Kimmyt
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
We have done backcountry ski trips with our kids (son 5 and daughter 3) for the last 3/4 years and are starting to get the hang of it. Our ski trips have been more typically in the spring, due to ease of scheduling and also the likelihood of more pleasant warm temps. Typically we have been using the Never Summer Nordic yurts because the 10th mountain huts are a nightmare to book, although we did do a summer hut trip a few years ago that was fun. Last year we did a trip in April for my birthday and we will do it again this year (well the weekend after my birthday because my bday weekend wasn't available). I thought there might be others looking for this type of info, so I figured I would post a vague tr with info.
Dancing Moose Yurt with lots of lovely new snow. This is the view from the outhouse, which is just a short walk down a boardwalk and between the yurt and the sledding hill.
View from the front deck, the parking area is past the meadow off to the right of the fenceline and out of view, only a quarter mile away.
We are not too terribly adventurous, with the kids, usually choosing a yurt with a short hike in- 0.25-0.8 miles typically, although now that the youngest is out of the baby carrier and the biggest is on skis we are happy with the Dancing Moose yurt which is 0.25 miles in from the car. This also allows us the ability to take a few trips if we can't bring it all in one go. My husband likes to take extra trips instead of packing too sparingly (partly I think he likes to just get some exercise and quiet away from the kids going back and forth to the car), and my daughter is only vaguely potty trained so we need to bring lots of clean clothes and supplies for her. We also like to have a yurt that has access to a small hill for sledding or skiing. We tried the Grass Creek yurt which didn't have a good sledding hill option, but the Dancinng moose yurt has a nice little pitch of behind the yurt for skiing or sledding on and is perfect for the kids to play on. We also think its very important to pack the plastic toy snow shovels, as these provide endless entertainment, as well as things to fight over.
My son carried some of his own gear this year which was nice! And skiied all the way up and down to the yurt with just a little dad power to help him.
An afternoon skin with the 3yo. There are some adjacent meadows where snow machine users like to hang out but we found some nice untracked snow and it was fairly quiet.
My daughter, passed out during the naptime tour.
Last year, we rigged up a sort of kid hauler system using slings attached to my son's chest which allowed us to pull him up on his skis behind us. He was able to ski back down to the car through the meadow below the yurt. My daughter rode in the homemade pulk sled we made a few years ago along with some bags of food. She doesn't do well with naps in new places, so I went out for a tour with a friend who joined us and we pulled her in the pulk and she actually fell asleep on it for a good 45 minutes, so that was a pleasant surprise! We also had a friend and her daughter who was similarly aged to my son join us, which was nice because the kids could play together although navigating everyone's tantrums and emotions in a small space was challenging at times.
Storytime in the yurt. This is a smaller one, so only sleeps 6 and was a good fit for 3 adults and 3 kids 5 and under.
Overall, we will probably continue to do the spring trips. I'd love to do a winter one, but weekend availability in these places fills up quick and the weather can be much more variable. I can't much imagine being stuck in a small yurt during a snow storm with little kids, although in a few years they will be more able to sit still and play games and things so maybe that will be another option.
Dancing Moose Yurt with lots of lovely new snow. This is the view from the outhouse, which is just a short walk down a boardwalk and between the yurt and the sledding hill.
View from the front deck, the parking area is past the meadow off to the right of the fenceline and out of view, only a quarter mile away.
We are not too terribly adventurous, with the kids, usually choosing a yurt with a short hike in- 0.25-0.8 miles typically, although now that the youngest is out of the baby carrier and the biggest is on skis we are happy with the Dancing Moose yurt which is 0.25 miles in from the car. This also allows us the ability to take a few trips if we can't bring it all in one go. My husband likes to take extra trips instead of packing too sparingly (partly I think he likes to just get some exercise and quiet away from the kids going back and forth to the car), and my daughter is only vaguely potty trained so we need to bring lots of clean clothes and supplies for her. We also like to have a yurt that has access to a small hill for sledding or skiing. We tried the Grass Creek yurt which didn't have a good sledding hill option, but the Dancinng moose yurt has a nice little pitch of behind the yurt for skiing or sledding on and is perfect for the kids to play on. We also think its very important to pack the plastic toy snow shovels, as these provide endless entertainment, as well as things to fight over.
My son carried some of his own gear this year which was nice! And skiied all the way up and down to the yurt with just a little dad power to help him.
An afternoon skin with the 3yo. There are some adjacent meadows where snow machine users like to hang out but we found some nice untracked snow and it was fairly quiet.
My daughter, passed out during the naptime tour.
Last year, we rigged up a sort of kid hauler system using slings attached to my son's chest which allowed us to pull him up on his skis behind us. He was able to ski back down to the car through the meadow below the yurt. My daughter rode in the homemade pulk sled we made a few years ago along with some bags of food. She doesn't do well with naps in new places, so I went out for a tour with a friend who joined us and we pulled her in the pulk and she actually fell asleep on it for a good 45 minutes, so that was a pleasant surprise! We also had a friend and her daughter who was similarly aged to my son join us, which was nice because the kids could play together although navigating everyone's tantrums and emotions in a small space was challenging at times.
Overall, we will probably continue to do the spring trips. I'd love to do a winter one, but weekend availability in these places fills up quick and the weather can be much more variable. I can't much imagine being stuck in a small yurt during a snow storm with little kids, although in a few years they will be more able to sit still and play games and things so maybe that will be another option.
