Frog Lake Huts Backcountry Ski Huts
The Frog Lake Huts are Tahoe's newest and most plush backcountry lodging option. They provide a comfortable way to tour and overnight in one of Tahoe's best backcountry zones. This is as close as it gets to British Columbia or French Alps style lodge touring. Enjoy the backcountry in style!
Trips are guided by our expert guide team. Deluxe dinners and breakfasts are provided and prepared for you as well!
Check out our Frog Lake Women's Weekend!
Schedule
• Friday-Monday (arrive Friday, leave Monday)
The Huts
- Must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19
-
Are Proficient at Using Your Gear. If you are not, consider taking our Intro to Backcountry course, followed by at least five additional days of ski touring.
- Can Ride Advanced Terrain at a ski resort. It is important that riders have an advanced riding ability to manage the highly variable snow conditions we experience in the backcountry. These conditions are typically very different from those found at ski resorts, even in off-piste terrain.
- If you aren't sure whether or not you meet these requirements, please contact us!
Dates
Available Dates
Prices
Select trip in dropdown for pricing.Itinerary
The Frog Lake Huts operate on a fixed weekly schedule for the season. Trips run throughout the winter as follows:
Sunday through Tuesday
Tuesday through Thursday
Thursday through Sunday
Friday through Monday
For example, if you book a weekend option, you arrive on Thursday and spend Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at the hut before leaving on Sunday.
Day 1 (Arrival & touring): Tour to the huts, enjoying fun skinning and riding along the way. Upon arrival we'll unpack our small overnight kits and get out for a tour before dinner. After we've had our fill of riding for the day, we'll settle back into the huts and prepare for dinner. Dinners are deluxe meals prepared by our guides.
Day 2 (Ski touring from the hut): We'll get an early start on the day, having a hot breakfast with fresh coffee and tea and prepare snacks for the day before suiting up and heading out for a day of exploring the Frog Lake area. The backcountry holds numerous options and based on fitness and capabilities of your group, we can range far and wide to find the best snow and explore new terrain. After skiing to our hearts content, we'll regroup at the huts, set our gear out to dry and prepare for dinner.
Day 3(Ski touring from the hut)/ Day 4(Departure and short tour): Depending on the length of your trip (3 days or 4 days), we'll either be up for another day of skiing and riding, or we'll pack up and head back to the trailhead.
Equipment
Frog Lake Huts Overnight Backcountry Skiing Gear Guide & Packing List
Gear Guide / Packing List
Overview
There are no other huts or lodges in California that match Frog Lake Backcountry Huts
experience. With amenities and creature comforts galore, spending a few nights deep in the
backcountry feels like only a small shift from being at home when you're at the Frog Lake Huts.
The sleeping huts (Ted R, Rockwood and Morgan) are equipped with running water, flush
toilets, sinks with soap and paper towels to wash and dry your hands. Each hut is equipped
with multiple charging stations, including USB ports for small electronics. There are no
showers.
Separate from the sleeping huts is the Eschenbach House. This building contains a commercial
kitchen, dining room, map room, bathroom and “loft lounge.” The commercial kitchen is
equipped with pots, pans, griddles, ovens, dishes, utensils and basic cooking supplies as well
as a refrigerator. The dining room is large and can accommodate the full capacity of the huts
during meals with the ambiance of an open fire.
Backcountry Touring Gear
❏ Alpine Touring Skis or Splitboard - Light to Midweight Setup with “Tech Bindings”
❏ Alpine Touring Boots or Splitboard Compatible Boots; Scarpa F1
❏ Ski Poles - Lightweight, Adjustable Poles with Baskets; BD Expedition 3 Poles
❏ Climbing Skins - Mohair Mix is Best; Black Diamond GlideLite Mohair Mix,
❏ Ski Crampons - Specific to your Skis/Board; (may not be necessary depending on
conditions)
❏ Ski Strap - Voile Ski Strap or Similar
❏ Ski Helmet - Dual Rated Helmet; Petzl Sirocco or Black Diamond Vision
❏ Repair items specific to your gear - Any items that are prone to fail in the field that are
specific to your equipment, ie extra splitboard binding screws or tail clips for skins.
