This winter we are using our van as our home base for skiing day trips and also plan on only sleeping in our van when traveling to other ski resorts (when our stay at home orders end). Because of this, food planning is even more important than normal. Here are our tips for planning what food you can safely store in your van, based on our experiences over the last few years (including one -19°F night at a sno-park near Kirkwood, CA that broke one of the adults - the kids were fine). This is also an update to our page on Skiing in the Ski Van section.

If you are going to be using your van to live in while skiing, one of the trickiest parts we’ve found is figuring out what food to bring. We’ve learned (by freezing lots of different things accidentally) that you need to plan around whether or not your food is going to freeze and if there is the potential for multiple freeze-thaw cycles.

When you are ready to plan your trip, take a look at the daytime and nighttime expected temperatures and then decide where your food or cooler would be stored (inside or outside your vehicle). Using this information, determine if it’s likely your food will freeze at night and if your food will thaw during the day.

If the nighttime lows are only in the 20’s and your van stays warm enough to keep your cooler from freezing, consider storing your cooler in the van to prevent freezing. In cold weather, coolers do keep things warmer inside than outside but after enough time and with low enough temperatures you can freeze things inside a cooler. If you’re not sure, it’s better to assume things will freeze so you don’t have to throw away a bunch of food (as we have done more than once).

If your cooler will likely freeze but then possibly thaw during the day:

• Don’t bring anything perishable - the freeze-thaw cycles will be bad for health and taste.
• DO NOT try to warm up the inside of your cooler by taking off the lid in a warm car during the day. You don’t want to risk having the food go through warming and cooling cycles - it can cause the food to spoil.
• Good food examples include:
  • Dry soups or ramen
  • Dried fruit
  • Powdered milk (since box milk freezes)
  • Powdered juice/hot chocolate/apple cider
  • Crackers or crispbread (not regular bread)
  • Dried eggs
  • Oatmeal
  • Peanut butter
  • Freeze-dried meals
• No beer & wine, but peppermint schnapps or anything at least 64 proof should be OK

If it will be below freezing all the time and you are sure it won’t warm above freezing (even in the sun) bring food that you plan to be frozen:

• Anything non-perishable (see above)
• Frozen soup/chili
• Frozen ravioli/pasta
• Hot dogs
• If you want cheese, try generic cheddar cheese since it probably has the taste affected the least
• Salami - if you are OK thawing what you will eat for the day (don’t re-freeze)

In either case, if there is anything perishable (such as milk or fresh fruit) that you or your kids need every day you will need to plan to shop for it each day (either on the mountain if it’s available or by going to a local grocery store).

Some examples of food freezing points, for reference:

• Milk: 31°F
• Carrot: 29.8°F
• Apple: 28.5-28°F
• Cheese: 6-24°F
• Apple Juice: 29°F
• Raw eggs: ~30°F (cooked eggs freeze before 0°F and are really not good once frozen, but I couldn’t find a freezing point listed anywhere - maybe time for an experiment)
• Beer: 28°F
• Wine: 23°F
• Peppermint schnapps & akvavit: < 0°F

We're excited to share another interview this week! This one is really interesting because we have a husband and wife giving two perspectives on how they make outdoor parenting work. 

Transitioning to parenthood:

1. What outdoor activities did you do before you had kids? Same, just much more frequently before kids!​
2. If you or your spouse were pregnant, did that person continue any of the activities and how did they modify the activity while pregnant?  Laura: I climbed until my harness didn’t fit anymore. Skiing stopped pretty early (3 mo pregnant). No ocean time on my kayak since pre-pregnancy. 
3. If you do different activities after having kids, why is that? Laura: I’ve lost touch with friends who I did outdoor activities with. We engage in activities we can all participate in as a family. Dennis: We do most of the same activities, just much less frequently. There is much less time for day outings or weekends away due to school/work, kid's activities (classed, birthday parties, playdates, etc.). 
4. How old were your kids when you started doing outdoor activities with them? Laura: First camping trip at 2.5, skiing at 3. Did lots of hikes with baby as carrier made it easy. Dennis: We had them try climbing around ages 3 or 4. ​
5. What was your biggest challenge when you started doing outdoor activities with the kids? Laura: They love being outdoors. With skiing we have to tag team who is with what kid. They youngest needs more support. Dennis: Keeping the kids occupied and engaged, particularly downtime (such as setting up climbs) or waiting for their turn.

