Ski and Snow in Utah
By Andrew Collins

There are few places in America with better skiing and winter sports than northern Utah, which also hosts the famous Sundance Film Festival each January and is home to a bounty of enticing gay-friendly restaurants, cushy resorts, and stunningly beautiful recreation and ski areas. From the state's largest city, Salt Lake, which also has a number of gay-owned bars and businesses, it's just a 45-minute drive to the resort towns in the nearby Wasatch Mountains, including trendy Park City and the less-famous but fast-growing communities of Heber City and Midway. All winter-long, these mountain communities offer absolutely fantastic skiing, snowboarding, and snowmobiling.

Can anywhere in Utah truly be called a gay-friendly vacation destination? Unquestionably, the mountains east of Salt Lake have few outwardly gay-oriented businesses and a somewhat conservative reputation, but this is also an area populated heavily by progressive, outdoorsy, and open-minded denizens. You're not going to find much in the way of gay-exclusive accommodations and singles bars, but if you're planning an adventurous winter trip with your same-sex partner or a group of friends, Park City and the Heber Valley have plenty to offer.

Park City
Just 30 miles east of Salt Lake, this upscale town figured prominently in the 2002 Winter Olympics and has become synonymous with independent filmmaking because of hosting the Sundance Film Festival for 10 days each year in late January. If you're coming more for winter sports than film "shorts," however, wait until February or March, when the crowds have diminished and hotel rates - thought still high - have dropped a bit.

In downtown Park City, you'll find a wealth of snazzy boutiques and clothiers, plus dozens of cool restaurants and coffeehouses. In fact, one of the most enjoyable things to do in Park City is eat - this little town has developed an esteemed culinary reputation. One restaurateur who keeps hitting home runs is Bill White, who's behind four gay-friendly foodie haunts, among them Grappa, a romantic space serving contemporary Continental and Italian fare; and Ghidotti's, a dramatic dining room with lofty ceilings and soaring columns, where you might dine on halibut with potato-pancetta cakes, or traditional beef braciola in a tomato and garlic broth. For such innovative Southwestern fare as elk London broil with a green-chile Bearnaise sauce, check out White's spirited Chimayo restaurant. His most talked-about venue, however, is Wahso, a chic Pan-Asian grill decked out with priceless artwork and artifacts from the Far East, and serving sensational food, including tea-smoked duck confit and soy-cured Kobe beef.

There are plenty of other standouts in town. At glamorous Shabu, another favorite for well-executed Asian chow, tuck into a plate of wok-seared diver scallops with ponzu-basil butter, or the hauntingly named but quite delicious "Death Roll" - a sushi roll packed with seven-spiced soft-shell crab. Simpler and more affordable snacking options include Alpine Internet Cybercafe, which has delicious espresso drinks and fresh-baked treats (plus Wi-Fi and Internet stations), and Java Cow Cafe, a cheerful spot with hefty sandwiches, coffee drinks, and excellent ice cream.

If you're here primarily to ski and snowboard, stay at the perfectly situated Canyons Resort, an outstanding full-service ski-in, ski-out resort comprising the fancy Grand Summit and the more affordable Sundial Lodge, as well as a wonderful spa and great restaurants. The Canyons is a 15-minute drive from downtown, where you'll find the majority of Park City's accommodations, including the cozy and attractive Washington School Inn. This former schoolhouse, built in 1889, contains 15 charmingly appointed guest rooms and is just a two-minute walk from the Park City Mountain Resort's ski lift. Rates include a substantial - and quite elaborate - breakfast buffet, where you can fill up for an entire day of skiing. Another good bet downtown is the Silver Queen, an elegant and intimate property with a dozen well-outfitted one- and two-bedroom suites with kitchens, Wi-Fi, fireplaces, DVD players, and large-screen TVs.
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