The Viking Yurt at Park City Mountain Resort is not a regular night out to dinner. The Yurt, perched at 8,700 feet, near the apex of the Crescent Lift, piles a whole lot of “special” into the term “special occasion.” For starters, you’ll arrive via an open sleigh that is drawn up the mountain by a specialized snowcat.
The Viking Yurt has been an experience in experiential dining since 1999, when its original owners, Joy and Geir Vik, opened its doors. Over the years, the Viks served nightly four-course meals accented with Norwegian hospitality (and plenty of Aquavit). But orchestrating sumptuous dinner service at 8,000 feet above sea level is not easy after all those years. They began to discuss ways to move on.
It turned out there was a plan right in front of them. For many years, the Viks had found synergy in hiring off-season river guides from Western River Expeditions, a well-known guiding company run by Brian and Dena Merrill. Starting about 15 years ago, a pipeline developed between the Merrill’s off-season staff and the Viking Yurt. River guides know how to work hard, can deal with the challenges of outdoor work and, well, the ski passes and good tips don’t hurt. The Viks approached the Merrills about taking over the operation, which was already staffed with many Western Expedition guides, including their son Dylan.
“We decided to do it as a family,” Brian says. “It’s been fun—a new challenge, but it’s not so different than running a multi-day river trip. It didn’t intimidate us. We pull off pretty amazing food service in remote settings. At least at the yurt, we’re not cooking over a camp stove.”
The Merrills, in partnership with their son Dylan, opened the yurt for the 2023 winter season without much fanfare or fuss. Brian and his wife Dena have an unassuming friendly style of relating to people, something that they’ve honed over years of running rivers. They brought that sensibility to the Yurt.
“We didn’t have to change a lot of things,” he said. “It was pretty well set up. We’ll find small ways to improve but we respect that this is a tradition for many families and we want to respect that.”
The main staff returned that first season (including the snowcat driver, a key player). So they started with a crew that knew the quirks of the yurt and how to deliver the high-end service guests had grown to expect.
“We did counsel the staff to not bore customers with river stories though,” he adds, chuckling. “They can get boring if you’re not a river rat.”
Experience the Viking Yurt
The evening begins at the Park City base village where you begin a 25-minute sleigh ride up the mountain, offering views of the night sky, trees, city lights and mountains. The sleigh parks outside the Viking Yurt and inside you’ll be greeted with a warm fire and a mug of Glogg, a hot, non-alcoholic spicy cider. The evening unfolds with a six-course gourmet dinner and concludes with the sleigh ride back down to the base.
The Viking Yurt operates from mid-December through mid-March. Regular pricing is $225 per person. Holiday pricing (Dec. 18 – Jan. 1) is $295 per person. Prices do not include alcohol or gratuity.
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