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- Dec 5, 2017
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We just got back from an incredible trip! For years, we've talked about going to Yellowstone in the winter. We had been there in the summer for our honeymoon in 1989 and took our sons there for their first trip out West in 2005. But winter - we hadn't tried that yet! I researched options, and we decided on the yurt camp with Yellowstone Expeditions. Yes, it's costly, but it ended up being worth every penny; everything about this trip greatly exceeded our already great expectations! This report is super long and my photos aren't great quality, but I enjoyed creating the report and will enjoy reliving this trip for a long time.
We got off to a great start with smooth, on-time flights (given Southwest's previous issues, we were uncertain how things would go) and great scenery on the leg from Denver to Bozeman. I always try to get a window seat and was delighted to see some of the mountains below. Sunset was lovely.
After spending the night in Bozeman, we drove through the beautiful Gallatin canyon to West Yellowstone and did a warm-up x-country ski at the groomed Rendezvous trails.
The next morning we met up with the staff and other participants at the West Yellowstone Visitor Center. I was nervous - how would it go? would we like it? We all got in the special snow coaches created by Arden, who started the yurt camp 40 years ago.
Right away, I loved the guide who drove our coach; as we drove through the park, she pointed out lots of interesting things and happily answered my millions of questions. Over the course of the trip, I found that all of the guides (5 awesome women) were similarly fantastic; more about that in a bit.
The yurt camp is located in the canyon area. En route from West Yellowstone, we saw lots of bison along the road. Walking on the road (not paved but groomed so it's hard packed) is easier for them and uses less precious energy than tromping through deep snow. We also saw a few bison carcasses providing meals for other animals.
We stopped at beautiful Gibbon Falls.
Our next stop was Norris Geyser Basin, where we spent about an hour walking along the snow-covered boardwalks while the ground on either side was bare from thermal activity underneath. Fabulous!
It was exciting to arrive at the yurt camp and see where home would be for the next 4 nights. The sleeping yurts ("yurtlets") are temporary, removed in late March each year. They're small but warm and comfy (propane heated) with lots of pegs and clothespins to hang our stuff.
The dining yurt is bigger and connected to the cooking yurt where the staff prepares yummy food. The cook, Connie, was fabulous and accommodated lots of different food needs/preferences. Every meal was delicious! After breakfast each morning, they laid out items for us to pack our own lunches and trail snacks. I had brought a bunch of bars but didn't need them, as there were lots of great options provided for us to choose among.
One of the things that makes this trip so fabulous is that the guides completely tailor the skiing to everyone's interests and abilities, and we had a huge range of abilities in our group. Out of 13 people, there was one couple from Florida who had never skied before, and there were two couples from Big Sky who were expert skiers, including one super nice guy who had been head of ski patrol for 15 years. Each day, they would lay out the ski options for the day and let us decide what we wanted to do. The beginners would go with one guide, and the rest of us would either split into two groups or start as a whole group and then split up later if that made sense. The skiing was also tailored to the weather; when the road in Hayden Valley was closed due to high wind, we did a route closer to camp mostly through the woods.
The guides provided exceptional service in so many ways. Ahead of time, I had incorrectly assumed they would mostly just lead the ski routes and break trail. They did so much more! From teaching ski techniques (how to get up when you land in 3-4 feet of deep powder - and tons more) and teaching about wildlife and geothermal features, to helping with equipment (we used their skis since ours are only classic for groomed tracks) and shoveling and checking propane tanks and so much more, they were always working with smiles on their faces. I can't say enough good things about this amazing staff.
Anyway, after getting to camp the first afternoon, we skied to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone North Rim lookout. It was quite snowy so visibility was poor. I enjoyed the chance to ski but was disappointed, as I had really looked forward to seeing the falls. Little did I know we would get to other viewpoints on other days and have wonderful views of both fabulous waterfalls.
Yellowstone River visible at the canyon bottom
Skiing back to camp
On Day 2, most of us set out for the Dunraven-Mt. Washburn area. It was fun skiing down the big hill amidst the DEEP snow. After that, we split into two groups; my husband and I were with one guide and another couple of similar ability. We went through lots of beautiful woods! It was challenging getting up one big hill, but with help and patience we did it. We had the option of going back to camp by coach, but we felt like skiing back and enjoyed that.
On Day 3, we opted to ski to Cascade Meadow and Lake. Two guides were with 7 of us, and the snow was so deep they took turns breaking trail. I tried doing it a tiny bit, and a tiny bit was enough! At one point, I stuck my pole in as far as I could and the snow was at least 4 feet deep. It snowed on and off that day and we felt like we were in a snow globe. It was beautiful.
