Family Travel // 15 Reasons you need to be a Ski Family // Solitude Mountain Resort

February 8, 2016

IMG_4960I grew up in Utah, but did not grow up in a ski family, or grow up skiing at all actually.  In fact, it wasn’t until my freshman year at Brigham Young University that I even skied for the first time.  So, it wasn’t until I was 18 years old, when I took a P.E. class at BYU, and learned how to ski, and that started my love of the sport.  I ended up getting a season pass, and hitting the slopes after classes, and bringing a book to read on the lift.

Ski Utah
The next three years, I taught ski lessons to little kids, and skied a lot during college.  I dreamed of marrying a skier, and having skier babies, and ski family vacations.  Then, I met my husband, and he had only skied a handful of times, and life went on, we moved to a state with no mountains, and I was either pregnant or nursing for several years, and skiing was on the back burner.

Ski Family Vacation DestinationsFast forward a few years, now my kids are all old enough to hit the slopes, and have skied the past few seasons and love it!  I got my husband ski lessons for Christmas a few years ago, and now we love to go skiing together!  It is such a fun family activity, and I always am trying to talk everyone I know into becoming a Ski Family!  There are so many good reasons, and I wanted to give you all of them below!

Ski Vacations

Here are 15 Reasons to be a Ski Family:

  1. If you live in a state with low temps and a long winter, it helps get you outdoors and active.  If you hate the winter, become a skier!
  2. The Great Outdoors.  I am a huge lover of the outdoors, and love to spend time in the mountains, it’s my happy place.  I love being able to spend that time in the mountains in both the summer and winter.  Once you get to the top of the mountain with those breathtaking views, you breath in new life I am convinced.  So good for the soul!
  3. You’ll love the snow!  When you’re a skier and it snows, it isn’t such a bad thing, in fact, you’ll find yourself praying for it to snow!
  4. Bonding time on the lifts!  Skiing is such a great way to spend some time together, you can ski and enjoy your time down the mountain, then chat and catch up on life with conversations on the lifts.
  5. Skiing helps with family support, and teamwork!  I can’t tell you how many times my kids root for each other, and help each other up when they fall.  They show support for one another out there on the slopes.
  6. Ski Vacations.  When I learned to ski, all I wanted in my future was a family of skiers and family ski vacations.  There is nothing better than skiing all day, and cozying up in the mountains somewhere with your family.  Magical.
  7. Feeling the wind in your hair.  Old or young, there is nothing like flying down a beautiful mountain.  That adrenaline rush can’t be beat!  My kids are smiles all around after a great run!
  8. Pushing yourself.  My kids, husband and I all have pushed past our fears, and conquered the mountain all in our own ways.  It is a great sense of accomplishment!
  9. It’s never too late to learn.  As someone who didn’t learn to ski until the age of 18, I love that there are still things out there that you can just fall in love with that you haven’t tried yet.  Take my husband for example, he didn’t really learn to ski until last season, and now he’s loving it.  He even has been heading up a time or two before work to get some runs in.  I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that he’s converted to the ski life!
  10. Lodge life.  There’s nothing better than a day out on the slopes, and building up an appetite and having a minute to sit in the warm lodge with your family and talk about how the day is going over some warm ski food!  Usually some cheese fries, and maybe a cookie or two. That’s the type of stuff that becomes a tradition, and a cherished memory.
  11. A great break from technology.  With phones, and tablets, and tv being a big distraction among families, especially in those long winter months, it is nice to get a break from electronics and get outside and in nature.
  12. Great Exercise.  Skiing is such great exercise!  My legs definitely feel it when I ski hard, and you can burn a lot of calories while doing something fun!
  13. A great skill to have.  I always tell my children that I am so jealous of them learning to ski at such a young age!  I remember being a kid growing up in Utah with all my friends hitting the slopes, and invitations weren’t coming my way since I didn’t know how to ski.  It is a great skill to know that you can keep with you all of your life!  Like riding a bike!
  14. Family Traditions.  We love to head up to the mountains often during ski season, and usually it involves making a stop at our favorite gas station to grab a few treats for the lift, or some hot cocoa.  We love the little traditions of being up on the mountain, and playing games on the lift, and inspecting the individual snowflakes that fall on our coats.
  15. And, the best part of being a Ski Family.  Skiing is such a fun activity to do together as a family!  A great quality time bonding activity that the entire family can do together, and enjoy those memories and experiences for a lifetime!

