DETAILS

Park City, Utah

GETTING THERE: Park City, Utah, is a half-hour drive from Salt Lake City International Airport. Most flights from Washington to Salt Lake City connect through Denver or Chicago, but Delta offers nonstop service for $321 round trip from BWI and $364 from Dulles and Reagan National.

Van service every half-hour from the airport to Park City is available through carriers such as All Resort Express (800-457-9457, http://www.allresort.com/ ; $32 one way). Yellow Cab (801-521-2100, http://www.yellowcabutah.com/ ) charges $65 per carload, with a $3 discount for paying cash.

WHERE TO STAY: This close to Sundance, you'll be mighty lucky to find a place downtown. We stayed in two-bedroom suites at Park Station Condominium Hotel (950 Park Ave., 435-649-7717 or 888-727-5248 http://www.parkstationpc.com/ ), where accommodations range from double rooms ($210 a night) to five-bedroom suites ($1,100 a night) but is sold out for Sundance. Accommodations are more likely to be available at Kimball Junction , an outlying area of Park City, and in Heber City or Midway , both a 20-minute drive from the slopes. Salt Lake City also has a multitude of lodging options. Try the Park City Visitors Bureau lodging locator: 800-453-1360, http://www.parkcityinfo.com/ . The Sundance Film Festival also offers help with accommodations: 877-733-7829, http://festival.sundance.org/2006 .

SKIING: Some lodging facilities offer what is called a Silver Pass that allows skiers and boarders to buy a multi-day ticket for use at all three Park City ski areas. Otherwise, tickets must be bought separately. Walk-up prices for single-day adult passes: Deer Valley, $74; Park City Mountain Resort, $75; the Canyons, $69.

WHERE TO EAT: Lots of good choices, but the eateries and bars bulge during Sundance so make reservations before heading West or as soon as you hit town, unless you like to eat really, really early or really, really late. Expect to spend about $50 a person for dinner with wine. Try Adolph's Restaurant (1500 Kearns Blvd., 435-649-7177) for Austrian and Swiss specialties, Chez Betty (1637 Short Line Rd., 435-649-8181) for rack of lamb or wild salmon filet, Chimayo (368 Main St., 435-649-6222) for Southwestern cuisine, Grappa (151 Main St., 435-645-0636) for Italian favorites and the Riverhorse Cafe (540 Main St., 435-649-3536) for contemporary fare and a lively atmosphere.

On the slopes, it's hard to beat Deer Valley, from breakfast and lunch at the cafeteria-style Snow Park Restaurant (2250 Deer Valley Dr., 435-645-6632) to the elegant evening meal at upscale Glitretind Restaurant at Stein Eriksen Lodge (7700 Stein Way, 435-649-3700, about $75 a person).

SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL: The festival is traditionally held in late January, this year from Jan. 19 to Jan. 29. Sundance showcases 120 U.S. and foreign independent feature-length films and 80 short films, both dramatic and documentary. A limited number of tickets for screenings are available at the box office (Gateway Center, 136 Heber Ave., open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.). Distribution of wait-list tickets for sold-out films begins an hour before screenings at the individual venues. Most times, if you are willing to wait, you can get in. Details: 801-326-2000, http://www.sundance.org/ .

INFORMATION: Park City Chamber of Commerce Convention and Visitors Bureau, 800-453-1360, http://www.parkcityinfo.com/ . Park City Visitor Information Center, 435-658-9616, http://www.parkcityinformation.org/ .

-- M. J. McAteer