Don't get caught indoors this season. From dogsledding in the mountains above Lake Tahoe to ski touring under the stars, here are the best ways to make the most of the cold.
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To visit the national parks only in summer is like leaving a concert before the encore. For a full sense of their grandeur, you need to experience them when the snow falls. And while plenty of parks reveal their charms in winter — like Yellowstone with a half-frozen Old Faithful — Yosemite is a true year-rounder: All but a handful of trails are open for hiking, snowshoeing, and ski touring. There's even downhill skiing at the tiny lift-served resort. The key is to stay at the Majestic Yosemite Hotel, which has the park's best digs and hosts a series of dinners that are run by a rotating cast of top chefs from around the country. You haven't seen the Valley Loop Trail, Bridalveil Fall, or Glacier Point until you've seen them surrounded by pow.
Sam Magro, owner of Montana Alpine Guides, can understand why so many people are intimidated by ice climbing: Ice looks disturbingly fragile. And yet ice climbing is much easier than rock climbing, he insists. "You have the same handhold the entire time — the grip of your ice ax," he explains. "If you can kick a soccer ball and swing a hammer, you can ice climb." And once you get the swing of it, quite literally, you'll move as quickly as Spider-Man up a skyscraper. Whereas most devotees head for Ouray, Colorado, Magro teaches first-timers to claw their way to the top of ice waterfalls in Hyalite Canyon, just 45 minutes outside of Bozeman, Montana. The accessibility and elevation of Hyalite is a rare combo in the Lower 48, making it perfect for beginners who need a day away from Big Sky. On the East Coast, there's no better place for it than the White Mountains. "It's a wet, almost Arctic climate in winter," says Freddie Wilkinson, co-owner of Cathedral Mountain Guides. "If someone wants a two-day immersion, we do day one at a relaxing area. The payoff is day two: a multipitch ice climb." Think of it as superhero stuff.
Ski touring is a one-two punch: a shot of endorphins as you skin up the mountain — that's right, you ski up first — followed by a quick hit of adrenaline as you fly down. It's become so popular that many mountains now have uphill-specific trails. A few have rental programs for the skis, skins, and bindings needed to power up the slopes, and some resorts even host their own ski-mountaineering (skimo) races, endurance events that combine cross-country and downhill skiing. And now a handful of destinations are introducing the ultimate experience: full-moon tours, on which you hike uphill under the stars and ski down with the moonlight reflecting off the snow like a black light. Both Aspen and Crested Butte, Colorado, for instance, host monthly full-moon celebrations, where anyone willing to travel up the mountain under his own steam — whether by skinning, fat biking, or snowshoeing — can revel at the top with a freshly pulled pint, some hot food, and live music. The event in Aspen takes place at Buttermilk's Cliffhouse, where you can gather around the "Cowboy Cauldron" for hot chocolate. Crested Butte's full-moon tour is at its newly opened Umbrella Bar, which has a retractable roof. "It might be a little chilly, but it's worth the view," says Keegan Stoorza, a longtime bartender and manager. "You can see at least 10 different peaks from inside." And the only thing better than reaching the top is skiing down. "To be able to ski a freshly groomed run under the moonlight is pretty cool," says Stoorza. "You basically have the mountain to yourself."
Tucked in Maine's northwest corner is one of the newest and best-equipped backcountry lodge systems in the country: Maine Huts & Trails' four wood-and-stone cabins. Construction on the first was started in 2008 and the last was finished in 2012, and they're linked by a series of groomed, double-wide trails that allow for every snow activity, from fat biking to cross-country skiing. The huts are spaced in such a way that it's about five to six hours between them, so they're perfect for either a three-mile, 700-foot slog up to Stratton Brook Hut or the 11-mile flat cruise from Poplar to Flagstaff. Even better, you don't need to enter a lottery for a spot, as at a popular winter-hut destination like Colorado. But these cabins are relatively uncrowded, and your $130-per-night fee gets you three meals a day, a comfy bed, and a roaring fire to greet you upon check-in.
There's no more memorable cold-weather experience than being pulled by a team of barking, joyous dogs. The problem is that most mushing options are in northern Michigan or Alaska — places that aren't exactly dream destinations come winter. But Lake Tahoe is, and locals Brian and Deanne Maas keep 60 dogs on their 20-acre ranch, and all of them can run. Five days a week they bring a small team to Squaw Valley for rides. The hourlong tours offer front-row views of the Sierra Nevada towering above, and in good seasons they run private backcountry tours that head into the mountains for the day (tahoedogsledtours.com). On the East Coast, Thunder Mountain Dog Sled Tours, in the surprisingly hip town of Lake Placid, New York, will take you from the middle of town right onto the frozen lake.
No winter trend is as hot as fat-tire biking, which essentially is riding a regular bike modified to accommodate knobby five-inch-wide tires that roll over snow as if it were fresh-cut grass. It's like marrying the fun of mountain-biking with the serenity of cross-country skiing. "When I tried it for the first time, I loved the floaty feel," says Tory Canfield, founder of the Fat Bike Advocacy Group in Sun Valley, Idaho. "Now a lot of people here just never put their bikes away in winter." The sport is especially popular in the Midwest, which has a surplus of great trails, including two fat-bike-specific riding parks in Minneapolis and St. Paul, not to mention the 15-mile Marquette Snow Bike Route in Michigan. But mountain towns are where it's easiest to get pedaling. Park City, Utah, has a stunning stretch of rolling, beginner-friendly hills spread over 700 acres, and Colorado's Winter Park has a similar network of trails. But no mountain town takes the sport as seriously as Sun Valley, which has three designated trail systems that have a combined 37-plus miles of groomed snow. "A couple of years ago, there was only one bike shop in town where you could get the gear and info," says Canfield. "Now all the shops will set you up." (Rent through Backwoods Mountain Sports; backwoodsmountainsports.com.) For downhill rippers, the beauty of fat-tire biking is that it's often at its best when the mountain is not — warm and sunny with old snow. "When it's not a powder day, it's a great fat-biking day," says Canfield, "because the snow is a little more packed down or even has a layer of crust. We call it crust cruising."
What works on the ski lift doesn't always do the job when huffing and puffing. Guides Freddie Wilkinson and Sam Magro reveal their solutions.
Don't layer to match how your body feels before an activity — you'll overheat moments after you start. Wilkinson likes to begin a little cold. He says, "If you start off with an extra layer, regulate your pace instead so you never overheat."
Use hats and hoods to help regulate while on the go. "You need at least one item that can be taken off or put on without breaking stride," says Wilkinson.
Never stand around in a sweaty base layer. Even a minute means you'll lose crucial heat. "I often bring a spare base layer and switch out," says Magro. "Also, anytime you stop moving, throw on a puffy coat to trap heat."