Outdoor parenting:

1. How have these challenges changed as the kids got older?  Laura: Our oldest can ski and climb the same trails/routes we do. I no longer climb but my husband does. Typically, all four of us go so I can belay him and keep the youngest occupied as she waits for a turn. Dennis: As [our oldest] has gotten older, she has taken a genuine interest in climbing. Together with mental maturity, which means she requires less constant stimulation and is more patient. 
2. Do you have trouble maintaining the kids interest in the activity (ie during a long hike) and if you do, how do you keep the kids interested?  Laura: When they were 4 and under, yes. Now they are happy and engaged during day trips. Dennis: They tend to stay interested on their own. But the kids getting tired is more of a challenge. Especially the little one, which will usually want to be carried at some point of the hike.  
3. How do you fit the activities into your working life?  Laura: I only have time on the weekends. In the winter we ski almost every week - it’s something we all love. Summer activities like camping and hiking aren’t as regular. Dennis: It is very tough during the week. We mostly engage in outdoor activities on the weekends. Since COVID, we have had more time on weekdays, for things like local nature hikes and bike rides, just like lots of other families. 
4. How do you balance outdoor activities with kids activities (organized sports, music, school)?  Laura: We’ve boxed all kid activities Into Saturday  morning or weekdays to leave Sundays open. Dennis: It’s very challenging. There just isn’t enough time for everything. There are constant trade-offs. We try our best to talk to the kids and see what they want. 
5. How do you ensure that both of you can keep doing your outdoor activities? Laura: Pre-COVID my husband went to climbing gym every week at the same time. I just don’t have the copious free time I did before kids and opt to spend my limited free time on other things like gardening, socializing, and yoga. Dennis: We’ve been supportive of each other getting out for “grown up” activities (such as climbing without the kids). But it’s hard to be away from the family all day. 
6. Have you ever received pushback on outdoor parenting from family, friends, or community? If so, how have you handled it? Laura: Not really. People ask questions as it can seem hard to get little kids engaged in outdoor activities but it has always felt like curiosity. Dennis: I wouldn’t say “pushback”. But there is often a perception by folks who don’t participate in outdoor activities like climbing or skiing, that these activities are dangerous. Explaining how these activities work (such as describing a climbing top rope setup) will often get folks to be less critical. 

Summary/Conclusion:

1. What resources helped you figure out how to do these outdoor activities with your kids? (books, friends, groups, blogs, etc).  Laura: Mainly seeing friends do it and getting inspired to try with my own kids. Dennis: We’ve had friends who had kids before we did. So we learned a lot watching them interact with their kids while doing outdoor activities. 
2. What is your favorite outdoor parenting hack? Laura: Sharing a ski pass when one parent has to be with baby in the lodge. Nature scavenger hunts on hikes on when waiting for turn climbing. Dennis: I’ve given my kids a little extra climbing motivation by putting candy inside plastic Easter eggs, and placing them on holds or ledges at various points of the climb (both outdoors and at climbing gyms). It does work, although it can backfire as well. One time, I did not bring the eggs, and my daughter was upset “But I want to find an egg!”
3. What is your biggest outdoor parenting mistake?  Laura: You can’t do things the way you use to. Be flexible with yourself and your kids and have fun! Dennis: Georgia broke her leg skiing last winter. She got going too fast and took a tumble. I don’t think there was really anything I could have done to prevent it. But I kept replaying it in my head for a long time. Georgia has since fully recovered, and is rearing to get back on skis this winter.
4. If you could give one piece of advice to other outdoor families, what would it be? Laura: Get your family out there,  it’s hard when they are wee little ones but I never regretted a single trip. Dennis: Your kids might not end up enjoying all the same activities you do. Show them why you love these activities, and maybe they will, too​
5. What is your favorite piece of gear for outdoor parenting? Laura: For babies/toddlers a good supportive carrier for hikes. Ski harnesses were helpful with toddlers. Dennis: Not specifically outdoor gear, but definitely my favorite: a good camera (not a phone) to capture all those memories. Cameras on phones have come a long way, and obviously win for convenience. But a phone simply can’t match the image quality of a “real” camera in capable hands. I started getting into photography when our first child was born, and that interest has carried over to outdoor activities. My current camera is a mirrorless, full-frame Canon R. My favorite lens for outdoor activities is the 70-200mm, f2.8. It’s a big, heavy lens. But it lets you zoom in on the action. I can get close-up shots of my kids on the rock, or out on the water while standing on shore.

