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Backcountry Boogie
How to find your own private slice of nowhere.
Hut, Hut, Hut!
Bethel to Moosehead lake, Maine
This winter Maine Huts & Trails (www.mainehuts.org) unveils the first fifth of a grand 180-mile (290-kilometer), dozen-hut system through the mountains of western Maine from Bethel to Moosehead Lake. Imagine kicking and gliding all day on groomed trails (moose-spotting as you go) with only the essentials in your pack, then rewarding yourself with a family-style meal and a warm bunk ($50) or private room ($85). The first hut, which will accommodate 40 guests, opens in early 2007 in the Carrabassett Valley, and two more are slated to open next winter.
Remote Rocket
Sandpoint, Idaho
Heli's too pricey? Snowcat too crowded? Try riding a "Sherpa" to powder. The esteemed northern Idaho–based Selkirk Powder Company (www.selkirkpowderco.com) is the only U.S. outfit to employ this trendy Euro contraption—a snowmobile with a three-man sleigh bolted to the back. It rockets skiers to 4,000 acres (1,619 hectares) of open slopes, steep bowls, and old-growth forest on the fringe of Schweitzer Mountain Resort (www.schweitzer.com). The Sherpa's speed and small capacity guarantee at least nine runs for your $300. Word to the wise: Bundle up. This ride is alfresco.
Hard-Core Crossing
Aspen to Crested Butte, Colorado
Want to test yourself on a multiday backcountry ski trip without bunking in a drippy snow cave come nightfall? On the classic 70-plus-mile (113-plus-kilometer) Rocky Mountain traverse from Aspen to Crested Butte, skiers can bed down in the tidy refuges of the popular 10th Mountain Division Hut Association system (www.huts.org). But south of Route 82 you can beat the crowds by opting for the Alfred A. Braun Hut System (the 10th's lesser known kin). Crossing over 12,705-foot (3,872-meter) Pearl Pass is a standout moment—but this trip isn't all traversing: Aspen Alpine Guides builds in an extra day midweek for peak-bagging or powder turns or both ($1,400; www.aspenalpine.com/).
Winter Wilding
A floating base camp that's over the top.
'Tis the season to break your piggy bank. Just corral up to 11 of your friends and charter the Absinthe ($36,000 a day; www.motoryachtabsinthe.com), a 201-foot (61-meter) megayacht (with helipad) that in late winter and early spring offers heli-skiing adventures where the Pacific slaps against the palisades of British Columbia's Coast Range. Carve the first ever lines on an unnamed peak, then strap into waders, chopper up Bute Inlet, fly-fish ultra-remote Southgate River, and return to the gifted hands of your onboard massage therapist.
Weekend getaways
