The 10 (make that 11) best things about my trip to Solitude this week

The 10 (make that 11) best things about my trip to Solitude this week

 

A skier glides past on the Woodlawn Run at the bottom of Honeycomb Canyon at Solitude as snow falls on Thursday, March 25, 2021. Pam LeBlanc photo

I had just about packed up my ski boots for the year when the folks in Utah invited me out for a final hoorah this week.

I grabbed my gear out of the closet, loaded up my rolling duffle bag, and set my sights on Solitude, located in Big Cottonwood Canyon, just 45 minutes from Salt Lake City, Utah.

Luck worked in my favor. A storm dumped a total of 26 inches on the resort two days before my arrival, setting things up nicely. I spent Wednesday exploring the mountain under bluebird skies; today a new storm blew in and it snowed non-stop.

A snowboarder makes her way down a run in Honeycomb Canyon at Solitude Mountain. Pam LeBlanc photo

Without further ado, here are the highlights of my trip:

 

  1. The direct non-stop flight from Austin on Delta. I left Austin at 12:15 p.m., caught a shuttle and was at my condo in Solitude, in Big Cottonwood Canyon, at 3:15 p.m. Dare I say it? It was easier to get here from Austin than some of the resorts I usually ski in Colorado.
  2. Ski Butlers, a ski delivery service, showed up at my door 15 minutes after I did, with a couple of pairs of skis suited to my ability level. I picked a pair of nimble Rossignol Black Ops Escaper skis, which were great for tight turns in the trees and moguls.
  3. The focus on skiing. There’s a village here in Solitude, true, but there’s not much to it other than a few condo buildings, a hotel, a couple of restaurants, a tiny convenience store and a bar. People come to Solitude for the solitude – and the skiing.
  4. I quickly discovered my favorite part of the mountain, Honeycomb Canyon. It’s expert-only terrain, with lots of hike-to cliffs and chutes off of Fantasy Ridge so gnarly I stood back and watched through my telephoto camera lens. Then I hiked a much shorter distance to some great expert runs without the cliffs. My favorite? Black Forest.
  5. No crowds! They call it Solitude for a reason. Not once did I wait in a lift line, not even at 9 a.m., when the lifts started whirring.
  6. A mid-day ski break for hot waffles at Little Dollie Waffles at Moonbeam basin area. This take-out window serves up small, thick, made-to-order waffles while they’re hot. I got mine churro style (sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar) and with a side of strawberry sauce. Yum.
  7. Skiing with Will Price, a retired teacher and ice dancer who wears a personalized helmet with orange flames on it, who will turn 90 on Sunday. He skis Solitude five days a week, and I got an introduction. We skied for an hour, and let’s just say I had to chase him down the mountain.
  8. I’m normally not into massages that much, but after two hard days of skiing, 60 minutes of pampering at Solitude Mountain Spa brought my leg muscles back to life.
  9. Dinner (red wine, roast chicken, chopped salad and honey lavender panna cotta for dessert) was delivered to my condo room personally by chef Tara Gerome, assistant food and beverage director for Solitude.
  10. My slopeside accommodations at Powderhorn Lodge are terrific. I’ve got a fireplace, a kitchen, a giant king-sized bed (with 11 pillows!) and what I call a “secondary sleeping nook” with two elevated bunks and a sofa underneath. (I love sleeping in cozy spaces, and confess I spent one night up there.) And it’s all within a few hundred yards of the Apex lift.
  11. I’m tossing in a bonus here. My flight leaves Salt Lake City at 1:55 p.m. tomorrow, which means I can get up and ski for two hours before I have to load my stuff into a shuttle and head to the airport. Maximizing my time at the mountain!

Will Price, who turns 90 on March 28, 2021, skis toward Moonbeam base at Solitude ski resort. Pam LeBlanc photo

Dollie’s serves hot waffles at the Moonbeam basin area at Solitude. Pam LeBlanc photo

 

 

 

 

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My assignment: Taste test a dozen Utah craft beers

My assignment: Taste test a dozen Utah craft beers

Since I can’t travel to Utah right now, I sampled 12 Utah-brewed beers. Pam LeBlanc photo