Covid-safe breakfast at Squaw Valley, Washoe Land.

​Backpacking:

• Backpacking the Ruby Crest Trail—A Diamond in the Rough | The Big Outside

​
Biking:

• How To Set Up Tubeless Tires On A Kids Bike | Rascal Rides

Boating:

• The Terrifying Whitewater Trip That Turned into a Dream | Outside Online

General:

• Yes, Your Kids Can Play Outside All Winter | New York Times
• Surviving (and Thriving) Below Zero with Kids | Tales of a Mountain Mama
• Nature-Themed Holiday Books for Kids | Run Wild My Child
• Exposure to Morning Sunlight Profoundly Affects Mood, Health, and Nighttime Sleep | 1000 Hours Outside

Hiking:

• A Parent's Guide to Hiking with a Chatterbox | Outside Online

School/Education:

• How to Cultivate Nature-Inspired Literacy in Children | Run Wild My Child
• Starting A Forest Group for Kids | Run Wild My Child
• As Winter Looms, Outdoor Schools Face Tough Decisions | New York Times
• Nature-Inspired Outdoor STEAM Activities for Kids | Run Wild My Child

Skiing:

• Planning The Perfect Ski Tailgate Lunch | Bring the Kids
• How Do You Have a Ski Season in a Pandemic? | New York Times
• 8 Ski Safety Tips for Kids | Tales of a Mountain Mama

Travel:

• How to Drive the White Rim Road: Map, Photos & Driving Tips | Bring the Kids
• Best Family Outdoor Adventures Around Scottsdale Arizona | Bring the Kids

When we had our first kid, we didn't have a good roadmap of when we could start doing outdoor activities with kids. Many times I felt like we were winging it and also that we were pushing to do it faster than society suggests. We've been lucky to meet many people over the years who also took their babies on outdoor adventures as we did. Here is a summary of what I wish we knew when we had our first kid - it's part of our General Advice page in the When to Start section.

Hiking:

• Start hiking as soon as the birth mom’s body feels ready, and if she is nursing make sure she is comfortable nursing on the hike.
• Ease into how much the birth mom carries over time, so consider starting off with the other parent carrying the baby first.
• Look out for making sure the baby is warm enough and is covered from the sun.
• Parents we have interviewed reported starting hiking when their babies were between 1 and 4 months old.

Camping:

• Same as for hiking - wait for the birth mom’s body to feel ready and to be comfortable nursing on the go if she is nursing.
• Go easy on yourself - if you are all having a really rough time sleeping, don’t feel you need to rush into camping. You will get there.
• Parents we interviewed started camping when their babies were anywhere from 2 to 6 months old.

Backpacking:

• We recommend starting backpacking after you have been hiking for a while and tried camping at least once.
• Backpacking is easier the lighter your baby is. If you have a really heavy baby and don’t feel ready to backpack until your baby is 9-12 months old, you might end up not able to go backpacking until your child can walk.
• We started backpacking when our kids were about 9 months old.

