an attempt to help us find an alternate restaurant.

Premium dining is available at Spencer''s in the hotel lobby. This steak restaurant has been recognized by culinary awards and was a great late night stop for a snack. The cigar-friendly bar is a bit overwhelming as you enter, but all traces of the odor disappear in the richly paneled dining rooms. We ordered a half dozen oysters and a monumental wedge of fresh iceburg lettuce piled high in bleu cheese.

This room features a central bar finished in dark wood tones surrounded by theater-style booths on raised floors which step up toward the corners. Black table tops, black leather booths and dim lighting set the mood. Pleasant jazz is piped into the room at a level that permits conversation, but the crowd noise rises above the music. Inspired by Chagal, the columns are painted in colorful schemes by local artists. The selection of raw oysters includes half a dozen options from blue point to Kumamoto to the Alaska Sterling which is exclusive to this bar (in the western US). We enjoyed the blue points for their briney freshness on the slopes of Alta, so we ordered them again here. Our other selections included the spinach crab artichoke dip from the specials board, a scallop stew and crab stuffed flounder. Our eyes proved larger than our appetites. The general portions of seafood in each dish helped justify the steep prices, and their preparation lived up to our expectations. The scallops were in a tomato/cream base with potatoes and onions. Despite our inability to finish our entrees, we shared a mixed berry saboyan, a signature desert at the Grill.

You can visit their web site at www.gastonomyinc.com. Prices for appetizers range from $9 to $12 while mains run from $13-$53. A dozen oysters will set you back $16 to $18 depending on variety.

Balsamic vinegar and olive oil awaits you at the table for dipping a variety of appetizer breads. We ordered lasagna, free range chicken breast with sautéed spinach and wild mushrooms and scaloppini of Wisconsin Veal (con Gamberi). The lasagna was served in a hot metal skillet with hunks of garlic bread. This typical dish was untypically good with a well chosen set of seasonings and cheeses. My wife’s spinach salad was topped with crisped green onions…they added a distinct and delicious note to an otherwise standard appetizer. The chicken and sauce were savory and delicious, the skin crisped and slightly charred for added texture and flavor. The veal was equally satisfying with a covering of crab meat (requested as an alternative to the standard shrimp) and artichoke hearts.

Baci is owned by the same company as the Market Street Oyster Bar, so go to www.gastronomyinc.com for more details.

The menu was more varied than we expected, including dishes such as lamb stew, fish and chips, buffalo burgers, Cajun fish, pizzas, pine nut crusted trout, oriental stir fry and burritos. Naturally the selection of beers featured the brews that were created in the tanks visible through windows in the bar area: ale, lager, hefe-weizen, porter and stouts. The hearty lamb stew was good, but a tad on the salty side. I enjoyed the mushroom soup better, complemented with a cold hefe-weizen. Prices were reasonable compared to other dining options.

The ubiquitous gift shop offers many ways to wear home a memory of your visit. The long sleeve t-shirts were tempting, but our drawers are already full. You can visit their web site and even get coupons for menu specials from their web site at www.wasatchbeers.com. We didn’t know during our visit, but you can also park free using their parking tokens.

We established ourselves at the Albion Base that includes the children’s day care and ski school. Holiday skiers had filled the parking lot, but we unloaded the car first and used the lockers before making the trek from the car. On this late February day, the sky was clear, the sun provided good contrast and warm temperatures allowed bare knuckle skiing. In other words: perfect conditions.

At Alta, it’s all about skiing (exclusively, snowboarders look elsewhere)…great for the skier, but not so great for the non-skiing spouse. My wife camped out at the Albion Day Lodge. Seating is picnic bench style, and there is no place with comfortable couches to cozy up with a book (that we found, anyway). Lunch was swift given the crowds, and the costs were relatively low. We lucked into a rare event…a raw oyster tent. The operators said that they only sold raw oysters on a few days each season. I skied down the slope to find my wife and friends with a half dozen oysters, and I had to try one even though I am generally not a fan of raw shellfish. Wow! After the exertion of skiing and with fresh mountain air in my lungs, the ice cold, briny oysters were fantastic. This is a real treat…if you even think that you might like oysters, you should try them this way. Raw oysters in the middle of land-locked Utah are predictably expensive, but it is one luxury well worth the splurge.

We elected to spend our day in the Point Supreme/Sugarloaf valley. Alta has another ski valley and many more slopes that lead to the Wildcat Base. The Sunnyside quad lift is good for beginners, and it is the jumping off point to a much longer intermediate run, Devil’s Elbow, from the Sugarloaf triple. Supreme is another connecting lift with intermediate options such as Rock-n-Roll and Big Dipper. I found none of the intermediates especially challenging, but they provided good comfortable cruising.

Our Apres Ski time was spent at nearby Alta Lodge which is located between the Albion and Wildcat base areas. After a descent down several flight of stairs to the inn’s lobby, we then went back upstairs to the membership club where we were "sponsored" by friends of our skiing companions. This intimate club is tucked under the roof with windows looking out to the slops and along the valley. Seating is comfortable and a fire place adds warmth. Prices were steep, but a complimentary meat and cheese tray helped cut the edge of post-skiing hunger.

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.