In case you're wondering...
The guides had previously found this elk skull and antlers and brought it closer to the trail so they could show us.
Bear scratches from sometime earlier
The bison were in the snow globe with us!
On Day 4, it was COLD and WINDY but I loved the beautiful sunshine. We started the day with a South Rim viewpoint of the Upper Falls. So fascinating to see the ice and gushing water all together!
Then we had a fabulous time skiing to Forest Hot Spring.
As we were approaching the hot spring area, a bison was along the trail, so we all backed up. The guides figured out a different way to go and got all of us there safe and sound. We took off our skis and walked around this awesome area where you can't walk during the summer since there are no boardwalks. But during the winter, you can walk where the snow is since that means there's nothing hot underneath.
Lots of animal tracks in the snow
I love watching and listening to mud pots.
I forget what they called this. It was so cool!
Stunning trees!
Lodgepole pine - grows in a spiral
Bear claw marks
After leaving the hot spring, some of us chose to go to the Lower Falls viewpoint along the south rim. It was fabulous and COLD! (I'm wearing a LOT of layers.)
Then we drove into Hayden Valley (the road had opened) to see wildlife. We saw 2 delightful otters playing in the water but I didn't get a decent photo. Here's a coyote, taken from inside the coach.
Day 5 was our last day, and I was so sad we would be leaving. 4 of the people were staying extra; there are options for 3 different length trips. After saying our farewells to those staying longer, we skied to the Brink of the Upper Falls, which was spectacular, and the blue skies and golden sunshine added to my joy!
Standing on the Chittenden Bridge looking upstream
Approaching the Upper Falls
I have an awesome video of this but couldn't load it.
Hard to leave this beautiful area
Then we went to Artist's Point (via coach and then on foot) which was thrilling to me, since we had a gorgeous photo of our little boys at that spot from 2005.
We drove back to Hayden Valley, enjoyed more wlidlife viewing, and explored the Mud Volcano area.
Bison near the trail
Looked like hot chocolate with a lot of whipped cream!
Dragon's Mouth
Mud Volcano
More bison!
Prior avalanche
We headed back, and on our way out of the park (west entrance) our final ski was along Virginia Cascades. That was beautiful and fun!
I was so sad to leave! We thoroughly enjoyed all that fabulous scenery and wildlife, as well as the terrific guides and participants. Everyone was so supportive, interesting, and fun! A lot of camaraderie had developed in such a short time, and we were so glad to have experienced the park this way. What a magical trip!!!
We got off to a great start with smooth, on-time flights (given Southwest's previous issues, we were uncertain how things would go) and great scenery on the leg from Denver to Bozeman. I always try to get a window seat and was delighted to see some of the mountains below. Sunset was lovely.
After spending the night in Bozeman, we drove through the beautiful Gallatin canyon to West Yellowstone and did a warm-up x-country ski at the groomed Rendezvous trails.
The next morning we met up with the staff and other participants at the West Yellowstone Visitor Center. I was nervous - how would it go? would we like it? We all got in the special snow coaches created by Arden, who started the yurt camp 40 years ago.
Right away, I loved the guide who drove our coach; as we drove through the park, she pointed out lots of interesting things and happily answered my millions of questions. Over the course of the trip, I found that all of the guides (5 awesome women) were similarly fantastic; more about that in a bit.
The yurt camp is located in the canyon area. En route from West Yellowstone, we saw lots of bison along the road. Walking on the road (not paved but groomed so it's hard packed) is easier for them and uses less precious energy than tromping through deep snow. We also saw a few bison carcasses providing meals for other animals.
We stopped at beautiful Gibbon Falls.
Our next stop was Norris Geyser Basin, where we spent about an hour walking along the snow-covered boardwalks while the ground on either side was bare from thermal activity underneath. Fabulous!
It was exciting to arrive at the yurt camp and see where home would be for the next 4 nights. The sleeping yurts ("yurtlets") are temporary, removed in late March each year. They're small but warm and comfy (propane heated) with lots of pegs and clothespins to hang our stuff.
The dining yurt is bigger and connected to the cooking yurt where the staff prepares yummy food. The cook, Connie, was fabulous and accommodated lots of different food needs/preferences. Every meal was delicious! After breakfast each morning, they laid out items for us to pack our own lunches and trail snacks. I had brought a bunch of bars but didn't need them, as there were lots of great options provided for us to choose among.
