SMT HAS NMAC WITH ACR.

Narrative

I DEPARTED PROVO; UT; FOR PORTLAND; OR; IN CLR AND VISIBILITY UNLIMITED SKY CONDITIONS; WITH THE XPONDER ON; MODE C SELECTED AND SQUAWKING 12000 AND WELL S OF THE SLC CLASS B AIRSPACE. DURING THE CLBOUT I STARTED LISTENING TO SLC APCH. AFTER CLBING OUT OF 13000 FT MSL; I CONTACTED APCH WITH MY POS; ALT; AND A REQUEST TO PICK UP MY FILED IFR FLT PLANT TO PORTLAND. THE CTLR GAVE ME A SQUAWK CODE AND I PROCEEDED TO DIAL IN THE REQUESTED SQUAWK CODE. AT THIS TIME; I HEARD AN ACR AIRLINER PLT STATE THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO BE BELOW 13000 FT TO MISS THIS GUY IN FRONT OF THEM. I HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR ACFT SINCE DEP AND HAD NOTED NONE THAT WERE ANYWHERE NEAR US. THE CTLR THEN CLRED THE ACR TO DSND TO 9000 FT. THE ACR THEN ASKED WHAT KIND OF AIRPLANE THAT WAS; THE CTLR'S RESPONSE WAS 'A MERLIN.' I THEN ASSUMED; BEING THAT I WAS PROBABLY THE ONLY MERLIN NEAR 13000 FT ON THAT FREQ; THAT THERE HAD BEEN A CONFLICT BTWN ME AND THE ACR. THE ACR WANTED TO KNOW WHY THEY WERE NOT TOLD ABOUT US AND THE CTLR SAID WE HAD JUST POPPED UP ON THE SCOPE. I FOUND THIS HARD TO BELIEVE; SINCE IN PREVIOUS FLTS THEY HAVE ALWAYS PICKED ME UP ON THE SCOPE AROUND 8500 FT. THE CTLR THEN ISSUED ME MY IFR CLRNC TO PORTLAND AND OFF WE WENT. ABOUT AN HR LATER ZLC ADVISED US TO CALL SLC APCH WHEN WE GOT ON THE GND. WHEN WE CALLED; THEY INFORMED US THAT THE ACR PLT FILED A NMAC RPT ON US. THEY ALSO STATED THAT THE ACR DID NOT SEE US UNTIL THEIR TCASII OFFERED A CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND THEN THEY FOLLOWED WHAT TCASII SAID TO DO AND THEN THEY SAW US AT THEIR 10 O'CLOCK AND ABOVE THEM; WE HAD ALREADY FLOWN THROUGH THEIR FLT PATH AND WERE NO LONGER A CONFLICT. I NEVER SAW; NOR DID AN INST RATED PVT PLT THAT WAS SITTING IN THE R SEAT; EVER SEE THE ACR. SOME OF THE REASONS WE BELIEVE WE NEVER SAW THE ACR WAS THAT AFTER DISCUSSING WHAT HAPPENED WITH SLC APCH WE LEARNED THAT BEFORE THE CONFLICT THE ACR WOULD HAVE BEEN AT OUR 10 O'CLOCK POS; WHICH HAPPENED TO BE RIGHT INTO THE SUN. ALSO AS THE CONFLICT TOOK PLACE THE ACR PASSED UNDER US FROM OUR 9 TO 8 O'CLOCK POS TO OUR 4 TO 5 O'CLOCK POS; WHICH PUTS THEM UNDER OUR WING AND BEHIND US MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO SEE THEM. I BELIEVE SOMETHING THAT COULD HAVE HELPED AVOID THIS PROB WOULD HAVE BEEN POSSIBLY MORE ATTENTIVENESS ON CTLRS PART; BETTER SCANNING ON THE ACR'S PART; CONSIDERING WE WERE AT THEIR 12 O'CLOCK POS AND THEY WERE NOT BEING BLINDED BY THE SUN; ALSO ON OUR PART IF WE HAD PICKED UP VFR FLT FOLLOWING OR OUR IFR SOONER; IT WOULD HAVE BROUGHT MORE ATTN TO US AND MAYBE THE CTLR WOULD HAVE SEEN THE CONFLICT SOONER.