I’m been making good use of my pandemic-induced time at home by educating myself through online classes here at home.
So far I’ve studied chocolate, whiskey and cheese. Most recently, I dug into beer.
Besides learning that beer is best tasted in tulip-shaped glasses, because the tapered shape traps the aroma, and hence some of the flavor, I discovered that a lot of the fruit flavors that you taste in beer actually come from the hops or other non-fruity ingredients. Also, it turns out that I like hoppy beer more than I thought I did.
I eagerly ripped into my class materials – a carton containing 12 different craft-made beers brewed in Utah. I found a giant gold can, some big glass bottles, a pink can decorated with a volcano and a flamingo, and lots more.
Per the instructions in my class prospectus, I prepared for the evening session by chilling my beer, setting out some palate-cleansing snacks, and gathering a collection of tapered glasses. (Pint glasses trace their roots to England, and became popular because they’re durable, cheap and stack well.)
Beer professor Rio Connelly, who helped open Epic Brewery in Utah and then built up the Proper brand, guided us through a sampling of five of the beers. The others we’d try on our own, later.
Tasting, he told us via a Zoom call, is all about appreciation. It should also be done, generally, from least impact (like a lager or light beer) to most impact (like a stout.)
More than 8,000 breweries now operate in Utah.
With that, in mind we set out to pour and appreciate some of our stash.

FISHER: The big gold can with a red label reminded me of the Schlitz my dad drank when I was a kid. A label on the back read “Sparkle brewed to the altitude.” When I poured it into a glass, it looked like champagne. Think of Fisher as the craft beer version of a domestic lager, with an extra poof of flavor. It’s crisp, clean and somewhat boring – but also something of a religion in Utah, where you’re likely to spot folks walking around in Fisher hats and Tshirts.
“It makes me want to mow the grass,” my husband Chris said. (Yes, I shared.)

UINTA CUT THROAT PALE ALE: Uinta is the largest brewery in Utah, and this pale ale is packaged in an amber-colored glass bottle. (The stigma of cans is largely gone; today you can buy most craft beer in cans.) When I poured it into a clear glass, I discovered it’s the color of the grass in my front lawn in August. It tastes vaguely like caramel and toasted bread, with a slap of pine trees and herbs. Nice. Locals call it simply “Cutty,” and subscribe to the motto “Forget the map, pack the Uinta.” It gets its name from the Bonneville cutthroat trout, the state fish of Utah. I’d definitely drink this while fishing.

UTAH SAGE SAISON: Now we’re talking. I love Belgian-style beer, and this 7.3-percent alcohol version from Epic Brewing wowed my taste buds with hints of mint and eucalyptus. I liked the cooling effect. “Saison” refers to a subset of yeast pioneered in Belgium and northern France. It’s more rustic and flavorful than other yeasts, with herbs like sage, thyme and rosemary. I could sit in a barn all afternoon and sip the stuff.

LEI EFFECT BY PROPER: A wayward flamingo nicknamed Pink Floyd that lived for a decade near Salt Lake City inspired the design on the pink can. When we opened it, Chris noted that it “smells like a fart.” That’s from the Sulphur, and don’t worry, it fades pretty quickly. What’s left is a slightly tropical-flavored gose ale (a wheat beer that’s high in salinity) made with real passionfruit and guava, plus pink salt mined locally in Utah. Let’s go bird watching!

FEELIN’ HAZY BY 2 ROW BREWERY: I generally steer clear of double India pale ales, which tend to taste harsh to me, but this one was delicious! The not-at-all bitter brew went down smooth and citrusy, with a waft of (weirdly) bananas. It tastes juicy, but there’s no fruit in it, just grain and hops. Pour me another, please. This was my favorite.

That’s instructor Rio Connelly, who led an online class on Utah craft beer. Pam LeBlanc photo

That’s all we tasted in class, but for homework over the next week or two, Chris and I sampled the others. Here are some thoughts:

FROLICH PILSNER FROM RED ROCK BREWERY: Hoppy but balanced; inspired by German pilsners.

HELLES BOCK FROM BOHEMIAN BREWERY: Stronger and malt-forward; a traditional, full-bodied, lightly sweet beer.

PROPER BEER FROM PROPER BREWING CO.: This is Proper’s flagship brew. Easy drinking and middle of the road – not too malty, not to hoppy, not too sweet, not too bitter.

ROCKET BIKE LAGER FROM MOAB BREWERY: An example of a “steam” beer, an American style that started during the California gold rush because the refrigeration required to brew traditional lager beer was readily available.

