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UTAH
Love Affair!
We love skiing in
Utah for a number of reasons.
First, landing in Salt Lake City Airport is a breeze. It's
convenient and close to the city and slopes. The rental car pick
up is right across the street. No having to get on a bus to a
remote lot with your skis and gear. Just have your buddy pick up
the car and swing around!
Second, if you stay
in Salt Lake City, you have a choice of nearly a dozen world
class ski resorts. Even when snow conditions are dicey, the
variety of locations adds a layer of security to your trip.
Conditions at Alta differ from those at Deer Valley, which can
differ dramatically from Park City even though they are only a
few miles apart. In fact, on this trip Snowbird had to make
snow, while Alta had plenty of base. They are only 2 miles
apart!
Convenience and
variety. That's something you can't get skiing anywhere else.
Two big reasons why we LOVE skiing in Utah.
There are drawbacks
however. The drinking laws are strange and difficult to
understand. Although, they have relaxed a few of the really
weird restrictions, we still had to buy a 12 dollar cold cut
plate at Snowbasin just so we could have a couple of ales after
a tough day skiing. The other weird thing is that beer sales are
limited to beers containing 3.2% alcohol by weight, or 4% by
volume or less. Imported beers are excluded from this dumb law.
Weird.
Salt Lake City is
still not a happening town, but there are enough restaurants and
hot spots to keep us old farts happy. If you're a young
"shredder" though you might be out of luck. Park City is an
alternative and has a much more happening night scene for the
youngsters. For us oldsters, Squatters, Red Rock Brewery and
Baci are more than enough when it comes to night life. That and
a six pack and the hot tub is all we need.
TRANSPORT
All of us flew some
sort of Delta Airlines product. All of us agree: Delta deserves
to be in the predicament they are in. They flat out SUCK! Delta
like any other airline over books their flights and it may seem
like anecdotal evidence, but they seem to do this far more than
any other airline.
Their computer system blows too. I checked in on-line, but when
I got to O'Hare to check by bags, the self service kiosk could
not locate my reservation. I went outside to the sky cap with no
luck. I had to wait in line with the rest of the jamokes who
can't master the art of the kiosk or the sky cap. When I got to
the counter, no problem. What gives? I ask the agent. Was this a
plot to keep me standing in line? "Sometimes our system does
that" was the detailed explanation.
Philster had an ungodly flight home. He wanted to change
flights, but he had to wait until 3 hours before take-off to
avoid the 150 dollar change fee. C'mon you have an empty seat.
What difference does it make when it goes out? When it became
clear that Philster could make the switch, they charged him 25
bucks. Fair enough. But why make him wait 10 minutes to confirm
his credit card?
The other thing that
bugs us is the use of the New Delhi call center. It used to be
they trained the underpaid staff to the point where the accent
isn't noticeable. Now they don't even give a shit if you know.
The service on the
planes, if you can call it that is laughable. I did fly first
class home and found it to be a decent experience. However, Russ
and Dennis have horror stories to tell even when flying in the
front of the plane.
ACCOMMODATIONS
We stayed at
the Marriott Residence Inn on the corner of 300 west and 300
south. I can't say enough about the convenience of this place.
First, our two
bedroom room with 3 oversized queen beds and two full baths for
under 120 dollars was great. We had a full kitchen with
microwave and dishwasher along with a living room, fireplace and
balcony.
Second, you gotta love the heated underground parking. One
drawback is that if you have a ski rack on your SUV, you will
have to take it off to fit under the 6 foot 4 inch clearance.
Third, free breakfast. And not some shitty continental
breakfast. No, one with sausage, eggs, muffins, waffles,
oatmeal, coffee and the rest of the fixins. It's not a Las Vegas
buffet, but it's free. Combine that with happy hour and snacks
at 6pm, and you have a winner.
Fourth, convenience.
It's 10 minutes from the airport. It's 5 minutes to I-80 and on
your way to the slopes. Snowbasin is 40 miles away and that's
the FARTHEST you'll have to travel. It's not ski in ski out, but
when you're skiing this early in the season, it's nice to have
the flexibility of being able to choose which slopes have the
best conditions.
DINING AND NIGHT
LIFE:
Well this isn't Las
Vegas, that's for sure. Utah still has these strange beer
drinking and alcohol laws. They've lightened up a bit, but it's
still weird.
Take the beer for
instance: 3.2% is all that is allowed from domestic brews. Two
fine breweries in Salt Lake City, Red Rock Canyon and Squatters
are hampered by this goofy law.
Then there is the
eating requirement. When we were at Earl's Lodge at Snow Basin,
we were sitting in the wonderful bar. However, we could not
order a beer without ordering a 12 dollar meat platter (see our
picture page for this pathetic offering of salami and cheese).
Or the weird "club
fee". The Bears were playing the Falcons Sunday night. Since
Uncle Rusty is from Atlanta and Philster and Cyberhog are from
Chicago, all wanted to watch a game at a sports bar with big
screen TVs. You had to purchase a three-week "membership" in
order to have the privilege of drinking without eating. I guess
if you called it a cover charge, we wouldn't squawk, but since
it's mandated by the government stemming from some stupid
religious belief, it get's the hairs standing on the backs of
our necks.
Anyway, Park City is
still a happening area for restaurants and bars (private clubs).
Dining Guide
Some of the
noteworthy dining establishments:
Don't order bread
and roasted garlic when dining with Uncle Rusty. He'll kill you.
It's his big weakness. The guy must have ate three heads of
garlic and a loaf of yummy bread. Don't forget the
Parmigiano
as well. This is first class, fresh Italian all the way. The
wine menu is way overpriced though. Good, fresh Italian
offerings in a happening atmosphere (as well as can be expected
in SLC). We happened upon a group of high school aged kids at
dress up night. They were everywhere. Whazzz up with that? No
prom, no homecoming. Yuck.
Their food has actually surpassed the venerable squatters.
Dennis and I had the Christmas Ale and if you're into Allspice
in your brew (we're not) then you're in luck. Awesome food here
from the salads to the soups to the meat dishes to the pizzas
and oven grilled chicken.
|
Squatters |
 |
| 147 West
Broadway |
|
| 801-363-2739 |
Still has an extensive menu. For whatever reason it's not as
appealing to me as it once was. I used to think I needed to try
everything on their menu at least once, but unless my tastes
have changed, their menu has. The food while still good isn't as
good as it's Red Rock competition just down the street.
NEXT:
SLOPE
REPORTS! |
Ski With The Hogs