One of the things that makes this trip so fabulous is that the guides completely tailor the skiing to everyone's interests and abilities, and we had a huge range of abilities in our group. Out of 13 people, there was one couple from Florida who had never skied before, and there were two couples from Big Sky who were expert skiers, including one super nice guy who had been head of ski patrol for 15 years. Each day, they would lay out the ski options for the day and let us decide what we wanted to do. The beginners would go with one guide, and the rest of us would either split into two groups or start as a whole group and then split up later if that made sense. The skiing was also tailored to the weather; when the road in Hayden Valley was closed due to high wind, we did a route closer to camp mostly through the woods.
The guides provided exceptional service in so many ways. Ahead of time, I had incorrectly assumed they would mostly just lead the ski routes and break trail. They did so much more! From teaching ski techniques (how to get up when you land in 3-4 feet of deep powder - and tons more) and teaching about wildlife and geothermal features, to helping with equipment (we used their skis since ours are only classic for groomed tracks) and shoveling and checking propane tanks and so much more, they were always working with smiles on their faces. I can't say enough good things about this amazing staff.
Anyway, after getting to camp the first afternoon, we skied to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone North Rim lookout. It was quite snowy so visibility was poor. I enjoyed the chance to ski but was disappointed, as I had really looked forward to seeing the falls. Little did I know we would get to other viewpoints on other days and have wonderful views of both fabulous waterfalls.
Yellowstone River visible at the canyon bottom
Skiing back to camp
On Day 2, most of us set out for the Dunraven-Mt. Washburn area. It was fun skiing down the big hill amidst the DEEP snow. After that, we split into two groups; my husband and I were with one guide and another couple of similar ability. We went through lots of beautiful woods! It was challenging getting up one big hill, but with help and patience we did it. We had the option of going back to camp by coach, but we felt like skiing back and enjoyed that.
On Day 3, we opted to ski to Cascade Meadow and Lake. Two guides were with 7 of us, and the snow was so deep they took turns breaking trail. I tried doing it a tiny bit, and a tiny bit was enough! At one point, I stuck my pole in as far as I could and the snow was at least 4 feet deep. It snowed on and off that day and we felt like we were in a snow globe. It was beautiful.
In case you're wondering...
The guides had previously found this elk skull and antlers and brought it closer to the trail so they could show us.
Bear scratches from sometime earlier
The bison were in the snow globe with us!
On Day 4, it was COLD and WINDY but I loved the beautiful sunshine. We started the day with a South Rim viewpoint of the Upper Falls. So fascinating to see the ice and gushing water all together!
Then we had a fabulous time skiing to Forest Hot Spring.
As we were approaching the hot spring area, a bison was along the trail, so we all backed up. The guides figured out a different way to go and got all of us there safe and sound. We took off our skis and walked around this awesome area where you can't walk during the summer since there are no boardwalks. But during the winter, you can walk where the snow is since that means there's nothing hot underneath.
Lots of animal tracks in the snow
I love watching and listening to mud pots.
I forget what they called this. It was so cool!
Stunning trees!
Lodgepole pine - grows in a spiral
Bear claw marks
After leaving the hot spring, some of us chose to go to the Lower Falls viewpoint along the south rim. It was fabulous and COLD! (I'm wearing a LOT of layers.)
Then we drove into Hayden Valley (the road had opened) to see wildlife. We saw 2 delightful otters playing in the water but I didn't get a decent photo. Here's a coyote, taken from inside the coach.
Day 5 was our last day, and I was so sad we would be leaving. 4 of the people were staying extra; there are options for 3 different length trips. After saying our farewells to those staying longer, we skied to the Brink of the Upper Falls, which was spectacular, and the blue skies and golden sunshine added to my joy!
Standing on the Chittenden Bridge looking upstream
Approaching the Upper Falls
I have an awesome video of this but couldn't load it.
Hard to leave this beautiful area
Then we went to Artist's Point (via coach and then on foot) which was thrilling to me, since we had a gorgeous photo of our little boys at that spot from 2005.
We drove back to Hayden Valley, enjoyed more wlidlife viewing, and explored the Mud Volcano area.
Bison near the trail
Looked like hot chocolate with a lot of whipped cream!
Dragon's Mouth
Mud Volcano
More bison!
Prior avalanche
We headed back, and on our way out of the park (west entrance) our final ski was along Virginia Cascades. That was beautiful and fun!
I was so sad to leave! We thoroughly enjoyed all that fabulous scenery and wildlife, as well as the terrific guides and participants. Everyone was so supportive, interesting, and fun! A lot of camaraderie had developed in such a short time, and we were so glad to have experienced the park this way. What a magical trip!!!