COFFEE CREAM ALE FROM KITOS BREWING: Made with local coffee blended into a light cream ale. Not as heavy as it sounds.

ESCAPE TO COLORADO IPA FROM EPIC: The name pokes fun at the brewery’s decision to open another brewery in Denver to escape some of Utah’s regulations. Fresh, with hints of citrus, pine and stone fruit.

DELMAR FROM TEMPLIN FAMILY BREWING: This Imperial stout gets super high marks from Connelly, who describes it as “one of the best stouts he’s ever tasted. At 11.5 percent alcohol, it packs a punch.

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An online cheese and beer tasting: Can it get any better when you’re stuck at home?

An online cheese and beer tasting: Can it get any better when you’re stuck at home?

I taste tested three cheeses from Beehive Cheese Company in Utah. Pam LeBlanc photo


I love cheese. And beer’s pretty good, too.
So when a box of artisan wedges from Beehive Cheese Company arrived, I was stoked. And the shipment of craft beers from Roosters Brewing Company that followed made me swoon.
Both were supplies for an online course I took recently titled “The Birds and the Bees,” featuring Utah-made products.
Two things before we begin. One of my favorite sayings is, “A day without cheese is like a day without sunshine.” Also, I’m always eager to hone up on my knowledge about “The Birds and the Bees.”
On the designated evening, I brought out the cheese and the beer, fired up my computer, and tuned in to a Zoom conference call. Jacquie King, head brewer at Roosters Brewing in Ogden, and Katie Schall, a marketing representative for nearby Beehive, led us through a taste test of three cheeses, each paired with two beers.
Before we dove in, she gave us some suggestions. When you eat cheese, smell it, crack it open and look at the curd structure first. Nibble it, chewing slowly as it gets more and more buttery in your mouth.
As for the beer, pour it, let bubbles form as it opens up, then sniff it, sip it, and sip it again with a little cheese in your mouth.
“I think it elevates the beer and the cheese, and brings out the taste of the Utah desert,” King says.
I’ll agree with that.

We tried two beers with each cheese.


Pairing 1:
Beehive’s Promontory cheese, a creamy, slightly sweet cheddar that tastes vaguely like buttered toast, won my vote for best cheese of the night. It’s made with cows’ milk – half Holstein and half jersey – and aged 6 months, and named after Promontory Point, where the golden spike was pounded in when the Transcontinental Railroad was finished. It had those amazing little crystals that give it a slight crunch with every nibble.
We tasted it with two beers …
High Desert Hazy – I’m not usually a fan of super hoppy beer, but I loved this session IPA. Smooth, not edgy, and juicy. This was my favorite of the night.
Rooster Tail Hazy – I tasted hints of blueberry and strawberry in this one, even though there’s not blueberry or strawberry actually in it. Whatever.

Pairing 2:
For round two, we unwrapped Beehive’s Big John’s Cajun, another cheddar, but this one features a rind rubbed with Cajun spice. Since my husband’s Cajun, I figured I’d like it. And I did, but the spice overpowered the beautiful cheese a bit. I’ll stick with Promontory.
We tasted it with two beers …
Bees Knees honey wheat – I’ve always loved wheat beer, and this golden-colored ale had a crisp, balanced flavor with a zap of honey at the end. It muted the heat of the Cajun cheese nicely and even made me notice some subtle herb flavors.
Patio Pilsner – This dry-hopped pale blonde has a strong malt flavor. I’m not a big pilsner fan, so this one got lower marks from me.

I’ve been taking a lot of fun online classes with Utah distilleries, creameries and breweries.


Pairing 3:
The third time around, we went all out, sampling Beehive’s Barely Buzzed cheddar. The cheesemakers apparently got a wild hair one day and rubbed the rind of a baby wheel of cheddar with espresso and lavender. It tastes like toast sprinkled with flower petals, and works best as a dessert.
We tasted it with two beers …
Rude Ram Red – Going along with the dessert theme, this one tasted like an adult chocolate malt, with notes of caramel and a swirl of hops.
Ninerbock Doppelbock – More dessert in a glass, this time with toffee and caramel flavors, and not a lot of bitterness. (It’d be good in barbecue sauce.)

