Our weekend yurt trip went about as expected. The forecast called for 18-24" of snow on Sunday and I went a little overboard with the safety margins and packed as though we would get 30". This meant a 55 lb. pack and no time to get out and rent telemark gear. I might've tried a 30 lb. pack on my basic backcountry xc skis but the extra gear forced me on to my snowshoes instead.
We had to dig through 7-8 feet of snow to get to the entrance and there was another 3-4 feet of snow to take off of the roof. The last group didn't put the porta-potty back inside the yurt and we never found it in 6 feet of snow. Sunday's blizzard conditions kept us inside talking, reading, and listening to the radio in between trips to shovel more snow. In the end, it was still better than staying home.
I'll post another four or five pics in a few days.
Bri