Solitude Mountain Resort

We recently were able to try out a new Ski Resort that we had not been to before, Solitude Mountain Resort up Big Cottonwood Canyon in Utah.

(Hit the Read more button for more details on our recent Ski trip!)

 


Solitude Mountain Resort

Ski School at Solitude Mountain Resort

The kids were able to take Ski Lessons at Solitude the first day, which was something they really enjoyed, and I was able to ski kid-free for the first time in years.  It was amazing to get out there on the slopes again at full-speed and explore a new mountain, and spend a little ski time with my husband one on one!

Solitude Mountain Resort Ski School

Solitude Mountain Resort Ski School

Solitude Mountain Resort Ski School

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Solitude Mountain Resort Ski School

Solitude Mountain Resort Ski School

The kids all had a great time at Ski School, and it was a nice break for me since I taught each of my kids to ski myself, which is so fun, but equally tiring.  It was nice to hand over the reigns for a bit to have the instructors help the kids polish up their turns, and improve on some of their skiing skills.  After one day, I saw a huge improvement from all of my three kids after attending Solitude Mountain Resort Ski School.  I couldn’t recommend it enough!

Ski In Ski Out Resort at SolitudeThe Inn Solitude Mountain Resort

The Inn Solitude Mountain Resort

The Inn at Solitude Mountain Resort

For our little Ski Vacation, or as I like to say Skication, we stayed at the Inn at Solitude Mountain Resort.  It is a Ski in and Ski out lodge that is right on the Solitude Ski Resort, with amazing views!  The view from our balcony in our room was gorgeous, and the lift was just right outside, super convenient!  Our queen suite was spacious with a sitting area and two queen beds.  My kids made themselves right at home.  We also loved the heated pool and hot tub on site!  It was fun to swim outdoors right in the middle of winter surrounded by snow!

The Inn at Solitude Resort Room with a Mountain View

The Inn at Solitude Resort Room with a Mountain View

The Inn at Solitude Resort Room with a Mountain View

The Inn at Solitude Heated Swimming Pool

The Inn at Solitude has an amazing cozy restaurant right inside called the St. Bernard.  With it’s crackling fire and amazing innovative European Mountain buffet.  I was very impressive with the selection of beautiful, flavorful, and healthy options they served in the buffet.  The night we were there they served an amazing assortment from salads, to roasted olives, to trout and pork tenderloins, and farro with currants.   We all loved it!  The kids especially loved picking from their gorgeous homemade desserts!

St Bernard's Restaurant at the Inn at Solitude

St Bernard's Restaurant at the Inn at Solitude

St Bernard's Restaurant at the Inn at Solitude

St Bernard's Restaurant at the Inn at Solitude

The next day, we were able to hit the lift straight from the Inn and spend the day together skiing as a family at beautiful Solitude Mountain Resort.  We explored the mountain together, and my younger two were able to hit their first black diamond run!  I was also pleasantly surprised with the variety of food they served at the lodges.  One of the lodges served the most delicious curries with rice!  It was unexpected for ski food, but totally hit the spot on the mountain!

Ski Vacations

Curry Served at Solitude Mountain Resort

Solitude Mountain Resort

Solitude Mountain Resort

Solitude Mountain Resort

Solitude Mountain Resort

Solitude Mountain Resort

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Solitude Mountain Resort

It has been a dream come true for me and my family to be able to take Ski Vacations together, and Solitude Mountain Resort was such a fun destination to explore and vacation at!  It is a great Resort for families with their wide open runs and many lifts serving all different levels.  We  definitely recommend it if you are looking for a family friendly Ski Resort!

Solitude Mountain Resort
12000 Big Cottonwood Canyon
Solitude, Utah
Phone: 801.534.1400
@skiSolitude #PureSolitude

The Inn at Solitude
Solitude Village
12000 Big Cottonwood Canyon Entry 2
Phone: 800.748.4754 | 801.517.7717

Disclosure: As typical with Travel Blogging, my family was hosted, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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