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What to do while stuck at home? Taste test whiskey, of course

What to do while stuck at home? Taste test whiskey, of course

I sampled these four Utah whiskeys during a virtual tasting recently. Pam LeBlanc photo


Since the pandemic, I’ve been holed up in my house, writing most days and sneaking out to swim in the lake, and, well, sampling a lot of booze.
I’m not just tossing the strong drink back to numb the pain of the pandemic, though. I’m trying to educating myself about what I’m sipping.
A few weeks ago, I focused on whiskey. Jim Santangelo, a sommelier and instructor at the Wine Academy of Utah, also knows a lot about liquor, so I signed up for his online “Whiskey and History” session. The kind folks from Utah shipped me four bottles to try, and Santangelo led a Zoom session during which we tasted them and discussed the history of alcohol in Utah. (To sign up for your own tasting, go to www.wineacademyofutah.com.)
Like some of the other folks in our class, I had assumed that Salt Lake City, with its strong Mormon roots, didn’t have a long romance with alcohol. As it turns out, it does.
At first, the city was mainly a pass-through town on the way to Cheyenne and Reno. It grew quickly in the 1850s and ‘60s, though, as the railroad and mining industries in the area boomed. All those workers needed a little booze to keep them going, and many Mormons consumed alcohol “for medicinal purposes.” Dozens of distilleries, wineries and breweries – 80 percent of them owned by Mormons, according to Santangelo – popped up in the area. Even Brigham Young began making and bottling his own version of liquor, called Valley Tan Whiskey.
But in the early 1900s, Utah saw a wave of temperance. Prohibition started in 1919 and lasted until 1933. After that, Utah never really jumped back into the booze business. Mine work slowed, the golden spike connected railroads from the east and west, and the mass of workers needing a drink faded.
“Utah and Salt Lake City kind of lost their taste for alcohol,” Santangelo said. “It wasn’t until 2007 that they got their first distillery, and that was High West.”
I love High West, for the record. I’ve visited the distillery, in Park City, twice – once on snow skis and once on a bicycle.
Today, 18 distilleries operate around the state. “What I love is they’re using regionally local grains and ground water from the Wasatch snowmelt,” Santangelo says.
We tasted four of them.

1. First on our list? Hugh Moon, a clear (yes, like water) whiskey made by Dented Brick Distillery and named for the first distiller of record in Utah, the one and only Hugh Moon. Dented Brick Distillery operates at the exact site of that old distillery, and the Hugh Moon is made with the original recipe for rye whiskey made there a century ago. It’s made with 100 percent rye grain and distilled in steel containers. Since by definition whiskey must spend time in a wooden cask – and the rules don’t say for how long – it’s poured into one and rolled across the distillery floor. It’s unaged. “The taste of history,” Santangelo says, noting the slight biscuit cookie aromatic. “No darkening from the wood.” To me, it tastes a tad chemically and harsh, but I like it better when I splash a little water in it.
2. Next up? Robbers Roost, a light whiskey by Water Pocket Distillery, named after a geologic formation at Capitol Reef National Park where Butch Cassidy reportedly once hung out. The color looks more whiskey-like, a light caramel tint from spending two years in aged barrels purchased by the distillery from Seagrams. “Just a kiss of that wood” imparts a warmth to this whiskey, and I detect a hint of vanilla and even coconut. It smells luscious, like toffee – much sweeter on the palate than the clear stuff. I like it. A lot.
3. Now comes Sugar House bourbon, made with locally grown corn and aged in charred barrels made of new American oak. It’s darker than the last one, and tastes a tad like crème brulee, with a touch of cinnamon and spice. It’s even better – and quite butterscotchy – when I stir in some water. It surprises me how much just a splash changes the taste of whiskey. This one’s really good, but I still prefer the Robbers Roost.
4. We wrap up with my old friend High West, but I’ve never sampled their double rye (“twice the rye, twice the flavor”), which is aged in oak barrels and tastes like someone swirled a cinnamon stick in it. “It makes a heck of a cocktail,” Santangelo says. It makes a heck of an everything, actually. I like it poured over a giant cube of ice, at the end of a rough day.

