Welcome to Ski Burrito!
Since 2018, my life has been on the road in a van with my husband. Most of our travel miles are spent bouncing around the Western US in search of powder at lesser-known ski areas.
I’m fortunate that in my lifetime, I’ve visited more than 70 ski resorts across Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. More than 50 of those were added to my lifetime list after van life began. And the list is still growing!
Why I started Ski Burrito and what you’ll find here
Planning logistics to so many places can be daunting. Before traveling to each new ski area, I thoroughly research:
- When our ski passes are valid at the ski area and how to redeem free days
- Ski area operating days and hours (not all ski areas operate 7 days a week!)
- Where to sleep in our van, whether at the ski area or somewhere else
- Directions to the ski area considering seasonal road closures
- Stops and resources en route
- Best time to travel for catching powder while also avoiding the worst road conditions and managing work
- Cell service for working
- Where to find RV and van resources like power, dump stations, water, and propane
- Where to get the cheapest diesel fuel
- Where to shower
- Where to get food for us and our dog
- Sightseeing opportunities
On top of all that research, I monitor weather at our current location, as well as future destinations and travel routes DAILY. While winter in snowy parts of the country can be dangerous in itself, I pay close attention to avoid the most severe weather like polar vortices.
Plus, since we’re not on a short vacation, regular life things still need attention like laundry, mail, our health, our dog’s health, van maintenance, work travel, taxes, and so much more that is sometimes unpredictable.
Capturing all of this information is a lot of work. Plus, it’s a lot to remember over time. I wanted to dump everything I learned in one place, so I could avoid researching destinations from scratch upon potentially returning.
So when ski season abruptly ended at the start of the COVID pandemic, I started this blog to kill time while sitting still. (Originally, homeis.blog.)
Years later, my notes have proved valuable when I want to remember my thoughts and experiences about a place. If you’ve been dreaming of a ski road trip by camper van or RV, I hope you also benefit from everything I post here.
In addition to winter road trip and van life logistics, I also spend a lot of time trying to figure out the best ski passes for road tripping – Epic, Ikon, Mountain Collective, Indy, a Powder Alliance mountain, or others. I share my annual research on Ski Burrito to help others imagine what’s possible.
I also post information about the rigs we’ve owned and van life takeaways unrelated to skiing.
Traveling to so many ski areas has taught me a lot about winter survival in a van. Some parts of the West are especially harsh during ski season, and living in a 2018 Winnebago Travato and 2019 Winnebago Revel introduced me to what works well and not so well in a camper van.
After vowing to live several more years on the road, we took our Travato and Revel knowledge and invested in a custom-built van by Van America out of Saint George, Utah in 2022. It is truly four-season ready and the most comfortable for our style of van living year-round. You’ll find a lot of information about our latest van, Solitude, on Ski Burrito.
What’s up with the name Ski Burrito?
My husband and I love skiing (and snowboarding). And we love burritos! Especially after a tiring powder day. A good burrito is sometimes hard to come by on the road, so one of these days I’ll start documenting our favorite burritos as well.
Thank you for stopping by!
I love hearing about the ski travels of others, and I’m here if you have any questions about planning a winter road trip, vans, or van life.