Biking:

• The simplest answer is not to bike with your kid until they are one year old, since laws, bike helmet manufacturers, and most bike seat and trailer manufacturers don’t recommend it before then. 
• Many people don’t feel it’s necessary to wait that long and will look for other options, and if this is you we suggest reading this post from RascalRides.
  • We started putting our kids in a trailer when they were 6 months old because we felt it was safe enough for us.
  • Look out for the baby's helmet pushing their head forwards into an unsafe position. We put a pillow or towel behind the kid to prevent that.
  • Some people put a baby car seat in the trailer, but consider that you probably can’t use a bike helmet with that and there may be laws requiring a helmet.
  • One of our interviewees, Corbin, rode with his son in a backpack when he was 6 months old and felt it was safer than a trailer

Skiing/Snowboarding:

• Kids:
  • You can start kids playing with skis by putting them in strap-on cross-country skis to play in as soon as they can walk.
  • Most places don’t have ski lessons until 3 years old, but if you can find skis that fit your kid you can take them on the hill yourself when they are two.
• Parents can’t get back to skiing together until they have childcare, but many parents take turns skiing with one parent staying in the lodge with the baby. You can start this as soon as the birth mom feels comfortable and is able to nurse well if that applies. The birth mom might also want to make sure that her ab muscles get back together before starting.

Cross-Country Skiing:

• Start whenever you feel comfortable hiking with your baby and comfortable keeping your baby warm.
• Consider which options you feel most comfortable doing with a small baby:
  • The Chariot trailer with ski attachments or a ski pulk put the baby farther away from you, which might be a concern if you’re worried about cold, but you don’t have to worry about falling down as much.
  • Baby backpacks or front baby carriers also work well, but you have to feel comfortable about the possibility of falling down.
• Kids can start trying cross-country skiing as soon as they can walk, using the strap-on skis.

Climbing:

• Parents:
  • We recommend starting hiking first and feeling comfortable with that and to be ready to carry more weight on the approach (or enlist friends to help).
  • Parents can climb as soon as the birth mom is feeling good and (especially) has their ab muscles back together.
  • You’ll also need to line up an extra adult unless you’re bouldering so there’s always someone looking after the baby.
• Kids often can’t start climbing on a rope until they are at least 3 years old, since they are so short and don’t weigh much. 
  • Before then, consider letting them appreciate the joy of climbing by playing around on small boulders and jumping onto crash pads. 

Travel:

• Travel with a baby can be fun to do as soon as the parents are comfortable with it and especially when people are sleeping well enough.
  • We traveled across the US with a 6-week-old baby and to Europe first when our second child was 6 months old, however, our babies both slept very well when they were young.
• Travel with a baby, even international travel, can sometimes be easier than when they’re toddlers:
  • They can be in the bassinet on the plane if you get a bulkhead seat.
  • You can take them wherever you want and don’t have to cater to their preferences as much as for bigger kids.
• To make it easier for them to adjust to the travel, bring a travel crib and stroller or baby carrier that they are used to sleeping in.

Getting ready for the ski season and van camping at Spicer Sno-Park near Bear Valley Ski resort, Washoe land.

November is Native American Heritage month, and a good opportunity to talk with your children about Native American history and in particular by learning about the Native people of your area.

November is also the premier of this year's Warren Miller ski movie, which is happening virtually so you can watch it from the comfort of your own home and get excited for ski season.

Boating:

• The Secret to Happy Family Camping Is a Canoe | Outside Online

Biking:

• 7 Bike Storage Ideas For Kids Bikes, Apartments, Garages, & Outdoors | Rascal Rides

Books:

• 20+ Amazing Books for Outdoor Kids | Born to be Adventurous

General:

• 5 Simple Autumn Nature Adventures | Run Wild My Child
• Connecting the Generations | Latino Outdoors
• This Film Will Make You Rethink Every Parental Decision | Outside Online
• Where We Walk: What Youth Have to Teach Us | Appalachian Trail Conservancy

Hiking:

• Hiking Kid Carrier Comparison | Tales of a Mountain Mama Normally I wouldn't share gear review posts, but a good hiking kid carrier is a fundamental gear choice and this is a good review of the options..