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I did an online chocolate tasting, and here’s what I thought about four Utah brands

I did an online chocolate tasting, and here’s what I thought about four Utah brands

I learned about these four Utah chocolates during an online class. Pam LeBlanc photo


An assortment of chocolates arrived at my doorstep the other day, and even though I wouldn’t describe myself as a chocaholic, I certainly didn’t turn it away.
The haul? Class materials for an upcoming online session from Utah U, in the form of four fancy bars of chocolate. When you can’t travel places, the next best thing is eating food made there.
On the designated evening, I logged into Zoom for an hour-long virtual chocolate tasting with chocolate expert Matt Caputo, chief executive officer of Tony Caputo’s Market and Deli in Salt Lake City, Utah. Besides selling an assortment of booze, coffee, chocolate, deli items and sandwiches, Caputo’s offers classes designed to familiarize you with all those things.
My stash included a little bit of Dove chocolate, the kind you can buy at the nearest grocery store, for comparison, plus four packets of what appeared to be Very Good Chocolate.
We had ground rules. Nibble chocolate with bourbon, water or just about anything you like – except red wine. It just doesn’t work, Caputo told us.
Stay thoughtful while you nibble. Like wine, he told us, different chocolates have different terroir, the characteristic taste and flavor imparted to a product from a particular region.
Caputo should know. He claims he eats a quarter to a half pound (!) of chocolate (for work, of course) every day. We asked if he’d ever eaten M&Ms before, and he said he had – as a topping on frozen yogurt. “They were OK candy,” he said. “But did I taste cacao? No, I absolutely did not.”
I arranged all the bars in front of me, poured myself a shot of bourbon, and bit off a piece of chocolate.
“Slow down, be present and don’t just chomp, chomp, chomp,” Caputo instructed. “Try to describe what you’re tasting.”
We sampled the Dove first. Creamy, ordinary, nothing wrong with it. “What you’re smelling in grocery store chocolate is vanilla, not cacao,” Caputo said. “The average grocery store bar that says 70 percent cocoa has only 18 percent cocoa solids. The rest is cocoa butter.”
Then, one at a time, cleansing our palate in between each sample, we tried the good stuff. Each bar was made in Utah, and each tasted surprisingly unique.
Here’s a wrapup:

This vegan bar uses honey instead of sugar for sweetening power. Pam LeBlanc photo

Conspiracy, Salt Lake City, $6.99 to $11.99
This company makes “raw” chocolate, meaning it’s not roasted. It also uses raw honey instead of sugar for sweetening power. We sampled the company’s Brewing Baba Black Lager bar, which tasted less sweet and felt denser than the others. I liked the honeycomb design of the bar’s shape, but preferred the flavor of the others over this one.

We sampled a special edition Ritual chocolate made with cacao from Trinidad. Pam LeBlanc photo


Ritual, Park City, $8.99 to $11.99
This craft chocolate got started in Colorado, but has since moved its headquarters to Utah. Served up in a sexy paper envelope, it’s made with just two ingredients – cacao and sugar. We sampled a limited edition bar made with cacao from the Jagassar Estate in Trinidad, and I detected an earthy, nutty tone and a silky texture.

I could taste hints of apricot in this bar made with cacao from the Dominican Republic. Pam LeBlanc photo


Amano, Orem, $7.99
This one comes from the most award-winning chocolate maker in America, and a pioneer of the Utah chocolate scene. Our sample bar was made with lightly- roasted cacao from the Dominican Republic, smooth cocoa butter and vanilla notes. You can taste the apricot and floral notes. It ranked as my second favorite.

My favorite was this bar from Solstice. Pam LeBlanc photo


Solstice, Salt Lake City, $8.99 to $13.99
I liked this one best, and Caputo describes it as “loud and brash, like punk rockers of the craft chocolate world,” which makes complete sense. We ate a bar made with Sambirano cacao grown in Madagascar, and I could actually taste hints of tropical fruit and molasses.

Caputo takes his chocolate seriously. It’s not just a treat, a whole culture surrounds the art of chocolate making.
“Sometimes it feels like a fight to preserve tradition, and the weapons are spreading love, knowledge and understanding,” Caputo said of the chocolate making world.
So, what should you look for when you’re picking one out?
“First and foremost, look at price,” Caputo said. “If it’s under $5, there’s a reason. Someone’s not getting treated well – Mother Earth, the farmer or the co-op. It’s hard to do chocolate cheaply. That doesn’t mean you can equate price with quality.”
He suggests finding a specialty store or someone at the local market with knowledge about chocolate. Familiarize yourself with a handful of trusted chocolate makers, then follow your gut – or, rather, your tastebuds.

Next up, whiskey tasting!

About Pam

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