"The chilly outdoor ride, coupled with amazing food, turns it into an amazing night," said the Holladay resident of her recent evening at Park City's Viking Yurt.
The yurt, located at the Canyons Resort, is just one of a growing number of winter adventures that pair outdoors activities and fine dining. It all adds up to a memorable experience for couples, families and friends.
The idea is to work up an appetite - either snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, sleigh-riding or soaking in a naturally heated crater - and then head inside to get warm and fill up on simmering soups, roasted meats, European cheeses and extravagant desserts.
Joy Vik and her husband Geir opened the Viking Yurt eight years ago and it has become a popular spot for tourists and locals to get a taste of Utah's mountain terrain.
The adventure starts with a moonlit sleigh ride that travels 1,000 vertical feet up the mountain. Some nights guests go straight to the yurt for a five-course meal. Other evenings are "tour also" nights where participants ride the sleigh to the Red Pine Lodge and then snowshoe or cross-country ski the rest of the way to the yurt.
Once inside the yurt (a domed, tent-like structure), guests eat at long wooden tables using pewter dinnerware, with music from a baby grand piano playing the background.
The menu, prepared by Chef Adam Findlay, is a far cry from the usual bowl of skiers' chili and corn bread. The food is prepared in the resort kitchens and taken by snowmobile up the mountain. The menu includes such delicacies as pumpkin soup, crispy duck breast and raspberry and lemon puffs with bittersweet chocolate sauce.
Vik said the first year it operated, the Viking Yurt attracted the hard-core skier crowd.
"But then our food reputation took over and people more interested in food started making reservations," she said.
Vik recently opened a second small yurt, called the Yonder Yurt, which holds about 12 people for private parties. Dinner is only three courses and costs less.
Solitude Ski Resort also offers a similar yurt experience.
Light my fire: Many Utahns are filling their outdoor adventure craving at Deer Valley resort, which offers sleigh rides or snowshoe tours followed by fireside dining at the Empire Canyon Lodge.
Deer Valley began its fireside dining three years ago, offering it one night a week. It expanded to two nights last year and recently added a third night to accommodate guests, said Julie Wilson, director of food and beverages for the resort.
Each of the meal's four courses is set in front of a different fireplace. One course is a warm raclette cheese accompanied by steamed new potatoes, pearl onions and bread. The next has simmering stews, hand-grated potato rosti (a Swiss staple) and salads. Around a third fireplace are fire-roasted meats and the fourth fireplace offers chocolate and caramel fondues for dessert.
With the roaring fireplaces, the white-toqued chefs and the relaxed atmosphere, "fireside dining might be the quintessential skiers' feast," said Wilson.
Instead of snow, water is part of the menu at the Homestead in Midway, where guests can take a dip in The Crater, a 55-foot-tall, hollowed-out rock that is filled with crystal clear mineral water naturally heated to about 90 degrees.
Guests can swim, scuba dive, snorkel or simply enjoy a therapeutic soak. Dining is available at the low-key Fanny's Grill or at Simon's, the resort's fine-dining restaurant.
The Homestead also offers a package that includes a sleigh ride and a three-course meal at Fanny's.
Of course, Utahns can create their own outdoor adventure and dining experiences. Sundance offers scenic lift rides for non-skiers for about $10, which could be followed by dinner at the Foundry Grill or in the elegant Tree Room.
For the family, Snowbasin Ski resort in Ogden has a tubing hill open weekends and Monday holidays. Follow up the activity with a wood-fired pizza or bowl of soup in Earl's Lodge.
There really is no limit to the adventures, the only requirement is to get outside and eat well afterward.
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* KATHY STEPHENSON can be contacted at kathys@sltrib.com or 801-257-8612. Send comments about this story to livingeditor@sltrib.com.
* THE HOMESTEAD RESORT, Midway, 800-327-7220 or 435-654-1102 or online at www.homesteadresort.com
Sleigh and Dine is offered Monday-Saturday, 4 - 8 p.m., through spring. The cost is $59 per adult and $40 per child under 12. The price includes tax and meal gratuity, a sleigh ride, three-course meal at Fanny's Grill off a special menu.
Through Saturday, a "Holiday Buffet" will be offered with the Sleigh & Dine for the same price.
The Crater is open daily 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tours are free. A 40-minute swim costs $11 on weekdays and $16 on weekends. Children must be at least 5 years old. Snorkeling equipment additional.
*DEER VALLEY RESORT, Park City, 435-645-6632 or online at www.deervalley.com
Fireside Dining offered Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. throughout the ski season. Adults $48, children $24 (11 years and younger). Please make reservations for the sleigh ride when you make your dinner reservation.
Guided snowshoe tours depart each night at 6 p.m. and last an hour. Snowshoe rentals are available. Call White Pine Touring at 435-649-8710 for prices.
*SUNDANCE RESORT, Provo Canyon , 801-225-4107 or online at www.sundanceresort.com
Adult round-trip scenic lift rides available for $8 for one trip or $10 for two. The cost for children 6 to 12 is $7; children must be accompanied by an adult.
*SNOWBASIN SKI RESORT, Huntsville, 801-620-1000 or toll-free 888-437-5488; online at www.snowbasin.com
Tubing Hill open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays through Sunday and Monday holidays. Tubers must buy a ticket to the Finish Line Handle Tow Lift. Cost for adults is $18 for two hours or $22 for four hours. Children are $10 for two hours and $14 for four.
*THE VIKING YURT AT THE CANYONS SKI RESORT, Park City, 435-615-9878 or online at www.thevikingyurt.com
Offered daily throughout the ski season. Guests meet at 6 p.m. and return at 10 p.m. Costs range from $100 to $150, depending on night. Price includes a 25-minutes sleigh ride each way and a five-course meal inside the yurt.
"Tour also" evenings include a 25-minutes sleigh ride each way, guided snowshoe or cross-country ski tour, equipment and a four-course meal.
Yonder Yurt is also available for parties of 12 or fewer. Three-course dinner runs from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Cost is $70 per person.
*THE YURT AT SOLITUDE MOUNTAIN RESORT, Big Cottonwood Canyon, 801-536-5709 or online at www.skisolitude.com/dining
Offered nightly throughout the ski season. Begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 5:30 p.m. on Sundays. Cost is $100. No children under 12.
Guests cross-country ski or snowshoe, about 3/4 mile, to a Mongolian yurt, where they are served a five-course meal.