Inclusion:

• 4 Tips For Confronting Internalized Racism In The Outdoors | Melanin Basecamp
• Nature gap: Outdoor recreation isn't just for white people. Invite Black youth outside. | USA Today

School/Education:

• Classrooms Without Walls, and Hopefully Covid | New York Times
• What I Learned Taking Online Learning On the Road for a Week | Colorado Parent 

Travel/Adventure:

• 10 Best National Parks to Take the Kids | Earth Trekkers
• Best London Playgrounds | Globetrotting Visiting playgrounds with kids is a great way to explore new cities when you're traveling.
• Pit Stops for Kids’ Pre-Road Trip Checklist | Pit Stops for Kids
• How to Pan for Gold with Kids | Run Wild My Child

How do you balance outdoor adventure with "normal" life? I've been struggling with that for almost 11 years. Here is what I've learned, from my experiences and from what my friends have taught me. It has also been added to our General Advice page, Outdoor Life Balance section.

Fall hiking near Mt. Reba, Bear Valley, CA (Washoe Land)

​One of the biggest challenges of outdoor parenting is setting up our schedules to keep going on trips and getting outside, despite the pressure of sports teams, school events, friends’ birthday parties, and demands from work. Additionally, it’s important to balance between family trips and individual parent time. Here is a summary of advice from us and from our interviewees on how to create that balance. 

How to fit activities into working life:

• Set up systems and routines for frequent shorter trips that you can do close to home:
  • Set up a routine for getting out, even if it has to change each season or as kids get older
    • Example: Shannon said they tried to get out for a hike every week, taking advantage of one parent working part-time to get out midweek.
  • Set up systems to get away quickly (have go-bags in the car, change them for each season)
    • Include in this a set of snacks and water bottles to bring quickly
  • Have a list of places to go (nearby or farther away) so you can get away quickly without much planning.
    • Learn about the idea of planned spontaneity from Mrs. Adventure Rich on this episode of the ChooseFI podcast.
• Incorporate it into your daily life:
  • Bike with the kids to school or on adventures around your town
  • Build a climbing wall in the backyard (as Emily suggested) or in your home as Cragmama did.
• Plan longer trips annually and ahead of time. If you don’t like planning far in advance, make sure you have vacation time allocated and a rough time to use it so you don’t let the vacation time go unused.
  • If you need to use vacation time to visit family, plan adventures to do while you’re already out visiting them.
  • Err on the side of reserving too many backpacking permits or campsites - you can cancel them if needed.
• In a perfect world: live somewhere close to family or friends so you don’t have to use vacation time to visit them, live close to outdoor activities that you love so you don’t have to drive so far, and have one or both parents with less demanding jobs (or jobs that align with the school schedule) to make packing and getting out of town easier.
  • We moved to the mountains for the year from the Bay Area and love how quick it is to get outside into the backcountry and play.
  • Emily said that “Right now we are satisfied with planning ~4 - 6 trips/year and doing a lot of local hiking. We are fortunate that most of our family is close so our vacation time is generally spent in the outdoors.”

How to balance outdoor adventures with kids school/sports/friends:

• This isn’t a problem when kids are babies, but this is a good time for parents to set expectations that can continue as the kids get older.
• Decide what is the priority for your family, and revisit this discussion with the kids as they get older and develop more opinions.
  • Karl writes: “We have avoided organized sports and have done everything we can to keep our weekends open.”
  • On the other side, Shannon writes: “It’s hard! Our balance leans toward a greater commitment to team sports at the detriment of our outdoor adventures.”
• When you decide to sign your kid up for activities, decide in advance if this is something that you will never miss or what cases you would miss it for so you have a plan ahead of time. As your kid gets older, involve them in the discussion.
  • Example: ski team conflicts with soccer in the spring, and possibly with friends birthday parties, so decide (on your own or with the kid’s input) what is going to take priority.
  • As Emily said, “If she's doing something on a weekend like swimming or gymnastics, I am fine with her missing a class and swallowing the money if we have another plan.
• When your kid starts school, you’ll need to have the same discussion about school events.
  • Try to get the school calendar as far in advance as possible, so you know about any weekend events or Friday afternoon plans so you can decide to miss or attend them.
• Agree among the parents on how you feel about taking kids out of school. Take advantage of half days on Fridays, if your school has them. Learn the rules for missing school - for example in some districts if you take off more than 3 days a year there are consequences, but if you take off a full week you can get an independent study plan and have no consequences.

