i am planning a ski vacation for 4 for spring break 1999, and am looking at utah. have skied park city, deer valley and snowbird, and am looking for a ski-in ski out, kid friendly resort less pricey and crowded than the biggies. can anyone give me an "insiders" view on solitude and brighton, (or any others). my son and i are good skiers, my wife and daughter are beginners. thanks!

I'm surprised no one answered this for you. I haven't skiied in Utah, but I understand Solitude is very nice.
Maybe someone else can chime in here. If none of it works for you, come to Tahoe in the Sierras - Heavenly Valley, Sugar Bowl, Alpine, Squaw - Northstar - we've got it all!

Brighton is a nice small area, not a resort. Tucked away and great for beginner skiers. I however do not think it is what you are looking for. Nothing like a Park City or Deer Valley. No on sight lodging that is hotel like or newer. Zilch to do there at night.

Why not go over to Colorado. We ski both states and Steamboat has so much on slope housing and it is huge with lots for everyone to do. Great snow there. Telluride is much pricier but so beautiful and perfect for me as they have a huge basically green only mountain that brazen boarders ignore and it is very user friendly and next to lots of daring black runs that keeps my husband busy all day. No one there either, no lift lines. Crested Butte is nice too and the Grand Butte Hotel is perfect ski in and out. If I can be of help e-mail me. We are going back to Telluride again this year.

What about Alta? Lift tickets are around $28/day (great compared to $52ish at Vail!) There is the Alta Lodge there - I believe it's ski-in/ski-out. Alta is more crowded than Solitude. It seems to reason that the least crowded places are probably those with no lodging. I believe either Solitude or Snowbird is very close to Alta, and you could pack up one day and go there for less crowding. Any place in Utah is so much less crowded than the slopes in Colorado though - enjoy it wherever you go!

Solitude is expensive. I would recommend Alta, especially for your wife and daughter. They have something for every level.

Since I learned to ski in Utah in '72 and lived there for 11 years, to me it's all crowded now. The word got out about 10 years ago when they started going after the Olympics. Snowbird is right next to Alta in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Brighton and Solitude are in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Alta, Snowbird, and Solitude have ski/in/out, none of which I would consider cheap. I haven't skied Solitude in years, so can't say what their lines are like these days. Alta is hideously crowded on weekends when all the local residents come out to ski, it's cheap. Feel free to e mail me if you want details.

Sorry, I should have thought to give you these names: Powder Mountain is east of Ogden (north of Salt Lake). I have not skied there myself, but friends ski there frequently and they say it is very uncrowded. Can't say what the lodging situation is, but you can find out on the Ski Utah web site, I'm sure. Also, you might consider Brianhead in southern Utah, near Cedar City. You can drive there from Las Vegas. It's a smaller, very family type area and it has ski in/out. Check the snow conditions during that time. Could go either way, it's high, but further south.

I'd suggest Alta. It's where all the locals prefer to ski. It's not too pricy and the runs are long. Solitude and Brighton are nice, but lots of wreckless snowboarders in my opinion. I also really like Sundance. Less people. I've lived in Utah all my life, I'm an intermediate skier, and that's where we like to go the best! Feel free to email me for more info.