Family Winter Spring Camps in Northern Idaho

“This man did not know cold. Possibly, all the generations of his ancestry had been ignorant of cold, of real cold, of cold 107 degrees below freezing point. But the dog knew; all its ancestry knew, and it had inherited the knowledge.” Jack London

cross country skiing

General Information Family One-Week Winter Camps – Three Sessions

Date:

Ages:

Any age. See Pricing Below

Max Enrolment:

5 Families

Location:

Boundary County Idaho, Sawtooth Forest

Type of Camp:

Family Winter Camp with Lodging and Meals with Opportunities for Primitive Camping and Deep Wilderness Skills

Cost:

Standard Pricing

Activities:

Traditional camp activities, winter survival skills, winter bush-craft skills, nature photography, snow shoeing, cross country and telemark skiing, ice camping,

Prerequisite:

None

Skill Level:

Basic to advanced

Description:

More than a taste of the great outdoors during the winter. There is plenty to do for all skill levels, abilities, and ages all under the mentorship of those skilled and experienced.

You and the Kids

You and the kids might want to simply connect to your family, have fun playing with the kids in the snow, get in some cross-country skiing, sitting around a campfire and roasting marshmallows listing to stories of the past, or want to just stay warm looking out a winter wonderland from the warmth of the lodge enjoying home-cooked meals, enjoying the conversation from like-minded people, you will not be disappointed.

You and the Pre-Teens

You and the pre-teens might want to participate in the chores of the feeding the animals, gathering wood, making fly-fishing-flies. throwing tomahawks, shooting sports, learning bush crafts, or making soap. You might want to go on nature walks do a sit-spot, do some nature journaling, note-sketching, or nature photography then come back and display your work.

You and the Teens

You and the teens might want to come get out of your comfort zone and learn basic to advanced winter and ice camping skills such as cooking on a campfire, or the challenges of cooking on various backpacking stoves when on snow. Learn winter access skills including snowshoeing, cross country, or telemark skiing. Practice winter tracking skills, Learn the winter survival techniques of making and staying comfortable in an ice cave, hypothermia prevention, signs, and first aid, avalanche avoidance, develop skills using avalanche transponders, probes, and shovels. You might want to not only shoot rifle and shotguns but make your ammo.

There is plenty for the entire family to enjoy and learn. Regardless of age or interest, you will make memories that will last a lifetime.

Additional Resources for Home-Scholars:

Here are some resources relating to winter camping; though not up in Alaska and it is unlikely the temperature will be below zero but this might be of interest for those that have a passion for history and the hard life of those that went before.

Literature

 

Wilderness Safety

Avalanche Awareness, Avoidance, Safety, and Tools

Nature Connection

An Ice Camping Journal Entry by Brian King

"In all my wild mountaineering, I have enjoyed only one avalanche ride; and the start was so sudden, and the end came so soon, I thought but little of the danger that goes with this sort of travel, though one thinks fast at such times."
—John Muir
"Colder by the hour, more dead with every breath."
—John Green
"Nature is a profoundly deep part of us. Our species has spent 99.9% of the past 200,000 years thriving in nature, building shelter, making clothing, making fire, finding drinking water, tracking and harvesting food. For our species survival we had to be deeply connected to nature."
—Brian King