Best State for Waking Up Slope Side

I have a friend that reaches out a few times a year. The conversation always starts out…where are you guys? Since 2018, my response is almost always “Idaho”.

We’re really not in Idaho most of the year, but we do visit a lot. We fell in love during 4th of July weekend in 2017 when we took our 2018 Winnebago Travato on its maiden voyage.

It’s surprising how many people I meet that still think Idaho is just potato country. I would’ve thought social media gave away the secret by now.

One of the things I love most about Idaho is the number of ski areas that allow overnight camping and how many charge absolutely nothing to wake up slope side.

Check out Idaho ski areas where you can sleep in your van or RV:

Free

Schweitzer (Ikon)
Lookout Pass (Ski Cooper partner)
Brundage (Indy)
Bogus Basin (Powder Alliance, Freedom Pass)
Soldier Mountain (Indy)
Pomerelle (Indy)

Nightly fee

Silver Mountain (Powder Alliance, Indy)
Tamarack (Indy)

This past week, we drove across much of southern Idaho to our number one favorite ski town in the west. (More on that next newsletter.)

We used Soldier Mountain to rest one night and to redeem another day of skiing using our Indy Passes.

Soldier allows overnight camping in the north end of their parking lot at no charge. You don’t even have to check in.

Our slope side camping spot at Soldier (March 2024)

We wanted to return to Soldier because we didn’t get to ride the uppermost Bird’s Eye lift during our first visit in 2022.

Plus, the latest storm dumped almost a foot of snow on Soldier and blue skies were in the forecast.

The mountain was far from tracked out, which I wasn’t expecting. At the same time, I should’ve figured.

Unless you have an Indy Pass, most people have never heard of Soldier, so it stays uncrowded. Sun Valley is the better-known Idaho ski resort, only 80 minutes away.

For a moment, we thought a ride on Bird’s Eye wasn’t going to happen, again.

Approaching the lift, we crossed paths with two skiers. They were walking away from Bird’s Eye with their gear in hand and said that it was closed. The lift was spinning, but for some reason, lifties weren’t loading it.

Bummed, I started skating uphill and Kyle unstrapped so he could walk. Another skier joined us. We were down in a hole with no other way to access the mountain’s lower terrain without gaining some vertical for a quarter mile or so.

After elevating our heart rates and almost reaching the top, a ski patroller was coming off of Soldier’s main lift – High Trail Express. He looked confused as to why five people were migrating away from Bird’s Eye.

The ski patroller immediately got on his radio. The Bird’s Eye lifties confirmed that they were ready to load skiers and riders, but it was unclear why we couldn’t load several minutes before. Oh well!

After earning our way to the top of High Trail Express, it felt more satisfying to proceed to the base instead. The groomers were soft and my legs were able to warm up more before going off-piste.

We finally made it to the top of Bird’s Eye, and we spotted an untouched line. I took two turns and realized the strenuous effort in front of me.

The sun shines on much of Soldier all day, so there was a very thick crust that I couldn’t penetrate easily. I thought it would be softer because overnight temps were around 10 degrees Fahrenheit, and daytime highs weren’t supposed to surpass low 20s.

Kyle did much better on his snowboard, and it made me miss my snowboarding days. Sometimes it’s easier to move through crud when you have one stick instead of two. I’m still getting the hang of keeping my two sticks together in adverse conditions.

I was about to give up on going off-piste for the day, but then we took a tour of the north side on a really crappy cat track.

Above the cat track were some north-facing trees – The Glades. My pole easily moved through the snow, so I was eager to figure out where we could enter from the top.

Entry was obvious looking from the lift, but it involved straightlining, more unfriendly cat tracks, uphill skating, and walking.

Resting after the uphill walk (March 2024)

After our hard work, we were rewarded with deep, untouched powder.

I’d say it was the best part of Soldier’s Mountain, but it’s very difficult to lap. You have to ride two lifts and the uphill skating is a sweaty effort. Plus, the ski-out is more shitty cat track.

I keep mentioning nasty cat tracks, so let me explain. Soldier offers backcountry cat skiing.

The cat skiing is cool. (And will be discounted for Indy Pass holders for the first time during the 2024/25 season.) But the cat travels some of the same tracks as lift-served skiers. The groom job is destroyed whenever the cat goes out.

Tracks made by Soldier’s backcountry cat (March 2024)

Regardless, Soldier is a fun, mellow mountain to spend a half day. It’s also a great pit stop when traveling across southern Idaho.

Plus, they just joined the Loam Pass! More about this new mountain biking pass in Ski & Van Life News below.

After skiing, we drove to Mountain Home, about 75 minutes from Soldier.

We were ready for showers and to top off our batteries at Mountain Home RV Park, a G7 RV Resort.

Our site at Mountain Home RV Park (March 2024)

G7 is one of our favorite family of RV resorts in the west. Perhaps oddly, I love them most for their cotton shower floor mats.

Most RV parks do not provide a cotton floor mat for stepping out of the shower. Since I always wear shower flops, my feet normally stay wet until I get back to the van.

That cotton towel feels so good under my bare feet. It’s not something I ever appreciated when I showered at home before van life. Now, it’s a special treat when staying at hotels, with friends and family, and at G7 RV Resorts.

Before checking in, I really wanted a burrito. An online search pointed me to a taco truck – Main Street Tacos. I couldn’t decide if their location in a fitness center’s parking lot was good or bad for business.

Kyle and I both ordered burritos, carne asada and carnitas. When the cashier handed me our to-go bag, I was certain they gave us five-pound burritos. It was so heavy!

My burrito was steaming hot and carnitas crispy. And it really was quite large.