How to make sure each partner gets enough outside time, on their own if necessary:

• Start by having multiple discussions with your partner about what is important to each of you and determine what you want to do without kids.
  • This is hard to do think about doing during the chaos of a new baby, but there are a lot of benefits of making time to do this.
  • You’ll most likely need to lower your expectations of what you can do, individually and together, compared to life before kids. Take advantage of the change to focus on what is most important to each of you.
• If there are things that each of you wants to do every week, take turns so each of you can get a break from parenting duties.
  • Shannon says: “She likes running so I make sure to be on kid duty so she can run. I play soccer, so she’s on duty then.”
  • Corbin writes: “We developed a schedule. I get up first and take care of our son in the morning from when he wakes up till 8:30 or so. My wife then takes over till 3 pm. I then have time to work or bike. I take back over at 3 pm till after dinner, at which we swap again. This allows each of us to have dedicated time to ourselves. On days that my wife works, I will watch our boy for the entire day.”
• If either of you can fit things in during daycare hours, look to take advantage of that.
  • When my husband and I both worked close to home, we would take a long lunch break and meet at the climbing gym.
  • When I no longer worked close to home, I found a climbing gym with auto-belays and would fit in 1-2 climbs a week there during my lunch break.
• Look for opportunities to get out together without the kids.
  • Make it into a date night (or afternoon) and get someone to look after the kids. Hire a babysitter and go out to the climbing gym or go for a bike ride. Or swap childcare with friends nearby.
  • If you have family nearby, or good friends, maybe they want to play with the kids for the day or a weekend.
  • If family is far away, consider flying them out for a visit. We once flew my mother to come to visit for a while and look after the kids when we went on a trip.
  • Many ski resorts have daycare options (but it’s usually very expensive!). You don’t need to ski at the resort - see if there is good backcountry skiing nearby
  • Emily says “We found ourselves stranded in Red Rock Nevada once when another family skipped out our planned trip and we were able to find childcare at a local kids gym in Las Vegas (Evelyn was around 2 or 3yrs). We would wake up, drive her into the childcare, then book it back to the rocks, climb something shorter, and then dash back to pick her up by 5 pm."
• Go on trips with good friends or near where your family lives.
  • If you travel to your parents’ house, see if they’d be willing to look after the kids while you go away for a day or three.
  • Go on a trip with another family and each family takes turns taking care of all the kids so the parents can go out by themselves for the day.
  • Go on a trip with another adult, and the parents take turns going out with the other adult for the day.
• Go on trips with just your family and have the parents take turns. Each parent can:
  • Go skiing by themselves for a few hours or a day.
  • Go on hikes (even if it’s just the morning).
  • Find a climbing partner for the day and go climbing.
• Or just make the decision that you will just do everything with the kids.
  • From Karl: “We have settled on a group of activities that we can all enjoy together.”
  • From Emily: “Neither of us really do outdoor activities sans kids. Kids are just part of our life now and they are generally included.”

This week we have an interview with an outdoor parent whose children are grown up, so he has the perspective of taking them outdoors through all the stages of childhood. He is also a very experienced at orienteering, which I think is a great way to get kids outside that I haven't tried yet with my kids. He also happens to be my uncle, and when I was a kid I got to go orienteering with them. Enjoy!

When you decide to be a ski bum sleeping in your car with your family instead of buying or renting out a house or staying in a hotel, it does have an impact on your ability to socialize as easily with friends. You can’t exactly invite people over for dinner at your place, to reciprocate when they invite you over, so it’s easy to feel guilty about that. Here is how we tried to handle it pre-Covid, although working full time and wrangling kids onto ski-teams every two weeks often made things too stressful to effectively follow through on these plans. As always, we’d love more ideas on how to make this work! 

Pre-covid, we would arrive at the ski resort early, maybe 7:30 or 8 AM, and get a table inside and have breakfast. We had a group of other families that would also get there early that we could talk to (if we didn’t end up spending all our time getting the kids into ski gear and sunscreen and fed).

After skiing, we would also hang out at the resort but this time it would be a bit more relaxed. Any of us who were done skiing for the day early would wait in the lodge and chat with other families or play games. We would try to have some extra beers in the cooler in case an adult friend wanted one. The best night was when our friend brought an electric fondue pot and we all shared fondue together.

