"Looking For A Little Solitude"

 And I found it! On a mountain that is. This past weekend, we were invited to take a trip to Solitude Ski Resort, UT. As it turns out, Solutide had a higher base than any resort in Colorado. (At the time 92" base and 305" for the year) I was surprised because I didn't think the mountains outside of Salt Lake received much snow. Then I looked at a map and thought about it...I discovered that ALL the known resorts are right there within 5-25 miles of each other! Alta, Park City, Snowbird, Brighton, Canyons...they're all right there, just over a mountain and across a canyon!

Solitude just happened to get dumped on throughout all of Saturday while we were riding. Quite different snow from Colorado. Not that light and crystally champagne type stuff...but heavier, denser. The kind of stuff that when your own powder cloud hits your body, you really feel it. I almost knocks you over and it's impossible to see through! It really is quite amazing snow! I would not say it is, as SkiUtah.com calls it, "The Best Snow On Earth." For I still really enjoy my extra light Colorado powder. As crazy as I am, even though it was blizzarding and I had mostly no visibility...it was a pretty rocking day!

Ironically spent most of the day on the Powderhorn lift...very much different than the Powderhorn Resort I live so close to.

These trees were all over the place. I labeled them, "creepy Utah trees."

The steep and deep started out a little intimidating because of the blowing snow.

I asked my co-rider on the snowboard there at this point, "So here's what I do. I ask myself if I think I might die if I do this. If the answer is no, then I go. Do you think you might die if you do this?" She laughed and said no! So down we went! Intimidation quickly faded into super soft deep snow fluff flying everywhere!

Off the other side of the Powderhorn lift, found some more crazy double black terrain. Fun!

The only area I wanted to make sure I got to...we made it down one side of the bowl, but unfortunately the other side was closed due to high avalanche danger...darn avalanches!

This kids found a little Solitude in the condo watching Toy Story 3 on the iPad.

The Solitude for the big kids was over with nine of us ladies and three kids all piled into one condo for the night. Pour on the daiquiris and drinking games! Good times yep!

So that's what 300" looks like! Solitude is actually very pretty. Had no idea what it really looked like through all the blowing snow! Twas nice to have a bluebird day!

I took the lil guy out for a few runs before we headed back to GJ.

Doing some very hard work on his turning. Teaching him the importance of S turns and how they will make his legs less tired. While I went backward, he made a game of it by trying to stay inside my tracks, like a little road he had to follow.

Those S turns often gave way to the french fries...he likes to straight bee line it and go super fast!

With Salt Lake City being exactly four hours away, the resorts outside of SLC five hours and only one slightly hairy section to drive through, I definitely think I will be planning more trips out to Utah to go play in the snow. I already like their deserts and canyons, why wouldn't I love their mountains too?