You may or may not have known that Utah offers 13 ski resorts many within just an hour or much less of each other. Salt Lake International Airport boasts a good number of flights arriving before noon and with a handful of premier ski resorts less than an hour of the airport you can land in the morning and be skiing in the afternoon. A lot of people get the impression that if they come to Utah for skiing they need to head up to Park City and pay for a super expensive condo right on the resort, and if that’s within your budget and how you prefer to vacation you will have a wonderful experience. But unfortunately, not all of us can spend that kind of cash and I’m a firm believer everyone deserves the opportunity to experience Utah powder.

Here are some tips that will help you save some serious cash on planning your trip. You don’t need to rent a condo in Park City. You can actually stay in a hotel either down in Cottonwood, downtown SLC or you can even try renting a house in either of these areas if you have a big group( try vrbo). This comes with quite a few benefits. Not only will you save on the lodging costs but restaurants, groceries and movies will be a lot cheaper and you won’t be limiting yourself to just the three ski resorts in Park City. You can head up either Big Cottonwood Canyon and visit Brighton or Solitude or up Little Cottonwood Canyon and visit Alta (skiiers only) and Snowbird.  You don’t even have to rent a car if you don’t want to because UTA (Utah Transit Authority) public transportation system has buses to these major resorts, and some hotels even offer shuttles.

Another great option to save some cash is to buy passes early. And when I mean early I mean now. Fall is usually the cut off for resort discount coupon books. These can save you up to half on your lift ticket. We usually buy a couple of books, one for us and then one on hand for our friends who come from out of town and then sell them passes so they can save some cash too. Lift tickets really do add up so it’s smart to think ahead. If you missed that opportunity to can always check  Salt Lake City Craigslist because in the winter people are constantly selling lift tickets at a discounted price.

If you do decide to stay in the valley instead of at a ski resort and you need to rent equipment, there are many great places to do that in and around Salt Lake City. You will save a little cash by doing this instead of renting at the resorts and you can usually rent it for longer than a day so it will save you time if you are going to be up at different resorts for a couple of days.

A great resource for anyone planning a ski or snowboard trip to Utah is SkiUtah. This is a coalition effort of all thirteen Utah ski resorts and offers tips for vacation planning, information on all the resorts and much more.

Although this is a travel blog and many of you read it because of the exciting and exotic locales, I wanted to write about a world-class event that happens yearly in our own backyard. Sundance Film Festival!

The 2009 festival just ended, but it’s never too early to start planning for next year. If you are a Utah local, you can register to buy either a film package or individual tickets in the fall. Bookmark the website or sign up for the email alerts so that you stay on top of approaching deadlines (http://festival.sundance.org/2009/). The price of movies is only slightly more than you spent on the last big studio dud (any of you see The Love Guru?). At Sundance you get the chance to see documentaries and dramas from the U.S. and around the world, which in most cases will never make it to the big screen, especially in Utah.

The first year I went to Sundance, I ordered individual tickets. The advantage of buying tickets this way is that you can buy exactly how many you want. The downside is that package holders get first pick, so you run the risk of movies selling out before you have a shot at them.

Once you decide to take the plunge and dive into Sundance, you should honestly ask yourself what type of experience you are hoping for. Are you hoping to rub elbows with celebrities or are you wanting to films that may never make it to your local Cineplex?

If you want to catch a glimpse of A-list (or B-list) celebs, you’ll have to make the trek to Park City. As a stargazer, your strategy should include the following: see as many films as you can from the ‘Premieres’ category; brave the crowds on Main Street and frequent its many restaurants and coffee shops; and, most importantly, to really fit in and look like you belong, you should (1) wear furry boots and/or a furry hat (2) your sunglasses should be on at all times (especially indoors), and (3) continually be talking or texting on your cell phone (grip) Blackberry (independent film producer) or iPhone (Superstar!).

If you are more into the films themselves (as opposed to stargazing) then you’ll want to check out the documentary and dramatic competitions. You’ll get to cast your ballot on the films that are selected for the audience awards. Another thing to keep in mind is that you’ll have a better chance getting into films if you see them outside of Park City.  There are screenings in Salt Lake, Ogden, and at Sundance ski resort. 

Finally, look for opportunities for informal get-togethers during the ten days that the festival is in town. Last Tuesday, Ondi Timoner, director of ‘We Live in Public’, spoke with a small group of locals held at the Beehive Tea House in Salt Lake City. The get-together was organized and advertised on social networking site Twitter (thanks again, @ghennifer). Ondi Timoner’s film went on to win the Grand Jury Prize this year!

About the Author: Diane Hartford (@dianebhartford)is a data analyst who originally comes from New York. In her free time, she plays roller derby with Salt City Derby Girls, blogs at Wise Ax & the cumulative effect , enjoys all types of technical gadgetry, loves great food & wine, traveling, and music with a groove. She currently resides in Salt Lake City.

Trips I have already taken this year:

1. Anaheim/Disneyland
2. Washington DC
3. Anchorage, Alaska
4. Saint George, Utah
5. Las Vegas, Nevada

Ok, so the first part of the year was a little slow as far as travel goes, which makes me a little sad. However, when I think about it- we bought a house in February and we spent the winter doing a fair amount of snowboarding, so I guess you could add Park City, Utah to the list.  Anyways, I am gearing up for Fall travel season which includes an awesome trip to Europe (my first time!). I used to say that we are going to backpack through Europe but apparently that’s not true- I was told we are packing our clothes in a backpack and going to Europe. So that accounts for the first five places on the list- and the rest are stateside cities or states I want to visit.

Trips I want/will take this year:

1. London, England
2. Athens, Greece
3. Ireland
4. Slovenia (here is a map- in case you want to know where this is)
5. Paris, France
6. New York City
7. San Diego
8. Seattle
9. Oregon Coast
10.North Carolina