In the evenings we would go to dinner at one of the restaurants in the hotel near the resort, which also happened to be near where our friends lived. Many times we’d see friends there and hang out with them, especially since one of the restaurants had seating in the lounge area of the hotel. We did get to know another family that had a truck camper and we started seeing them more often in the restaurants, which was nice. As a bonus, the hotel had wifi so we could download books to read or movies to watch in the van.

Our friends would often invite us over to their places for dinner or après-ski. We would try to bring a bottle of wine or something over to share but we didn’t always remember to have something with us, especially when the invitations were last minute, or if we were worried about liquids freezing in the van. 

In a perfect world, this is what we would recommend doing:

• Bring extra food and drinks on all trips: look for things that you can share at the resort while you’re hanging out or have in case you get invited somewhere.
• Bring a good board game or card game to share - smaller games are good to play at the resort if table space is limited.
• If you are invited over, make sure you are good guests - help to cook and clean up.
• Look for places to eat dinner where you know people and invite them to join you and also places where it’s acceptable to hang out for a while.
• For crowded resorts (which never happened to us at Bear Vally) and when the weather is good, bring chairs and set up a tail-gate at your van and invite friends over.

During covid, we are going to need to focus on making time to hang out with friends outside when the weather is good and before it gets too cold at night. No more invitations to friend’s houses, but we will consider bringing snacks and drinks to share if people are comfortable with it. Unfortunately, we are probably going to need to refocus on how to eat in our van more and socialize within our family, such as more van-movie nights and playing games. But as long as we get lots of good days out there skiing it will be worth it!

Our van, in our favorite parking spot close to good dinner options and friends.

A note on this section: it is based more on research and less on experience than our average pages. My husband and I enjoyed backcountry skiing before we had kids but as of when this was written, we haven't done much with our kids yet. We have done plenty of tree skiing with our kids and have taken our oldest child on some side-country exploration with the Contour Startup Ski Touring Adapter, along with a friend whose daughter was on telemark. The rest of the information on gear is based on research.

First, safety: your kids cannot rescue you from an avalanche, except maybe if you have older teenagers, so you must be very careful about where you take them. The minimum age I’ve seen online for AIARE Level 1 classes ranges from 10-13, however I don’t feel my 10 year old would be strong enough to dig fast enough to rescue me and I would never want to put that responsibility on her. You know your kids best though, so make the decisions that are best for your family.

For younger kids, see if you can attend an avalanche awareness presentation for kids such as the ones given by the Nikolay Dodov Foundation. These sorts of presentations get the kids to start thinking about where avalanches can occur and what causes them, and the risks of getting caught in one.

Always bring a first aid kit and enough food and warm clothing to be prepared to handle the weather, especially when you’re hiking in tougher terrain such as in snow.

Backcountry touring setup options: (I have very small feet - 22.5 boots - so finding gear that fits small feet has been a battle for me since I started backcountry skiing)

• The Contour Startup Ski Touring Adapter fits into your binding and gives you a releasable heel. 
  • It works with boot sole lengths from 245-305mm, which means the smallest boot size is about 21.5
  • For our family with small feet, this means that it didn’t fit our kids until our daughter was 10.
• For skins, you can trim an old pair of adult skins to fit the kid’s skis.
  • Or sew tother scraps from what people cut off.
• Jones Snowboards makes a splitboard for kids, but the only size available is for bigger kids.
• Telemark (although boot size limitations seem to be similar to tech bindings so don't work for smaller kids).

Non-skiing/boarding options:

• Snowshoes - kids skis are small so you can fit them in your pack
• Bootpacking - KidProject.org recommends putting Yaktraks and micro-spikes on the kids boots to prevent slipping

DIY options:

• From a comment on KidProject.org: try putting cross country boots on straight skis with skins attached to the skis to get your kid uphill and carry their downhill skis.
• DIY kids splitboard setup
• Telemark 
• Modify an adult binding to fit a kids size boot.

