Another beautiful day to ski with overcast skis that will soon clear up for a sunny day. While I am a little sore from skiing yesterday, I am more excited to ski Park City Mountain Resort, which hosted the 2002 Olympic Games. I am also excited to meet up with a high school friend whose husband works at the resort and I am looking forward to meeting her two boys.
Leaving the house in Heber City, the view was absolutely spectacular. The snow-capped mountains with their bluish grey highlights seemed at eye’s level as we descended down into town towards the slopes.
This is four-wheel drive weather and we were setting out on steep terrain with lots of hills. The roads were cleared early this morning, so we managed to stay within the tracks of vehicles that had previously made their way down the mountain.
Several majestic homes were set into the side of the mountain where their large picture windows offered spectacular views of peaks which could have been seen for miles.
As we continued on towards Park City, we passed a large lake that had frozen over for the winter. The stillness and solitude of the scenery was soothing as we prepared for another full day of skiing.
We entered the park, picked up our skis and headed towards the slopes. I decided only to ski for a couple of hours, realizing how sore I was from the previous day. My muscles needed a little rest since we were planning on sledding event later that the evening.
Park City Mountain Resort is about a half an hour, 45 minutes from Salt Lake City. The resort opened in 1963 under the name “Treasure Mountain” as it was once an active mining town.
There are shops and restaurants where we rented our skis and a skating rink in the center. We arrived early so it felt as if we had the park all to ourselves. The sun was out as we took a seat on one of the benches to put on our boots.
There are over 3,000 acres of skiing with sixteen chairlifts. It was exciting to think that there were several events that took place in this very spot during the 2002 Olympic Games. Park City Mountain Resort hosted the giant slalom events as well as the snowboarding competition.
I managed to ski the beginner slopes (blue circles) a couple of times to warm up. While skiing, there were other beginners as well as snowboarders, but I knew if I was going to ski the green slopes today, I would need to do it earlier in the day when I was not as tired.
Making my way to the end of the slope, I imagined what it would have been like to have close to 100,000 spectators for the Olympic Games. I am most certain that none of the events were using the blues and greens that I’m skiing, but nonetheless, it was fascinating to think that the best talent in skiing and snowboarding were once here competing.
After skiing the morning hours, I made it to the bottom of my last run and I was ready for lunch. With over 314 trails here at Park City Mountain Resort, I skied only four. I had a few minutes to check out the shops to see if I could find a hat or souvenir of my trip before making my way to the restaurant.
The restaurant was lovely with outdoor seating where we could catch up over a glass of wine. Surrounded by mountains and ski lifts, this picturesque scene also included large bear statues.
After lunch, I joined Dawn’s son for a ride on the alpine roller coaster. Bodi competes on a ski team and is quite talented, ranking high in the polls. He has a great future ahead of him should he choose to continue in his training.
I hated to leave Dawn and the boys but it was time to take the shuttle to a neighboring slope to prepare for our evening of tubing and sledding. I look forward to hearing about Bodi’s success and skiing and hope to visit Park City again.
Where is your favorite place to ski? Have you been to Park City Mountain Resort? I would love to hear about your experience, so leave your comments below! Happy Travels!
Park City Mountain Resort is located at 1345 Lowell Avenue, Park City, Utah 84060. During the ski season, the slopes and ski lifts are open from 9AM to 4PM. Some of the trails are open later for night skiing. For more information about the resort, ski lift tickets and rentals, ski instruction, etc., visit their website at www.parkcitymountain.com.
My friend, Dawn, and her two boys
The Amazing View of Park City from the Slopes
Painted Moose on Skis