Solitude: Maryann S, Nancy K, Joe F, Jan S, Ken M, Gus B, Jerry S, Nancy S

Photo by:

Karen Clarke

Touring Temple Square: Paul S, Margie D, Karen C, Nancy A, Sharon M

Photos by:

Nancy Devitt

Dinner at Joseph Smith Memorial's Garden Restaurant, from Left going up around table:

Sherrie M, Carolyn J, Paul S, Joe S, Maryann S, Joe F, Nancy K, Nancy S, Jan H

Photos by:

Nancy Sand

Manfred & Margie D

at Garden Restaurant

Deer Valley Après Ski:

group on the right facing us

starting with Manfred D on

the bench; Carolyn J, Claire K,

Carol T, Mike S, Richard F

They came from California, Washington, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota to gather in Salt Lake City for a week of skiing and socializing.  The group of 38 hardy skiers included members from ULLR, Ski Hawks and Horizon Ski Clubs.  New ULLR members Bill Bretchel and Mike Smith ventured out on their first trip with us - we might have some added volunteer activity infused into the ULLRs by these lively members since they enjoy biking too.

Skiing highlights: All agreed that the skiing was fabulous!  We enjoyed three sunny days and 2 powder days skiing Solitude, Alta, Deer Valley, Snowbird and Brighton.  On day one, Solitude provided the terrain for warming up our ski legs and getting indoctrinated into the high altitude.  The next day Alta introduced us to some very challenging runs and the experience of skiing without snowboarders (we liked it!).  Our third day was the optional ski or relax day and 28 of us took off to enjoy another “snowboarderless” skiing adventure at Deer Valley.  Jan H’s friend works at Deer Valley and she provided a special “tour” of the mountain for Jan, Patty F, John S, and several others.  On the fourth day the snow started coming down, and we experienced powder skiing in a foot of snow – half of us went to Snowbird and half to Alta.  At Snowbird, Jim H. lost a ski in the powder of a black run accessible via the Tram.  He had to climb up many feet to find it – an exhilarating experience that he doesn’t want to repeat.  After lunch, four hardy skiers ventured up the Snowbird Tram to ski the black run Regulator Johnson and ran into heavy cloud cover.  Joe F, Gus B, Barb C, and Joe S couldn’t see any of the steep terrain so they followed some skiers down - as long as they didn’t disappear (as in “over a cliff”).  There was a little more snow up at Alta where after dropping the Snowbird skiers off, the bus was stopped by an officer for not having chains on the wheels.  Some of our sturdy skiers got outside with tarps on the ground, brush in hand to handle the snow, and chains laid out to put on the tires.  Quite a process watching them crawl around on the snow, but they pulled it off like they knew what they were doing with the help of our driver, John.  More snow on the fifth day at Brighton, but the visability was a little better.  This was the most crowded day as it was the beginning of President’s Weekend – but still no lines at the lifts.

Jann S wants to let everyone know how important it is to wear a helmet since she took a little head fall and experienced a slight concussion which would have been more serious without her helmet.  But other than that, we were so grateful that no one experienced any serious injuries.

And on each day we enjoyed the pleasant company of John Evens, our bus driver who catered and spoiled us throughout the week and bended to our every request.  On our trips back from the mountains, we especially liked his soothing classical music as well as singing along to his 70’s & 80’s rock music on our trips back from the mountain.

Social highlights: Our Welcome Party the first evening held in the atrium of the SLC Embassy Suites (our home for the week) was a great opportunity to start expanding our friendships.  We broke away from the traditional Pizza Party, and enjoyed a sit down dinner of Lasagna, Caesar salad, etc.  After dinner, most of us stayed to watch the last quarter of the Superbowl.  How spoiled we all became with gathering every morning for a made-to-order breakfast of our choosing and a “Happy Hour” served every day from 5:30 to 7:30 pm – each at no extra cost to the group.  The gatherings each morning and evening proved to be a great way to get to know everyone more intimately and by the end of the week we were all ONE BIG family taking up a lot of space in the Atrium with our tables snaked together with chattering skiers huddled about.

Tuesday evening 28 of us ventured to Squatter's Pub a couple blocks away for an evening of beer tasting in itsy-bitsy beer glasses, or a sample tray served on a skinny ski with 6 slots for the itsy bitsy beer glasses, and for the mighty, large glasses of their brew.  Great food, nice place, would love to have a restaurant like this in the Twin Cities.

On Wednesday (our “off” ski day), Jerry S, Paul S, Nancy A, Sharon M, and Karen C were escorted by Margie D to the genealogy library in Temple Square for an overview in locating our past.  While Margie hunted through the library the other 5 took off to tour the vast Temple Square museums and buildings.

Thursday evening 33 of us took the local train to Temple Square for a sit-down dinner in the Garden Restaurant atop the Joseph Smith Memorial building where the 2002 Olympians attended dinner.  Neil Wilkinson, Director of Marketing for Temple Square Hospitality greeted us in the lobby and gave us an overview of the building and brought us to the 10th floor where the view was spectacular.  The roof slides back for a view of the evening stars and we were treated to this roll-back.  Neil treated us to an appetizer of Fried Pickles/w dip and we asked for the recipe.  (We will share when we receive it)  After a wonderful meal, Neil escorted our group over to the Tabernacle to hear the rehearsal of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir – over 300 volunteers treated us to exceptional singing talent.  The local train trip back to the Embassy Suites offered a little excitement for a few members who got on the wrong train and were lost in the city for awhile.  It was reported that they enjoyed an exhilarating walk back to the Embassy Suites and viewed many sights they otherwise would have missed!  Lesson learned – don’t always follow the leader!  Friday, Joe F gathered whatever camera discs he could and made a slide show for our evening gathering at the Embassy.  Thank you Joe--that was a special treat!

A special thanks to Delta Medallion member, Mike Selon, whose membership gave all of us traveling back to MSP a “no luggage fee” surprise.  Mike, we do need you to travel with us all the time!!

Karen: This whole week was an experience of sharing, caring, and learning what a great group ULLRs’ family is.  We are lucky we chose to be a part of this club and offer our talents.  For me, this has been another one of the best weeks of my life, and I thank Barb C for asking me to share in co-chairing this event and learning from the best of them.  For all the work involved, I had a fun time and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Barb: Thank you to all the skiers who stayed on time all week and offered their stories and laughter – you were great bunch of people to hang around with.  You made chairing this event a lot of fun.  And, Karen, thank you for handling all the financials and social events – you learn the ropes very fast!