The Wasatch Mountains in Utah, just east of Salt Lake City, are the home of several ski resorts. map...

New powder on the way at Snowbird in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah! The storm dumped 15" that night in Dec. 2003! We have skied the resorts near Salt Lake City in March 1998, and December 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. We really like skiing at Snowbird.

It's ok Kenny, that moose is made of bronze! The homes in the area of Deer Valley are amazing, especially when you realize most of them are just vacation homes!

The Cliff Lodge at Snowbird is located slopeside. We enjoy staying here. The breakfast buffet in the Aerie Restaurant on the top floor is a delicious way to start a busy day. The secret to an affordable stay here is to go before the rates increase in mid-December!

Another good snowy day at Park City Mountain Resort.

The north rim of the Grand Canyon.

In Dec. 2002 Mother Nature held onto her snow a little longer than the resort owners had hoped. Since much of the snow had to come out of machines and only a few slopes were open, the resorts drastically slashed their prices. We enjoyed skiing the exclusive Deer Valley Resort for $50 instead of the usual $72! The restrooms had gold-plated fixtures and fresh flowers. We had never skied at a resort where a valet carries your skies from the parking lot to the lift area. It must be nice to be rich! ;)

Alta Ski Resort after a 15" overnight snowfall. Fresh powder! :)

These ski jumps were used in the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

I'm standing at the top of the Snowbird Tram at 11,000 feet. Little Cottonwood Canyon, Salt Lake City, and the Oquirrh Mountains can be seen in the distance.

This was our first encounter with a porcupine! There were two in this spruce tree next to the "bunny slope" by Cliff Lodge. This one was the baby. Look for dropped pieces of tree branches under a tree, you may see a porcupine!

Our son Curtis on the Snowbird Tram. On a busy day up to 120 people are crammed on the cars with their skis and snowboards to ride to the top of the mountain. Curtis is 6'3", so he is often able to be above the crowd, at 5'4" I'm often nose to nose with a stranger!

A view from Deer Valley. The approaching cloud brought a snow squall.

A dead tree casts a lovely shadow in the snow seen from a trail in the Mineral Basin Bowl.

The gondola ride up to the Canyons Ski Resort offers nice sights.

Leather ski boots?!! What a nightmare these must have been to wear! Check out the bindings and the tether. These old skis and boots were mounted to the wall of the mid-mountain cafe at Park City Mountain Resort.

A "gnarly (and not too smart!) dude" illegally "catching some air" near the Cliff Lodge. I was amazed I was able to catch him in action since digital cameras have a bit of a delay before the shutter snaps!

Since our flight made a connection in Las Vegas we got spectacular views of the Grand Canyon. We were amazed to see it filled with fog. It looked as though it had been filled with milk!

The Wasatch Mountains from the Mineral Basin Bowl at Snowbird. Another "bluebird day" in the mountains! map...

The runout slope to the bottom of Deer Valley Resort goes beneath a road in a neighborhood of multi-million dollar homes.

Aaah, the perfect temperature for skiing! This was taken at the top of the Snowbird Tram.

Watch out what you wish for, you may get it! The winter of 2002 started out pretty slim on snow, but it started making up for it while we were there. We got 8" of snow on our last day at Park City.

Red sky at night, skiers delight! This was our final evening at Snowbird Resort.