I left my Denver hotel around midday to set off for the airport and to meet Paul who was travelling down from Breckenridge after breakfast. I was there long before he was, so sat quietly and waited for him.
Our plane was unfortunately delayed by almost an hour, so we sat at the gate and read until eventually we were able to board. The flight was only 65 minutes, though they were extremely bumpy minutes, so I was glad to arrive. Fortunately, it being an internal flight, we were in the arrivals hall very quickly, though it was quite a long wait for our luggage. When it had arrived, Paul phoned for the hotel courtesy bus, but it wasn't available so we had to take a taxi - which the hotel paid! Transport to and from the airport is included in our room price.
The hotel is to the south of Salt Lake City, in a suburb called Murray. We can see the mountains from our bedroom window.
You can see that we are quite a long way from the mountains - about an hour's drive - but this hotel is specially set up for skiers - and it's full of them.
This is how the hotel works.There is a very hearty skiers' breakfast in the morning, between 6 and 10 am and the early ski bus to the slopes (8 o'clock) can be boarded nearby. Other later buses are further away, and not within walking distance - especially with ski boots on! So I have chosen to go a bit later (8.40) when the hotel shuttle will take you to the further away bus stop. The ski bus then takes you up to the resort area, taking about an hour.
So far we have returned on the 3.35 bus, arriving at the stop near the hotel around 4.35, at which point you have to call the hotel to ask them to collect you in their shuttle. This means you arrive back at the hotel at close to 5 pm, and the evening meal is between 5 and 7. So it's the hurried shower and re-dressing before going to eat.
It isn't a restaurant, there's no choice, but there's always a huge salad and some sort of main dish with rice or potatoes or pasta or similar. There's no dessert, but there's a supermarket not too far away, so you can buy yoghurt or fruit, and the hotel sells ice creams and various chocolate biscuits. If you can't bear the meal of the day, the hotel also sells microwave meals - there's a microwave in every room. You could also walk to the supermarket for a better meal selection, and there are various restaurants nearby. So far, we have just eaten in the hotel, as the food has been quite acceptable - and nothing vegetarian to put Paul off.
After the meal, we are so exhausted we just seem to fall asleep - some nights I haven't made it past 8 o'clock; and the alarm goes at 7 am so we can start all over again!
I should perhaps explain that on the first day, Monday 24th, I didn't go out skiing, I left Paul to look round the resort at the possibilities of really easy slopes for me. I only skied about 3 or 4 days in France and about the same in Breckenridge so I'm still trying to re-learn any sort of technique. So on the first day here I had a relaxing day in the hotel - especially since I am still finding the altitude a trial, though it isn't very high here; the city is only about 4300 feet, so I ought to find it easier than Denver, and certainly easier than Breckenridge.
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