How to start:

• First, get your kids to enjoy skiing or boarding in the trees and get them to a point where you feel they are doing it very safely.
• Next, try side-country gates or boot-packs at the resorts - get them to enjoy the benefits of putting some energy in to getting fresh tracks.
• Finally, look for some very safe hills to play around on. 
  • Use the opportunity to look at your local avalanche website with your child and discuss the risks.
  • Make sure to focus on enjoying the hike, because it will take up most of the time. Check out our page on keeping kids entertained while hiking.
  • Also make sure the kids put on and take off layers appropriately while hiking and switching to going downhill - those skills are not instinctive and you don’t want to end up with a hypothermic kid.
  • Turn around if the avalanche danger looks higher than you expected, and talk about it with your kids. That might be the most valuable lesson for the trip.

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As I mentioned, we currently don’t have much personal experience backcountry skiing with kids. Here are some of the other helpful links I have found on backcountry skiing with kids:

• KidProject.org: one of their kids even competes in SkiMo.
• DadDispatches.com
• YukonBackcountrySkiing.com

Our monthly post to highlight the best writing and most useful tips written by Outdoor Parents over the past month.

You won't typically find gear reviews or travel guides here - on this site we focus on the skills and inspiration to help you get outside and stay outside with your kids. We also believe that everyone should feel welcome in the outdoors, so we share articles by parents and outdoors-people of color to make sure everyone is learning each other's perspectives.

Hopefully, this encourages you to plan your next outdoor adventures, reflect on what you were able to accomplish over the past month, or what you learned and would do differently. Enjoy!

Upper Kinney Lake, on the Pacific Crest trail, Humbolt-Toiyabe National Forest
Washoe Land

Activities to try with kids:

• The Beginner's Guide to Foraging | Backpacker
• A Crowd of Campers Trashed Max Patch | Backpacker As more people are going outdoors due to the pandemic, there is a lot more trash being left behind. As someone who thru-hiked the AT and has fond memories of hiking across Max Patch, this was upsetting to see. Let's get our kids in the habit of packing a trash bag on hikes and making the trail cleaner than when we started.
• Teach our kids about the native people of where you live or travel to with this website.
• Wildflower Hike and Homemade Bookmarks | Run Wild My Child Make sure you do this in places where you're allowed to pick the plants. We just did this with fall mountain plants in our yard and it was a lot of fun.

​Books to Read:

• 20+ Amazing Books for Outdoor Kids | Born to Be Adventurous
• The Best Books Featuring Black Children in the Outdoors | Outside Online

Note: we will be making a big update to our Books page soon and start adding reviews, so be on the lookout for that!

General:

• How a Jogging Stroller Saved My Outdoor Life | Backpacker
• Ways to Reconnect with Nature as a Family | Run Wild My Child
• Inheriting a Tradition: Embracing My Dad's Love of the Outdoors | Latino Outdoors This story is a good reminder that even if our kids say they don't like playing in the outdoors when they're in high school or college, they can often have renewed appreciation when they get older and it can be a way to reconnect with them.

Inclusion:

• Gaining Experience | Latino Outdoors
• Why Route Names Matter | Access Fund As I mentioned in a previous Outdoor Inspiration, we shouldn't accept route names that we wouldn't feel comfortable with our kids saying. Let's support Mountain Project and the Access Fund to get rid of offensive route names.
• 5 Ways to Build a More Racially Inclusive Hiking Community | Melanin Basecamp An excellent summary of ways we can support each other.
• Out There, Nobody Can Hear You Scream | Outside Online If you have ever said or heard someone say that Black people just don’t like to do outdoor activities, please read this to understand the barriers that have to be overcome to spend time in the outdoors. As a woman hiking alone I have definitely felt the fear of being attacked, but I never felt the need to look up lynching maps or hate-group maps to see if I was safe to hike somewhere and that is a huge privilege. 

School/Education:

• Introduction to Outdoor Schools | Run Wild My Child
• Intro to Federal Public Lands in the US | NOLS Blog A short summary that can be used to teach your kids the history of the public lands we play in. 

​
Travel:

• Everything You Need to Know to Pick and Awesome Family RV | Crazy Family Adventure A really comprehensive list of the pros and cons of different sizes of RVs for traveling with kids of different ages, from a family that travels full-time.​​