Professional skier Rachael Burks prepares to drop into Fantasy Ridge.
SOLITUDE
RECOMMENDED BY Dean Roberts
“If you were to find yourself in an airplane at twelve thousand feet above Solitude, you’d see that it’s right in the middle between Alta/Snowbird and Park City,” Dean Roberts began. “Though a lot of people may not know Solitude as well as those areas, we experience the same snow; in fact, we get better snow than Park City, as Solitude sits at a higher elevation. All of the resorts benefit from our geographical position relative to the Great Salt Lake. Storms blow in off the Pacific and come across the desert and then the lake. If the water temperature is warmer than the air, we get lake-effect snow like crazy.
“Back when I ran the ski school, I’d say that 20 percent of our business came from Park City. If the snow wasn’t so hot over there, guests would go to the front desk at the hotel and ask what to do. The hotel attendants knew the score. They’d say, ‘Head over to Solitude. They’re higher and the snow is better.’ I’ve worked at Sun Valley, Snow Basin, Alta and Brighton, as well as Solitude. Solitude is my favorite place to ski.”
Resting between several more highly publicized neighbors, Solitude has long flown below the radar of all but the locals … though word of the mountain sitting twelve miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon has started getting out. Still, the name fits. “Even though it’s the closest resort to Salt Lake City [less than thirty miles], Solitude sees light crowds,” Dean continued. “There’s either no line at the lifts, or a very short one. Since Solitude averages five hundred inches of snow a year, the powder doesn’t get tracked out very quickly.” Solitude owes both its initial and later prosperity to mining. It was silver mining in the canyon that brought settlers here in the 1870s. As the last mine closed in 1950, seeds for Solitude’s future were sown with the arrival of a uranium miner named Robert Barrett. Having made his fortune in Moab, Barrett moved to Salt Lake City and took up skiing. The story goes that, while skiing at Alta one day, he was denied access to the restrooms. He declared he would open his own resort, and began buying up land in Big Cottonwood Canyon. In the fall of 1957, Solitude opened with two chairlifts.
“I was teaching at Brighton at the time that Solitude was being developed,” Dean recalled. “I drove by every day, watching the progress. I heard that they were going to open, so I took the day off so I could ski the first day. My first experience wasn’t great. Both of the lifts broke down that opening day. But it got better and better and better. For me, it’s as good as it gets.” In the mid-1990s, the beginnings of Solitude’s European-style village began to take shape; work was completed by 2001.
While it’s nice to be able to hang one’s hat in Solitude at the end of the day, rather than driving back to Salt Lake or Park City, most would agree that it’s the hill, not the amenities, that bring visitors back. That, and the lack of other skiers. Solitude serves up 1,200 acres of terrain; a big plus for families and less-seasoned skiers is that a good part of the mountain (roughly half) is given over to intermediate trails, particularly off the Summit and Eagle Express lifts. If you’re new to powder, it’s a great place to get your legs. Solitude’s deep snow makes it a good venue to dabble in tree skiing. Once your confidence is up, point the boards toward Gary’s Glade. “If I’m skiing with intermediates, I like to stay on the village side,” Dean added. “Though there’s double black terrain up high, most of the lower half is geared toward skiers of average ability. And it tends to be sunny. If I have more advanced skiers, I’d try to get them into Honeycomb Canyon. There are great long runs, terrific glades, and steep pitches.” Honeycomb Canyon rests at the northside of Solitude, and requires a bit of a traverse from the Summit Lift; some of Solitude’s best vistas are here, including a panorama of Twin Lakes Pass. If you stay on the right side (skier’s perspective), you’ll find some great tree skiing. If you traverse to the left, you’ll encounter open bowls. The farther you go, the fresher the snow!
The attractive though modest-sized village at Solitude is not celebrated for its roaring nightlife. One après-ski activity, however, that will appeal to gourmands is a trip to The Yurt. “Trip” is not an overstatement; to reach The Yurt, guests must cross-country ski or snowshoe for fifteen minutes through a lantern-lit forest. (Guides are provided.) Less than a mile in, you’ll come upon the yurt in question, glowing mysteriously against the snow. Chef Mike Richey waits inside. Once you’re seated, Chef Richey will prepare a five-course dinner on a free-standing stove as you look on. Recent menu items have included asparagus and lobster crepes, Moroccan spiced duck breast, braised lamb shank, and cabernet poached pear frangipane tart with fresh cream and port reduction.
Note: While snowboarding is permitted at Solitude, most boarders prefer nearby Brighton, which has terrain parks as well as great boarding terrain.
DEAN ROBERTS began skiing at the age of four. He skied at Lead Draw, Idaho, near Pocatello, where a rope tow led to a forty-meter ski jump. While in grade school, he and his pals took their skis to school so they could “fly” off the twelve to fifteen ski jumps they would build between their homes and school. In 1944, when he was in eighth grade, his family moved to Ogden and he headed for Snow Basin. He quickly learned the art of alpine skiing. He was a competitive ski jumper at age seventeen and was a member of both the Weber State and University of Utah alpine ski teams. Dean’s ski teaching began in 1957 at Snow Basin. After three years there, he moved to Brighton, where he taught from 1960 to 1963. When the newly established resort of Solitude opened in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Dean joined the ski school there and taught for the Greater Salt Lake Ski School from 1964 to 1969. He became codirector of the Mount Empire Ski School at Solitude in 1969. In 1970, Dean became director of Solitude Ski School, and he and his wife, Kay, oversaw its operations for twenty-five years, until 1994, when he became Solitude’s director of skiing. He held this position until 2005. Dean is an honorary lifetime member of the Professional Ski Instructors of America Intermountain Division. The University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library’s Utah Ski Archives honored Dean with the History-Maker Award in 2003.
If You Go
Getting There: Solitude is in Big Cottonwood Canyon, less then thirty miles from Salt Lake City, which is served by most major carriers.
Season: Solitude is usually open from November 15 through April 15.
Lift Tickets: Day tickets are $72. Multi-day tickets and ski and stay packages are available.
Level of Difficulty: Solitude’s sixty-five runs and three bowls are classified as 20 percent beginner; 50 percent intermediate; 30 percent advanced.
Accommodations: A finite amount of slope-side lodging is available in the village of Solitude (800-748-4754; www.skisolitude.com).
