Would you stay "on the mountain" if it were available?

[Jaynelson]

Or "where it is available" may be more accurate.

If you had a few days for a sledding vacation/weekend out west, and had a few options on how to plan the trip, which of these would be the most appealing and why?

1) Stay in a hotel/motel (or whatever type of accommodations you find), and do your own thing as far as finding riding areas, food, etc.

2) Stay in a sled-friendly "lodge" in an area that has multiple trailheads for sledding, some of which will require some driving to access, but one of which would be very close. Lodge would have games room, hot tub, etc. Food, guiding, sled rentals would be available (sled rental/guiding not mandatory).

3) Stay in a lodge on the mountain, in a riding area (much like a cat/heli skiing lodge). You would have sled in/sled out (lets say 10 miles from highway), or catch a ride in on a snow cat. No access to alternate trailheads in the area, but unlimited access to one (very large) area. Lodge would have games room, hot tub, etc. Food, guiding, sled rentals would be available (sled rental/guiding not mandatory).


Thanks for indulging my curiosity!

 

[WingNutRacing]

hells yeah..

I have often thought of this myself...

Only to realize that the operating costs would drive the prices thru the roof, and therefore would only appeal to an economic class which does not appeal to me. Henceforth defeating the original vision of my kick ***, smack dab in the middle of it, backcountry sled lodge...

BUT......,,,,,, if i hit the lotto, IT'S ON.


OR.......,,,,, maybe you can make it work..



sledders heaven....

 

[nuggetau]

Or "where it is available" may be more accurate.

If you had a few days for a sledding vacation/weekend out west, and had a few options on how to plan the trip, which of these would be the most appealing and why?

1) Stay in a hotel/motel (or whatever type of accommodations you find), and do your own thing as far as finding riding areas, food, etc.

2) Stay in a sled-friendly "lodge" in an area that has multiple trailheads for sledding, some of which will require some driving to access, but one of which would be very close. Lodge would have games room, hot tub, etc. Food, guiding, sled rentals would be available.

3) Stay in a lodge on the mountain, in a riding area (much like a cat/heli skiing lodge). You would have sled in/sled out (lets say 10 miles from highway), or catch a ride in on a snow cat. No access to alternate trailheads in the area, but unlimited access to one (very large) area. Lodge would have games room, hot tub, etc. Food, guiding, sled rentals would be available.


Thanks for indulging my curiosity!

I want #3 to be my home, I will begin my search come spring. The problem I am encountering is road access that is at altitude (6000'+) and is maintained by either the county or state is very difficult to find. Even more difficult if you don't want a large population base nearby. I am willing to plow a short distance, but long distances would become problematic. Being snowbound all winter is romantic, but not all that enjoyable in reality, even for a hermit like myself.

If anyone knows of land(Idaho, Wyoming, Montana) above 6000' that is winter maintained, has only a small population base near by, is not near a tourist town, and has really good snow and riding terrain. Please PM me!

 

[Jaynelson]

I have often thought of this myself...

Only to realize that the operating costs would drive the prices thru the roof, and therefore would only appeal to an economic class which does not appeal to me. Henceforth defeating the original vision of my kick ***, smack dab in the middle of it, backcountry sled lodge...

BUT......,,,,,, if i hit the lotto, IT'S ON.

Agreed! I'm just not sure if it's something that has mass appeal...or if it's just goofs like me who would take any excuse to be in the mountains or on a lake lol.

 

[WingNutRacing]

Amen to that brother....

Tapatalk'n LG G2....

 

[Adrenaline Revolution]

I thought about this as an awesome retirement idea.
Buy mountain property bordering a rail line but still accessible in the warmer months by vehicle.
Run large generators (Diesel) with a second as a back up.
Have 6 or 8 small cabins for guests.
Build a large barn/shop for people to service their own sled should something happen.
Be close enough to a city with rescue capabilities.
Have guests either ride in, would be at least a 40 mile ride in, groomed of course, or they could ride the train in for a packaged deal on cabin and sleds.
Price it as cheap as possible just to pay myself enough to get by and break even on the bills so pretty much anyone could afford it.

It's a dream, pipe dream but I'd love it.

 

[Meadow Muffin]

Any of you get this put together, P.M. Me I will be your first customer!

