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General “Hippy pow” backcountry hut/yurt?

Slim

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Hi,

Thinking of the upcoming season (as discussed in the threads here on Pugski).
A stay in a backcountry hut/yurt seems like it would be a great idea. Avoid issues/limits/closures at resorts, as well as powder frenzy in close to the road/resort backcountry areas.

However, my wife and I are pretty fresh backcountry skiers, and we have our 10 and 13 year old daughters along. We also need to plan a long time ahead, so have to be prepared for any avalanche conditions.

Taking that into consideration I am looking for a hut or yurt that:
  • Is in an area with a less “continental” snowpack (I.e. not Colorado).Avalanche conditions vary day by day, but the odds of a scary snowpack are a lot higher in a place with shallow snowpack and extreme temperatures.
  • Has plenty of simple* , low angle ski terrain right around the hut. Ski terrain meaning: not flat. We are perfectly happy in extremely low angle terrain, but still want to be sliding (we can do XC perfectly fine here at home in MN).
People often call this “hippy pow” or “meadow skipping”. Whatever name you want to attach to it, basically looking for somewhere we can find some nice slopes ~20-30 degrees, on varying aspects.

I can look on Caltopo myself just fine to check that, but since most huts are hard to locate on a map until you zoom in, it would be great to get some ideas from people who have visited a hut, or heard about one.

And of course, has to be in the US..

*ATES scale
 
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Bad Bob

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Soldier Mountain, ID has a yurt above the lift served area, which isn't crowded anyway. They did rent it out. great terrain above and if you get lazy, lift served below with an accessible restaurant/bar. Very old school feel to the place with a modern small lodge.
 

Wilhelmson

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AMC keeps some huts open in the winter. Some even cook for you. Even better is that in new england there's a better chance of no snow than avalanche snow. Not really but it seems like that sometimes.
 

Crank

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Think about a condo or house rental at Powder Mountain UT. Whole place is hippy pow and you could easily spend a day lapping Powder country from condo and taking turns driving your car to shuttle back up or hike or take the school bus assuming they are open.
 
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Slim

Slim

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Hmm, @Wilhelmson I was not really planning non traveling EAST, and your marketing doesn't help.

@Bad Bob , yeah I have heard of that hut. Haven't checked out the terrain yet, but was thinking something more remote from lifts or cities, since the feeling is the (accessible) backcountry might be very busy this winter.

@Crank , I think if we go to Utah, we'd stick with the Cottonwoods for resort based stuff, since we have an Ikon pass. But I'm definitely looking at some of the backcountry yurts in Utah.

So to clarify, I am talking about backcountry huts or yurts: something at least a mile from the trailhead.
 

Bad Bob

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Hmm, @Wilhelmson I was not really planning non traveling EAST, and your marketing doesn't help.

@Bad Bob , yeah I have heard of that hut. Haven't checked out the terrain yet, but was thinking something more remote from lifts or cities, since the feeling is the (accessible) backcountry might be very busy this winter.

@Crank , I think if we go to Utah, we'd stick with the Cottonwoods for resort based stuff, since we have an Ikon pass. But I'm definitely looking at some of the backcountry yurts in Utah.

So to clarify, I am talking about backcountry huts or yurts: something at least a mile from the trailhead.


You are above the upper lift so you really are kind of sort of remote on the gentle edge of the Saw-tooth's. The "city" is a little ranch burg of Fairfield with all of about 500 people currently.
The terrain is really a great mixed bag. With about 1,000' of up work you could get about 2,500' of good vert. if you want to play that way. I know that is cheating a little bit but it really does tip the scales your way.
I put in several really good weekend powder days there a couple of years ago and doubt there 150 cars in the parking lot. Check it out on Google Earth, it has all kinds of possibilities.
 
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Slim

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Thanks @fatbob . I am not opposed to "cheating" for vert, and with the kids, even less so :ogbiggrin: And I bet you are right about that being a quiet part of the world.
 

crgildart

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Thanks @fatbob . I am not opposed to "cheating" for vert, and with the kids, even less so :ogbiggrin: And I bet you are right about that being a quiet part of the world.
Think you meant to tag @Bad Bob And, I love the hell out of his suggestion.. A hut above the lifts WIN WIN! Cheaper slope-side accommodations and BC/side country access..
 
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Slim

Slim

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Think you meant to tag @Bad Bob And, I love the hell out of his suggestion.. A hut above the lifts WIN WIN! Cheaper slope-side accommodations and BC/side country access..
Oops, you are right. We are blessed with an abundance of Bobs.
 
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Slim

Slim

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@Mothertucker , that does seem pretty cool, but a bit above my budget ($1320/day!).
Also not sure how I feel about having a snowcat around all the time.
I’d be ok with Snowcat access to the yurt, but once there I prefer a more wilderness experience. Engine noise really bugs me.
 
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Slim

Slim

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In case anyone else is looking for this too.
Pass Creek Yuit near Wolf Creek ski area
Tushar Mountains near Beaver, UT
 
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Slim

Slim

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Thanks @Vinnie, I knew I had looked at those before. Now I see, 13 is minimum age.
 

Pequenita

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I was going to suggest Three Sisters as well. I was supposed to go there as everything was shutting down and no one knew wtf was going on with the pandemic (to be clear, I am on the conservative side when it comes to the pandemic). They wound up closing 2 days after when we would have arrived.
 

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