You know how much I loved Park City when I visited this summer, so you can imagine how excited I was to return for its most famous activity: skiing!

I landed in Utah to a winter wonderland.

My first stop was a local favorite, Solitude Mountain Resort.

We stayed at the village, which is right at the base of Solitude’s slopes.

The view from our room was gorgeous! I felt like I was looking over a misty lagoon!

When it got dark, it was time for the trip’s first big adventure.

I braved the heavy snow to get fitted.

Not fitted for my skis, but for my snowshoes!

We were given headlamps, and we ventured out into the darkness, climbing the mountain in our snowshoes. We arrived at The Yurt, an isolated Mongolian hut, for dinner.

It’s quite the dichotomy. The building is very rustic, and traditionally is a portable tent. The food, however, is a delicious five-course meal served on china plates with crystal glasses. It’s like glamping, but with dinner!

When we arrived, we were met with warm glasses of something alcoholic and delicious!

And it only got better from there. The Yurt’s chef bases his menu on seasonal ingredients, and apparently what he’s in the mood to cook that day, so the food is always different.

And very, very tasty!

The quality of the food is especially impressive, considering that The Yurt has no electricity. The chef begins cooking the food back in the village, and then it’s brought up the mountain by snowmobiles to be finished over the fire.

Our meal was served by staff who acted more like guides than waiters, expertly leading us through the experience and the food.

Dinner at the Yurt is one of the most unique dining experiences I’ve had. You should definitely incorporate it into your trip! The hut only holds 24 people, so be sure to book early. You can find more information here.

The next morning, it was time to complete my ski bunny transformation:

Now I may look like a skier, but I had a lot to learn, so I headed right for a ski lesson with Helen from Solitude.

She was a fabulous teacher, and even brought us hand warmers, endearing herself in our hearts forever.

In addition to learning how to ski, I also learned another important lesson. If you refer to them as “snow pants” and not “ski pants” people will think you’re not really a skier!

After receiving the necessary instructions (aka how to stop) we were off!

I’m in the coral jacket (I wanted it to be very easy for ski patrol to find me!). Notice how expertly I’m crossing my skis.

Solitude Mountain Resort is beautiful. Riding above it on the chairlift is so quiet and peaceful, and was one of the most relaxing parts of the day.

Now the mountain’s slant is very misleading in these pictures. It may look like I’m just standing in a flat field of snow, but it was actually extremely steep! They don’t call it a triple black diamond green run for nothing!

After skiing for most of the morning, we skied right into lunch at Solitude’s Honeycomb Grill.

And treated ourselves to delicious, hot food to warm us back up again.

To find out more information on Solitude Mountain Resort, and book your next ski vacation, click here.

~A