PRIVATE FAMILY SKI VACATION HOMES IN
BRIGHTON & SOLITUDE SKI RESORTS, UTAH

If you were to google “snowboarding” and “mountain cabins” you would find these cool pictures of one of our Brighton Vacation rental properties, Quigloo.

View the Quigloo Pictures

So these dudes spent a week at Brighton shooting some crazy shots both inside and out. Who has time for that? Seriously though, I am delighted because it gives a larger audience a great showpiece of how all Mount Majestic’s ski rental properties are unique, way cool, and have great powder. There are limitless ways to enjoy a week in the mountains at one of these homes. Next week we have a group coming in from all over the west for a surprise 40th birthday reunion. I will try to get some shots of that!

I have been watching the new Millicent Express quad lift going in this summer.

It is a bittersweet moment for me as I remember this charlift’s debut in 1974. I loved riding that lift as a kid, feeling the two-seater chair swaying it’s way up to the top. As a parent, I was numbed by the fact that there wasn’t a bar to protect my babies riding up vast expanse of the Milly bowl.

This new high-speed quad chairlift is 3920 feet long with a vertical rise of 1109 feet. With the new Millicent lift all Brighton’s terrain will be accessable by high-speed quad. This provides a fast ride up while dispersing skiers across the vast terrain, providing shorter lift lines. The new day lodge at the bottom of the lift is slated to be built next fall.

Summer is the time when the home owners and staff of Mount Majestic Properties prepare for the upcoming winter rental season. First and foremost is the chopping and splitting of wood.

This is hard work and often takes the better part of a month to procure and stack enough wood for each home to last through the winter months.

Next comes the stocking of basic supplies and deep cleaning. Carpets and windows must be cleaned before the weather turns, which can come as early as the beginning of October. The laundering of all bedding and blankets and linens and touch up repainting and miscellaneous handy-man work will happen last.

We at Mount Majestic Properties make it a priority to provide our guests with a home fit for a king. All our home owners take pride in their ski vacation homes and are concerned for their guests’ safety and comfort. It is our policy to greet our guests upon check in to show them how the hot tub works, where the extra towels are stored, and answer any last minute questions and concerns. We even will deliver discount lift passes to the home.

About 65% of our guests each year are repeat customers which tells us we are doing something right.

Yesterday morning, August 11th, 2007, I ran in the Jupiter Peak Steeplechase race. After four years of running this trail race, I can’t seem to improve my time. The fun factor, however, continues to remain high. Besides me, approximately 150 other crazy people ran the 16 mile, 3000 ft gain trail race hosted by Park City Mountain Resort, Park City, Utah. At one point we were scrambling up to the top of Jupiter Peak at the top of Thaynes lift, the highest point of the race (10,000 ft). The air is definitely thinner at 10,000 feet but the vista is uncompromisingly staggering.

Jupiter Peak Steeplechase

Not only was the scenery incredible but so were the people running the race. Each year, I always seem to leave with a new best friend. There is something about sweating alongside someone for 3 hours that prompts each of you to share the most intimate details of your lives. Alas, another lasting relationship was formed.

This year, that lasting relationship was my companion, Herb, a park city resident and nurse practitioner. Herb is a veteran of 50 mile races and was doing this race just for another training run. That and his medical expertise made me want to stick close to him at all times!

After basking in the post-race high and cheering crowds, I drove 20
minutes over Guardman’s Pass to meet my family for a well-deserved
lunch on the outside deck of Molly Greens pub at Brighton Ski Resort. To finish off a perfect day, we came home and soaked in the hot tub for 30 minutes, and finally had a nap on the porch at Chez Louisa, one of the many Utah ski vacation homes I manage.

Jupiter Peak Steeplechase

This is the life of owning a vacation home in Brighton. Linda, Laurie
and I hiked down to Solitude Ski Resort to attend the Taste of the Nation fundraiser.

Each year Share Our Strength presents a Taste of the Nation culinary extravaganza with 100% of all proceeds directed toward eliminating childhood hunger in the United States. Share Our Strength seems to sponsor one in each state. This year’s Taste of the Nation Utah was held, of course, in beautiful Solitude Ski Resort, a stones throw from Brighton.

