Park City, Utah Spring Skiing 2022

What a difference 3 months makes!!!

We traveled to Park City, UT in December 2021 for my cousin’s wedding and had to show proof of vaccination on Park City mountain (Vail Resorts owned) to enter any restaurant. Masks were mandated indoors, but not while skiing. These mandates were mountain-specific and not required elsewhere in Park City.

When we came back to Park City for our March 25-29, 2022 end-of-the-season ski trip, no masks, no vaccination requirements to be found anywhere…back to “normal. ” What a relief!

We flew Delta Airlines direct from Orange County, CA to Salt Lake, arrived at 10PM, rented a car and drove to Kimball, about 35 minutes from Salt Lake and 10 minutes away from Park City Mountain. I thought I booked the Holiday Inn Express Kimball 6 weeks earlier, but apparently I missed a step online because they had no record of a reservation. Ooops…a half hour of negotiations with a not overly bright nighttime Holiday Inn employee later and we had a much to expensive for what it was, $300 room, 2 queen bed room at the Holiday Inn! http://www.ihg.com As I recall, the rate for the room I meant to pre-book was more like $150 a night. Costly mistake.

Saturday morning, the troops were up bright and early at 7AM ready to hit the slopes. My aunt Beth and uncle Jay Biagi joined us for this ski trip and were staying in the same hotel, so we met for the free Holiday Inn Express breakfast to fuel up for a day at Canyons. This Holiday Inn Express has a conveyor belt pancake maker and the girls loved the novelty of it. The pancakes tasted terrible, but the entertainment factor was high. Couple additional hotel amenities: laundry room and pool.

We didn’t pay for ski lessons during this trip because my uncle Jay was with us and when Jay skis with you, it’s like having a personal instructor. He is who I really learned to ski from and can coach anyone down just about any terrain. He even skied down the mountain with my mom on his back one time at Whistler when she refused to move in the middle of a steep slope. Never have I ever seen anything like that since!

Canyons…the mountain is basically the right side of Park City mountain and the two are connected by a gondola. Based on the Spring ski conditions, once we got to the top, we avoided the lower half of the mountain because the snow was slushy and slow. We spent most of our time on the Saddleback Express lift taking blue runs down to the base of the lift over and over again. The girls had a blast. While Canyons does have some green, beginner runs, there are a wider variety of options for intermediate to advanced skiers. By the way, we skied in thermal underwear tops, ski pants, no jackets. I saw several guys in shorts and girls in tank tops. Love Spring Ski! http://www.vailresorts.com

There are a number of ski in ski out options at Canyons, including the newly built Pendry Hotel, an subsidiary of The Montage Resorts. http://www.pendry.com Much more expensive than our Holiday Inn, but check out the website…bet their pancakes are phenomenal!

My aunt and uncle are building a home in Promontory, so we had dinner at one of the private restaurants within that gated community in Park City Saturday night. www,promontoryclub.com Many of the bar scenes in the TV show Yellowstone were filmed at the bar in this restaurant at Promontory. Not exactly kid-friendly, but excellent food menu and wine list. It is members only though so if you aren’t a member, befriend one.

Ski day 2 found us driving about an hour to Snowbasin. This is a VERY family-oriented mountain with a vintage ski lodge feel. There are two gondolas and one 4-person express chair lift that take you directly up to the 3 mountain peaks. The highest peak is 9,465 feet…lots of skiable terrain. The mountain is mainly blues and blacks with a few green runs at the bottom. We definitely plan to go back when the conditions are a little better. Same as with day 1, sunny and slushy in the lower half of the mountain. We tried to just ski the upper half, but even that snow started to soften up pretty quickly. Don’t expect fancy food on the mountain. No ramen or quinoa salads here. If you like burgers, hot dogs, pizza and nachos, this is your mecca. The lodges all serve a variation of the above offerings. Vintage! Ski-in-ski-out is not an option here. The base of the mountain hasn’t been developed. There are hotels nearby and of course condo rental options instead.

That evening we went to dinner at Hearth and Hill. http://www.hearth-hill.com It was just around the corner from our hotel. I loved my short rib tacos, but I was the only person in our group of 6 who liked the meal. Definitely a “hit or miss” menu.

On our final day of skiing, we went back to Park City mountain and fully embraced the lifting of Covid restrictions relative to the last time we were there. We skied all day with our family and the girls didn’t want to leave. It was a little bit colder (35 degrees) so some runs had ice patches, but overall, ski conditions were better than the two days prior. We did more black diamond runs with Uncle Jay coaching the girls down through the moguls and vertical. There are runs for all levels at Park City…we really enjoy it. The lodges have a variety of selection including excellent salads, BBQ, tacos, etc. A quick reminder, you can get to Canyons via a gondola that connects the two mountains. We just chose to spend one day at each because we wanted to explore both more fully. http://www.parkcitymountain.com

Our final dinner was at the SHED in Promontory. Again, members only. Great concept for families though. There is a two lane bowling alley, a basketball court, small movie theater, foosball, arcade games, pool table…adult/kid playground. The food is very “gastropub” and their pizzas are excellent and meant to be shared. This was, of course, the girls’ favorite restaurant!

We headed back to the Salt Lake City Airport after a healthy breakfast at Park City Coffee Roasters. http://www.pcroaster.com And, after an uneventful flight home, set to work unpacking and washing all those bulky ski clothes to store for next year’s season.