Solitude Mountain Resort Park City Skiing

Last Minute Luxury Ski Vacation at Solitude Mountain Resort

It’s not too late to escape this ungodly NYC freeze and find a way to actually enjoy this winter. There is a place right outside Salt Lake City, Utah where bluebird skies greet you daily, the powder is plentiful and silence is free. Solitude Ski Resort is a different sort of getaway—confectioner’s sugar powder and an incredibly friendly atmosphere combine to make this exclusive resort a true getaway. No one hogs the chairlifts, no lines for the slopes, and rudeness is not tolerated. The Spyder blue jacketed employees start greeting you by your first name after just a few runs, and the silence of the mountain is magnificent.

Solitude is literally solitude. Skiing is about being one with the mountain, melding yourself so far into snow that you can’t tell where the mountain ends and you begin. Hire a guide for the day (or just explore—cautiously—on your own) and find hidden gems like the adrenaline packed Highway to Heaven ‘trail’ with out of control knee high mid-country powder. Honeycomb canyon is an in-bounds favorite for the locals, dotted with trail after trail of black and double black adventures.

Dave and Scott DeSeelhorst are brothers who built up the area after taking over the ski resort from their Dad in the ‘80s. What used to be a little local day ski center is now a European style village with luxury condos, a town square, over 60 ski trails and 1,200 acres of in-bound skiing (that’s 1,027 acres larger and 43 trails more than the average ski resort). At 10,035 summit elevation, it is a serious mountain. True powderhounds are at home here along with families who want a quiet ski vacation or celebrities who don’t want to be recognized over at Brighton.

After a hard day of skiing head straight to the Solitude Mountain Spa for an amazing and rejuvenating Après Ski Refresh…and if you attempt to cover even half of the ground at Solitude in one day, you won’t be able to move without  a Muscle Rx Anti Fatigue Leg Treatment.

If you’ve managed to exhaust yourself on the slopes and get a second wind with some herbal tea and muscle relaxation at the spa, the last must do for a quick getaway to Solitude is dinner at the Yurt. We love Yurts. We’re kind of Yurt Nerds. And this is one of our favorites.

Quaint, authentic and just a 10 minute snowshoe from the Solitude Inn, the Yurt is fine dining, mountain style. You snowshoe or cross country ski with a guide and small group to this little Mongolian yurt, a structure traditionally used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. Ice cream is chilling in the snow and a gourmet chef is hard at work inside. It’s a relaxing, inviting and really fun way to enjoy a delicious five star meal—close your eyes and you’ll think you’re at a foodie bistro in San Francisco, open them and find the heavens above you and fresh powder surrounding you. It’s pretty unforgettable…one of the most unique dining experiences in Utah and perhaps all of out West.

It remains a mystery as to why Solitude is still somewhat of a secret ski location, but the low profile tranquility is what makes it so appealing.

Enjoy the solitude, and only let those worthy in on the secret…it’s more powder per person.