Taste of the Nation Utah

The donation to attend was $75 per person but it’s obviously going to a great cause. Share Our Strength awards grants to what it considers to be the most effective local, state and national organizations fighting childhood hunger. In 19 years, they’ve raised over $70m. Here, in Solitude, the grant is being given to the local Food Bank.

So, what does one get for their $75 donation? We enjoyed live music by the Stoddard Brothers while dining on exquisite food prepared by 40 of Utah’s best chef’s and local restaurants such as Cafe Madrid, Fresco, Log Haven, Metropolitan, Lugano and many more. The price of the ticket included limitless wine refills, and to top it off a complimentary ride up to the top of the lift. After that, we hiked back to Brighton. We were home soaking in the hot tub in 30 minutes. Not only did we not have to fight for a parking spot, we were able to work off some of the calories we consumed. All in all a wonderful day. Even the weather cooperated. Many people said this was the first year in many where it hasn’t rained.

Most people regard Brighton and Solitude, Utah as ski vacation destinations. Our ski vacation homes are a big hit during the Winter months. However, we are a big attraction for those with Summer and Fall hiking, climbing and nature photography on their minds.

All I can say is WOW! We were going for a little walk in our beautiful Brighton Utah neighborhood and came upon a huge Bull Moose munching grass in the stream. The experience of crossing paths with a moose just 100 feet away is not even close to watching it on TV. This imposing creature had a full rack of horns complete with all the velvety stuff on it. One of the guests staying at the Great Western House was taking pictures of him and he later told me the moose was bedded down behind this house the previous afternoon. Great Western House is one of the many ski vacation homes we rent out in summer and winter in this region of Utah. This Bull Moose picture was photographed by Chris Angelovic.

Bull Moose in Summer - Brighton, Utah

The wild flowers are waning now and the smoke from the fires comes and goes. What a hot summer it has been – quite a contrast to the fresh cold air passing through our homes during Utah ski vacation season.

During the summer evenings, though, it does feel cool and refreshing to sleep with the windows open and blankets tucked high. Taking drinks onto the porches of our home for viewing the incredible smoky orange sunsets has been a relaxing and enjoyable end to the day.

What I’d Like You to Know As You Consider Utah for Your Next Vacation

Welcome to the Mount Majestic Properties Blog. While my website offers you a wonderful assortment of the finest and most luxurious Utah ski vacation home rentals, it is a more formal listing although we do offer quite useful information on the personalities of Brighton, Solitude and other nearby towns. If you have only 5-10 minutes to research vacation home rentals in Utah, then the properties rental pages are for you.

Living Room of The Aspens

If, however, you can squeeze another 15 minutes or so out of your day or evening, then grab a cup of coffee or tea and read a few daily entries in my blog where I endeavor to give you a laid back, firsthand look and feel into what has become for me and many others one of the finest and more pristine areas in the world – Utah, and more specifically Brighton and Solitude - whether for skiing, hiking, running, recreation, photography, painting, or relaxation.

My name is Adrienne Aldous. I have been renting Utah ski vacation homes in Brighton and Solitude for many years. I am committed to offering my guests the finest in ski home rentals but I am also absolutely enamored with Utah, in particular the Wasatch Mountains and the ski towns of Brighton and Solitude, and I feel inclined to tell you why. I am an avid outdoors-woman. I run the back roads and mountains quite often. I also enjoy quiet periods of down. My kids are avid skiers – Brighton and Solitude Ski Resorts are basically in our backyards!

Utah in July

It is a crisp 55F on a Saturday morning in July. I just got back from a run up to Snake Creek Pass at the top of Brighton Ski Resort. The wild flowers are incredible and the weather is beautiful. Having a Utah Vacation home in Brighton, Utah is about the best remedy for a hot and sultry summer in the city. I saw a few deer on my run but otherwise had the mountain to myself. No humans either! Utah has been facing brush fires for the past few weeks and the skies in Salt Lake City – about a 45 minute drive away - are a bit smoky but up here the skies are crystal clear. I am heading over to the Brighton Store for a small stack of pancakes and a large cup of coffee. I am thinking of trying the mountain biking at Solitude Ski resort next week. Stay tuned.

Welcome to the Mount Majestic Properties blog.

Stay tuned for articles with tips and news from Brighton and Solitude Utah.