Avalanche Gear
❏ Avalanche Beacon - Digital Avalanche Transceiver; Black Diamond Guide Recon BT
❏ Avalanche Shovel - Collapsible, Aluminum Shovel; Backcountry Access BT2 Shovel
❏ Avalanche Probe - Quickdraw Style Probe; Backcountry Access Stealth 300
Overnight Gear
❏ Headlamp - LED headlamp with fresh batteries; Petzl Actik Core
❏ Sleeping Bag - Sleeping bags are provided by Blackbird Mountain Guides. If you would
like to use one, we REQUIRE that you bring a sleeping bag liner.
❏ Sleeping Pad- The huts are equipped with comfortable sleeping pads - please do not
pack one!
❏ Hut Booties - Provided at the huts by Truckee Donner Land Trust
Head and Neck Layers
❏ Sun Hat - A Baseball Hat; Blackbird Mountain Guides Logo Hat
❏ Sunglasses - Dark Lens Glasses with Side Coverage; Julbo Shield
❏ Goggles - Ski Goggles with a Storm Lens; Julbo Aerospace Reactive
❏ Warm Hat - Lightweight Warm Hat that Fits Under Your Helmet;
❏ Neck Gaiter - Light to Midweight Neck Gaiters; Buff or your favorite Face Masks
Upper Body and Hand Layers
❏ Long Sleeve Base Layer - Lightweight, Synthetic/Wool; Patagonia SunHoody
❏ 2 Insulating Top Layers - Light to Midweight Insulation Layers; Patagonia R1 &
NanoAir
❏ Puffy - Midweight Down or Synthetic with Hood; Patagonia Fitzroy or similar
❏ Hardshell Jacket, Hooded - Waterproof, Light, Gore-Tex, NOT insulated; Arc’Teryx
Alpha FL
❏ Light Gloves - Light to Mid Weight for Warm Temps; Flylow John Henry Gloves, BD
Tour
❏ Midweight Gloves - Mid to Heavy Weight for Cold Conditions; BD Legend
❏ Sports Bra - Wool/Synthetic
Lower Body and Foot Layers
❏ Socks - Midweight Wool/Synthetic; Darn Tough Via Ferrata
❏ Underwear - Wool/Synthetic
❏ Long Underwear - Wool/Synthetic “Long Johns”; Patagonia Capilene Air
❏ Softshell Ski Pants - Breathable, Weather Resistant Pants; OR Trailbreaker II
❏ Vented Hardshell Ski Pants - (Conditions dependent) Waterproof Pants for Extreme
Weather
Food and Water
❏ Water Bottles - Bring at least 2 Liters capacity, with at least 1 Liter bottle being a hard
sided Nalgene bottle or similar. The other liter can be a soft bottle like a hydrapak or a
hydration system.
❏ Hydration System - We love hydration systems, but they have a tendency to freeze up
on colder trips, so make sure to bring a hard sided water bottle as a backup!
❏ Breakfast, Appetizers & Dinner - Supplied and cooked by Blackbird Mountain Guides
❏ Lunch & Snacks - Please bring snacks and lunch food for each day of the trip. We
typically eat lunch on the go, so plan for food that doesn’t need to be prepared in the
field. Some trips,depending on group desires and weather, may take longer lunch break
breaks.
❏ Hot Drinks - Coffee supplied by Truckee Donner Land Trust, tea supplied by Blackbird
Mountain Guides. Feel free to bring your own if you have specialty coffee or tea that you
like!
❏ Utensils, Plates, Bowls, Etc - The Frog Lake Huts are well provisioned with a
commercial kitchen and
❏ Water - The water from the taps at Frog Lake is treated, potable and delicious! will be
melted from snow or boiled
Other Essentials
❏ Sun Screen (SPF 30 minimum)
❏ Lip Balm (with SPF)
❏ Hand Sanitizer
❏ Toilet Paper
Optional
❏ First Aid/blister Kit - We recommend KT Tape Blister Prevention
❏ Chemical Hand Warmers
❏ Hydration System - Flexible Water Bladder with Hose; Hydrapak, Camelback, Platypus
Group Gear
Blackbird Mountain Guides will supply all of the group gear for the trip, including:
✓ Guide’s First Aid Kits
✓ Guide’s Repair Kit (Please bring any items that are specific to your equipment, ie
extra splitboard binding screws!)
✓ Wag Bags (Huts have bathrooms, but in the field we will use Solid Human Waste
Disposal Bags if necessary