Outback Skiing Babes In The Woods A Methow Valley Hut-To-Hut Ski Trail System Paves The Way For Novices And Families To Explore The Backcountry

Many nordic skiers fantasize about packing into the backcountry, but they never quite get there.

The top five reasons:

* They’re chicken.

* They’re not chicken, but they can’t afford those alpine-look-alike, metal-edged backcountry skis.

* They can afford backcountry gear, but they’re wary of skiing off a groomed trail, especially with a pack.

* They got real jobs and became old and fat.

* They think the freedom to do backcountry excursions ended the day they became parents.

You can’t blame them for staying home.

However, an enterprising Methow Valley outfitter has set most of these concerns to rest, putting a backcountry overnighter within reach of virtually anyone capable of skiing 6 miles.

Rendezvous Outfitters maintains a series of five huts along 21 miles of meticulously groomed ski trails that reach into the forest far above and beyond the valley’s development.

The huts - simple frame buildings that sleep up to eight people - are situated at roughly 6-mile intervals. Each shelter is equipped with a wood heating stove, propane lights and cooking stove, pots, pans, utensils and bunks with mattresses.

Experienced backcountry skiers can look at that list and feel the pounds melt off their backs.

Skiers need to bring only their sleeping bags, clothing, flashlights, personal items and food.

“You can carry your sleeping bags and food in backpacks or pay us $70 to haul your freight with a snowmobile,” said Dale Caulfield, Rendezvous owner. “We’ve had people do hut-to-hut overnighters in tights and racing skis.”

Even though the first hut was built in the late 1970s, word has been surprisingly slow to spread about the only system of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.

Weekend openings are still available for February and March.

The accommodations are $18 a night per person or $140 a night to reserve the entire hut. Skiers also must must have a Methow Valley Sports Trail Association trail pass. A three-day pass is $25.

The costs are worthwhile.

The groomed trail system removes the variable of unpredictable snow conditions. Novice skiers can go assured that they won’t have to endure breakable crust. Families won’t risk an exhausting day of thigh-deep powder.

Avalanche danger on the trails is virtually nil.

Dressed sensibly, one should be able to endure virtually any weather conditions long enough to reach one of the cozy huts at the end of the trail.

The Landers and Hartshorn families put all these claims to the test in early January. With daytime temperatures in the teens, three kids ages 9 to 12, and only one traveler with any backcountry skiing gear or experience, we had every reason to be skeptical But we weren’t.

Even when Chuck Hartshorn had to drop out of the trip at the last moment because of illness, his wife, Lisa, was able to stay on board with her two children.

We had taken the freight-haul option and all the heavy food and bulky sleeping bags went to the Heifer Hut in large packs behind a snowmobile. All we had to do was herd the kids in that direction.

The trail to the Heifer Hut gains 1,400 feet in 6 miles. The effort is roughly the equivalent of skiing two back-to-back trips to Shadow Mountain and back from the Mount Spokane Sno-Park area.

Our families took four hours to make the trip, including time to mug for photos and spread out a foam pad for a trailside lunch.

The kids quickly learned the futility of putting heavier mittens on fingers that go numb during a rest break.

The only sure way to warm fingers and toes is to stoke up the internal furnace by skiing hard, uphill.

They soon learned to peel off a layer or ventilate their clothing on the uphills. One downhill run in the frigid air taught them to bundle up for the easier terrain.

All the while, the promise of a cozy destination kept their enthusiasm high.

They finished the last few hundred yards after a tough day in a virtual sprint.

Minutes later, they shed their outerwear down to their long johns and began arranging their sleeping bags in the loft while the fire roared in the wood stove.

It was, as Brook remarked, “better than Little House on the Prairie.”

We clipped damp cloths on the hooks above the stove, lit the propane lamp, split more wood and began melting snow for a spaghetti dinner. The kids played checkers by the oil lamp on the dinner table.

Our kids have had plenty of previous camping experience. But when we glanced at the thermometer at bed time, we realized this would be their first evening venture to an outhouse with the temperature near zero degrees.

And the outhouse isn’t big enough for an adult to assist. This is the stuff that forges bombproof memories.

Skiers can stay several nights at one cabin, or move hut-to-hut through the system. We chose to take another freight haul to the Gardner hut, which is about 5 miles from the Heifer. Again, the prospect of another destination fueled the kids’ anticipation.

Because Gardner Hut is near junctions for several trails, it receives drop-in traffic from day skiers. We invited some passersby in for hot tea. A couple of others invited themselves.

But by evening, we were alone again in the backcountry.

Ryan Hartshorn and I skied off for a moonlight tour after dinner, blasting down the groomed tracks, sometimes with headlamps on, sometimes with lights off.

We found untracked powder to carve and a deathly quiet disturbed only by pounding hearts and skis scratching on snow.

With the heavy food consumed, we were able to pack out all our gear for the mostly downhill tour back to the Cub Creek trailhead the next day.

The mom’s and Ryan learned they could carry a big pack with no problem. At 9 years old, Brook and Cheryl got their first taste of the backcountry, and they wanted more.

For information on Rendezvous Outfitters’ huts and trail system, contact Methow Valley Central Reservations, (800) 422-3048.

Three Color Photos

MEMO: Two sidebars appeared with this story. The first was under the headline: “Outback skiing.” “Outback Skiing” First in a three-part series about cross country skiers who are breaking away from groomed tracks. Next Sunday: Easing into the Wallowa wilderness.

The second sidebar appeared under the headline “Basic backcountry gear.”