 

[rick5150]

Any of you get this put together, P.M. Me I will be your first customer!

Brooks lake lodge??


http://youtu.be/vwrHfJMMVII

Your welcome

 

[lucasMX358]

This would be a paradise for sledders, that's why we ride cooke, granted its smaller area....you can ride in, for the experience! or drive in as we do now, just to have tools and vehicle for emergencies.

Problems with this scenario imo are:

1) availability of parts if needed:
2) fuel
3) food services? supplies
4) power...not really needed do it old school.. lanterns = insurance costs
5) government regulations: open riding areas cabable of said scenario


BUT I'D BE ON THE LIST TO SHOW UP!!!!

 

[Blk88GT]

Sounds like Grizzly lodge?

 

[Jaynelson]

^ Yes, that would be an example (from what I can see). Not saying such a thing doesn't exist or downplaying any such places out tere....just wanted to ask the question

 

[Blk88GT]

I would LOVE to go to a place like that. All I need is someone to ride with!

 

[bnorth]

I said option 3 because I love the idea. That said I live near Grizzly Lodge and have never been there. I think that's mostly due to the fact I have multiple staging areas within 20 minutes of home and one area I can ride from my door. If I were already having to travel from say Calgary to ride I'm sure I would have checked out options #2 (Peaks Lodge), and #3 Grizzly Lodge.

 

[Jorli]

I have often thought of this myself...

Only to realize that the operating costs would drive the prices thru the roof, and therefore would only appeal to an economic class which does not appeal to me. Henceforth defeating the original vision of my kick ***, smack dab in the middle of it, backcountry sled lodge...

BUT......,,,,,, if i hit the lotto, IT'S ON.


OR.......,,,,, maybe you can make it work..



sledders heaven....

By the time you pay for everything, fuel transit to and from riding areas by truck, and by sled, breakfast, coffee, etc... it probably would work out fairly similar in cost. That seems to be my experience, the money gets spent either way, its either on 1 receipt or many receipts. JMTs.

Tyax almost provides this service, you may still have to drive a couple minutes to unload depending on the year.

 

[Reeb]

I said option 3 because I love the idea. That said I live near Grizzly Lodge and have never been there. I think that's mostly due to the fact I have multiple staging areas within 20 minutes of home and one area I can ride from my door. If I were already having to travel from say Calgary to ride I'm sure I would have checked out options #2 (Peaks Lodge), and #3 Grizzly Lodge.

I ride Grizzly 4-6 times a year and have never stepped foot in the Lodge. I just live too close to make a weekend of it and pay to stay.
I'd love to, don't get me wrong, but I can't justify the cost when I can be home in my own bed eating the GF's cooking every night.

Maybe I'll hit up a local ride day with a dealership one time and experience it.

And the there's The Glacier House in Revy, I've stayed there multiple times as well. However staying in town is much better. The costs associated to run a lodge like the Glacier are huge(read expensive all around), and coupled with an owner that can either be an awesome host, or a total downer, depending on the day, really enforces my decision to stay in town and truck my sleds to staging areas.

 

[bnorth]

I ride Grizzly 4-6 times a year and have never stepped foot in the Lodge. I just live too close to make a weekend of it and pay to stay.
I'd love to, don't get me wrong, but I can't justify the cost when I can be home in my own bed eating the GF's cooking every night.

Maybe I'll hit up a local ride day with a dealership one time and experience it.

And the there's The Glacier House in Revy, I've stayed there multiple times as well. However staying in town is much better. The costs associated to run a lodge like the Glacier are huge(read expensive all around), and coupled with an owner that can either be an awesome host, or a total downer, depending on the day, really enforces my decision to stay in town and truck my sleds to staging areas.

Off topic but Glacier House has a new owner.

 

[Dam Dave]

Plenty of lodges hotels that allow this already........I do it all the time

 

[Jaynelson]

Plenty of lodges hotels that allow this already........I do it all the time

How far do you have to sled in to the lodges, from where you park your vehicle typically?

 

[Reeb]

Off topic but Glacier House has a new owner.

SAWEET! Hopefully a new chef too!

 

[J_Goodwin]

Funny I was just looking up cabins around rabbit ears before I read this thread. Know of a few places in utah where you can drive to a lodge and sled from the front door, then there are also the yurts you can rent from the Forrest Service and sled into them