Summer on the slopes: take to the peaks for hiking, biking, and lazy picnics at 10 Western ski resorts that know how to enjoy the sun - includes related article on popular US ski resorts

Sunset, June, 1999 by Kurt Repanshek

Snow is hard to come by in most of the West's summer vacation hot spots, which explains how Debbie and Wiley Scott and their daughters found themselves on the back side of Utah's Hidden Peak last summer.

At a time of year when most vacationers are sweltering under the sun, the Scotts were ankle- and wrist-deep in snow. "We hiked down here because we wanted to have the Scotts' first summer snowball fight," Wiley said while dodging the snowballs Katie, 11, and Carrie, 10, were slinging.

Battling on a small snowfield - one of winter's waning remnants at the Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort - the Scotts had found summer fun in a resort better known for skiing and snowboarding. But as Snowbird's full name indicates, not all ski resorts shut down when the snow starts to melt. Here, room availability opens up and rates go down, with lots of family package options to choose from.

Backed hard against an angular, granite arm of the Wasatch Range, the resort doesn't slow in summer - it merely changes gears. Multicolored bursts of wildflowers cover the slopes, creeks leap and jump with high-country snowmelt, and hawks, finches, and mountain bluebirds dance in the skies. From hiking and mountain biking to fishing in a trout-stocked pond, splashing in swimming pools, or even assaulting the 115-foot climbing wall that scales the west face of the Cliff Lodge, summer at Snowbird is far from ho-hum.

It can be draining, though, as I discovered while testing my lack of nimbleness on the climbing wall. One of the tallest ever built, it has been tackled by some of the world's best climbers during national and international competitions. It isn't forgiving. From the ground, the top of the 12-story, hotel appears surmountable, but I had reached only the fourth floor before the pull of gravity and the strain of clinging to finger- and toeholds better suited for Spiderman persuaded me to retreat to the relative ease of the slopes.

More than a dozen trails start within the resort's boundaries. linking to a well-trodden network that heads deep into the surrounding mountains. You can venture onto a trail pretty much outside your room, or avoid the climb by riding Snowbird's 125-passenger tram to the top of Hidden Peak to start your hike. From the peak's summit, the mile-long Hidden Peak-to-Hanging Pools trail roams through meadows thick with blue lupines, paintbrush, asters, buttercups, and countless other flowers. It climbs past the snowfield that provided the Scotts with slushballs, to the top of a small cliff offering a breathtaking view of the Mineral Basin.

A longer hike into the upper Gad Valley takes you to a glacial cirque below the Twin Peaks, two rocky crags approaching 11,500 feet. More trails begin at the Alta Ski Area, about a mile up the road from Snowbird. One, the Cecret Lake Trail, is less than a mile in length and leads to sparkling blue waters beneath the dark cliff known as Devils Castle.

While most summer visitors to the 'Bird take to the trails, hiking is not the only activity. Families can try a ropes course for kids and adults, in-line skating on the resort's roller rink, volleyball, and tennis; there's also mountain biking, though the immediately steep terrain makes it an "in your face" adventure most suitable for the experienced. The Camp Snowbird program keeps youngsters occupied with arts and crafts.

Or, if you're like Debbie Scott, you can quietly plan to escape the action altogether by ducking into the Cliff Spa, which features an open-air 60-foot pool atop the lodge along with exercise rooms, saunas, massages, herbal wraps, a steam room, and a beauty salon. "I figure I can sneak a half-day in when they're out fishing," she confided in a low voice as she dodged an incoming snowball.

WHERE: In Little Cottonwood Canyon, 25 miles southeast of downtown Salt Lake City on State 210. Area code is 801 unless noted.

SUMMER SEASON: Early July-October.

GETTING OUT: The Aerial Tram operates dally; $14, $10 ages 6-15. Bike rentals $20 half-day, $30 full-day, helmets included; add $8 for full-suspension bike. Climbing wall $20 per hour, including harness, shoes, and a belaying partner. For reservations contact the Activity Center (933-2147). At the Cliff Spa (933-2225), treatments start at $60 for an herbal wrap.

LODGING: Resort accommodations at the Cliff Lodge, Iron Blosam Lodge, the Inn, and the Lodge at Snowbird can be made through central reservations (from $124; 800/453-3000).

DINING: Try, the Steak Pit (742-2222, ext. 4060) for beef and seafood. For more zing, sample the wild mushroom enchiladas at Keyhole Junction (7422222, ext. 5100).

CONTACT: (800) 453-3000 or www.snowbird.com.

9 more Western winter resorts worth a summer visit

CALIFORNIA Mammoth Mountain

WHERE: Near Mammoth Lakes, off U.S. 395, 100 miles southeast of Yosemite.

SUMMER SEASON: June-September.

HIT THE SLOPES: 70 miles of mountain bike trails at Mammoth Mountain Bike Park, plus Forest Service routes.

NEARBY: Devils Postpile National Monument, hiking, lakes, trophy trout fishing.