Snowshoeing to a Mongolian Solitude Yurt, Utah style
Never given snowshoeing a lot of thought? Then you’d be shocked to learn that, at Destination Utah, we get asked about it frequently.
Wondering what snowshoeing is *exactly*? The clue’s in the title, folks. A snowshoe is a shoe you wear to walk on snow. We know, marketing genius at work.
Unlike your regular un-snow shoes, snowshoes distribute the weight of the wearer over a larger area, ensuring the foot doesn’t sink entirely into the snow.
Old-school snowshoes – the kind most folks will be familiar with from movies and the like – were fashioned from a hardwood frame and rawhide laces. Nowadays, you’re more likely to happen upon snowshoes made from plastic, lightweight metals and synthetic fibres.
Where once snowshoeing was the domain of trappers and forest rangers, today hikers and runners have seized upon the trusty snowshoe as a way to continue the outdoor activities they love all winter long.
As an added bonus, snowshoeing is a piece of cake to learn, relatively inexpensive, and safe provided you steer clear of steep, icy terrain.
In beautiful Utah you can snowshoe at a number of the ski resorts and specific snow shoe areas. For the purpose of this blog however, it is about combining your snowshoeing experience with dinner in a Mongolian Yurt. Specifically at the Solitude Yurt. Brace yourself, people; it really doesn’t come any cooler than this.
The Solitude Yurt adventure
After a day’s skiing or snowboarding at Utah’s Solitude Resort, treat yourself to some aprés ski with a difference.
First things first: clock a little bar time at Solitude institution Kimi’s Bistro. We settled in with a cosy group of 13 all partaking in some hard-earned beers, wine, Jagermeisters and cheese fondue. A pre-dinner whistle-whetter if you will.
We then snowshoed about a kilometre through a lantern-lit forest, to a Mongolian Yurt Utah that just happens to be smack-bang in the middle of nowhere (well so it seemed). Our small group – the Yurt seats just 22 – was in high spirits as we made our way through sub-freezing temperatures towards the growing glow.
Once there, we removed our snowshoes and stepped inside to be greeted by the high-energy kitchen run by Chef Abbigail Carlson. Shortly after, the first of our five courses was served.
Chef Carlson boasts serious cooking credentials, so even the hoity-toitiest of foodies won’t be disappointed. Trained at the New England Culinary Institute, she has worked at Chez Panisse inBerkeley,CA, as well as travelling worldwide exploring the food of different cultures.
Signature dishes include pureed cauliflower soup, seared crab cakes with avocado, triple cream brie served atop toasted bread alongside a roasted pear and baby greens salad, a whole-cow steak (or so it seemed!) and sweet custard with a spicy-sweet chutney.
Careful not to get drool on your keyboards, folks.
Throughout the evening wine continued to flow freely, and Chef Abbigail was greeted with rapturous (and possible slightly squiffy) applause once all the courses had been enthusiastically demolished.
The snowshoes went back on for the kilometre walk home; the perfect end to a perfect Utah evening.