Woody Creek Cabin and Mt  Zimmer Yurt

Beartooth Powder Guides, led by Ben Zavora, runs trips out of Cooke City. Their two lodging options are the Woody Creek Cabin and the Mount Zimmer Yurt. We opted for the combo package and stayed two nights at Woody and three night at Zimmer. This seemed like a good idea at the time but, if I go again—and I hope I do—I’d probably opt to go for one or the other.

I’ll take you on a chronological tour, here:
The Woody Creek Cabin, pictured below, sleeps up to ten people and is an open concept, very comfortable spot. The skin-in is a little more than 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) in, and features a pretty mellow grade. Some in our party pulled sleds with extra luxury items. The cabin sits at 2650m (8,700’) at the confluence of the Woody and Hayden Creeks. Wood heat and snow melt for water.

Is this an ad for DPS or a photo of Woody Creek Cabin? Maybe Both… Hi Wimbo.

The approach to Hayden and High Hayden, where the best skiing was, took about an hour. Here, below, is the High Hayden zone—where we enjoyed some of the best skiing of the trip. There were a couple really fun shots looker’s right of this photo too.  Depending on conditions, there are some options closer to the cabin as well.

Speaking of options, here is a shot we did into Zimmer Creek; more specifically, Blue ice Bowl. We didn't see any blue ice. Scha-weet.

After a couple days at Woody, and ¾ of a day for transition, we got to the Zimmer Yurt. We went with a guided catered program that included a sled tow/ride in. I know some folks skin in – we sure were happy to have the mechanical assist. The ski out option would have been easier than the in—obviously. It’s about  11.24km (or 7 miles). Again, the elevation gain is not massive but, with a full pack, it’d be big.

The Yurt sits at about 2,900m (or 9,500’) next to Companion Lake and  the Zimmer Creek Wilderness Boundary. One of the cool things about having done both zones is that you can look back across the valley to High Hayden and the Woody Creek Cabin area from Zimmer. Zimmer is a yurt with bunks for six ‘round the outside of the circle. Nice card/dinning table in the centre.

Seemed to me that there were more skiing options over here than at Woody. Here is a snap of the Goose Lake zone. We took advantage of the sleds as much as we were able and cut the approach time down significantly.

Verdict:

Very glad to have checked out this part of the  North American backcountry ski scene. Beartooth Powder Guides do a great job in helping people get to the goods. All our guides for the program were excellent (thanks to Wolfie, Alan and the nurse guy at Woody). The guided/catered program is relatively new and they make the extra effort to keep things running smooth. This is a different experience than a guided/catered heli-in hut trip in BC Interior. It’s also not quite as expensive. Because of space and logistical limitations, the guide also acts as cook. This worked out fine on our trip—just don’t expect a fresh baked loaf of bread and appies when you come in off the slopes. Next time, I might consider hitting only the hut or the yurt, going non-catered, and hiring a guide for half the time. That may be the sweet spot. The Woody Cabin is more comfortable and there are more skiing option around the yurt. Each has its strong points.