Tiny Ski Lodge

The folks at Outdoor Research have a tiny house for chasing powder. They have a couple seasons under their belts now and a new truck after the first finally passed due to old age. The house serves not only as a ski lodge for the Outdoor Research Sidecountry skiers & snowboarders but serves as an ambassador for the company out in the field.

The house was originally built in 2011 by Zack Griffin, one of the skiers, who works as a carpenter after the snow has melted. Zack and his crew worked steadily for seven weeks and had the house ready just in time for it’s original road trip. It’s only 112 square feet, but sleeps five and has a wood stove for heat. There’s no bathroom, but there is a small kitchen with a fridge and running water. The house has a lot of miles on it now, and seems to be holding up well.

One of the home’s most unique features is the drawbridge bunk. Two wood boards that slide out from below the main loft and connect up front to form a narrow sleeping berth. Two others sleep in the small loft, and two more down below in a sofa bed.

Kudos to Outdoor Research and the Sidecountry Skiers & Snowboarders that made this project happen. Love to see it progressing into multiple seasons. Below are some images grabbed from the videos. Image credit to Outdoor Research.

 

Here’s a couple of shots showing what it takes to get to their starting line.

 

Now at the starting line, it’s all downhill from here.

 

Yikes… not for the faint of heart.

 

I think the early American pioneers called this kind of terrain impassable.

 

Tasting the snow.

 

Love this final shot, a tiny house day dream.

If Outdoor Research is thinking about a future tiny house that (1) has a bathroom, (2) space for snow mobiles, (3) and space for extra gear, they might consider building a new tiny house on a 5th wheel trailer. This should allow you to legally pull a snowmobile trailer too and provide the extra space inside for gear and a bathroom. If you use steel framing or SIPs you’ll save some weight too.