Cross Country Ski Trip to Ostrander Ski Hut in Yosemite

Ostrander Ski Hut, January 2023

OSTRANDER SKI HUT

Almost exactly one year ago, I cross country skied to the legendary Ostrander Ski Hut in Yosemite with a few buddies. The hut is located right near the shore of Ostrander Lake and is one of those impossibly beautiful scenes that are all too common in Yosemite National Park.

For those unfamiliar with the area, Ostrander Lake is located off Glacier Point Road in Yosemite and is a relatively popular hike in the summer. The whole area is well-traveled during peak tourist season, as there are multiple hikes off of Glacier Point Road, not to mention Glacier Point as an amazing destination in and of itself. However, during the winter, Glacier Point Road closes at the turn off to Badger Pass (a local, historic ski resort) and the upper portion of the road is only accessible by cross country skiers and snowshoers. While snowshoeing along the road isn’t too strenuous, it is enough of a barrier that the road is far less traveled than when accessible by car in the summer.

And let me tell you, it is magical to hike along and see only a few people throughout the course of a day.

You can learn more about the 1940s ski hut as well as booking reservations here.

BOOKING THE TRIP

I first saw the Ostrander Hut when hiking with my wife back in 2009 right after we were just married. I honestly didn’t know anyone could stay in it, much less book a reservation to ski to it until a few years later. Once I found out, I immediately wanted to go—but, life has a way of getting busy and plans can get pushed to the wayside.

Fast forward to the end of 2022, when one of my friends asked if I’d be interested in doing the trip with him if he could get reservations. I had no idea how tough that would be, and I obviously said “Yes!!” Luckily, he scored four spots for us and we had reservations!

We didn’t know how the weather would be for the reservation dates, but we ended up having ideal conditions. Winter ‘22/’23 was an epic snowfall year, so there was plenty of fresh powder to make the trip enjoyable; but, we also had a few day span where the weather was clear. In short, it was just about as ideal as can be.

Preparation

As with any outdoor excursion, safety is paramount. Preparedness can save your life, and simple carelessness can, at best, massively inconvenience you—or, at worst, kill you. As such, we had to hike in a whole lot of extra gear to make sure we could weather the night outside in the event that we didn’t actually make it to the hut.

That may sound a little dramatic, but let me tell you, a lot can happen in the woods. Gear failure, altitude sickness, dehydration, inclement weather—all of these can make a fun day turn bad pretty quickly. And with no cell service and few people around, you just have to rely on someone making it back for help.

Between the four of us, we brought extra water filters, snow shovels, tents, shelters, food, matches, extra clothes etc. to make sure that we would be ok in an emergency.

Each one of us probably brought at least 25lbs of gear we didn’t need, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. And, since Winter ‘22/’23 had started off with an Atmospheric River of snowfall in the mountains, we knew we needed to be smart and take the backcountry seriously.

Setting out at the Ostrander Ski Hut Trailhead at Badger Pass

HITTING THE TRAIL

We made it up to Badger Pass right at around 9am. This was a little later than we intended, but the roads were icy after a series of major storms in the last few weeks and it slowed our drive down a bit. Once up there, we parked our cars in the backcountry lot, checked in with the ranger, placed our wilderness/overnight permits in our windshields, finished loading our gear and finally set off.

Badger pass to horizon ridge trailhead (APPROX 4 MILES)

The first leg of the trail from Badger Pass along Glacier Point Road was fairly easy. Other than an uphill climb on roughly the first mile, it was smooth sailing for the next couple miles to the Horizon Ridge Trailhead. The road is groomed and it was a nice, enjoyable section with beautiful views.

Right before turning off onto the Horizon Ridge trail, we passed the Bridalveil Creek Trail; this was tempting to take, as it was our original plan (it has less severe elevation gains though slightly longer). However, we were warned by the ranger when checking in that the Bridalveil Creek trail was unsafe due to recent flooding that basically created a snow covered sinkhole.

horizon ridge to the ostrander hut (APPROX 6 MILES)

Once on the Horizon Ridge trail, we began what would be a mostly uphill journey—with the exception of a fairly short but beautiful meadow section—into the Ostrander bowl. This portion of the trail is roughly 6 miles and it was fairly strenuous, especially with a 50lb pack on.

The trail begins with a small ascent (approximately a mile or so) to the above mentioned meadow. This wasn’t too difficult, and we kind of cruised through this leg. The next leg, however, was somewhat of a rude awakening. It is known as Horizon Ridge, and it was a pretty brutal climb to the top of that ridge. The views, however, were absolutely epic, including the back side of Half Dome. Though we were tired, we knew we had to keep moving as we wanted to make it before dark.

Horizon Ridge. You can spot the back side of Half Dome in the distance. It was super fun to board down, not so fun to skin up.

Once through that ridge, there was a (very) brief downhill to the final climb—affectionally known as Heart Attack Hill. While not nearly as difficult as the Horizon Ridge, we knew we only had about an hour of light left, so we did our best to scramble the final mile up the mountain. It was then a short downhill to the cabin, which we reached right after dark.

Sunset at the top of Heart Attack Hill, right before our descent to the ski hut.

We were all fairly exhausted as arrived to the lake. We quickly made it into the cabin, as it was super chilly when the sun went down, changed clothes and cracked a celebratory beer before making dinner. Thankfully, the kitchen was free when we were done, as we were basically the last party that made it (except a couple who arrived close to 11pm that evening!).

We slept as good as one can in a cabin full of around 20 people (all taking turns getting up to use the outhouse in the middle of the night, mind you). The bunks are stacked three high, and it is no joke getting down from one in the middle of the night when you have to use the outhouse!

The Inside of the famed ski hut.

The next morning, we walked down to the frozen lake shore right after sunrise to make an epic (and much needed) cup of coffee. After using an axe to break through the lake, we got some fresh water to boil right on the lakeside with my old, trusty MSR stove and made an incredibly memorable cup of coffee with some friends.

Nothing beats making great coffee in the outdoors.

All in all, it was a great adventure with even better friends. Snowboarding back down was a blast, and I’m already looking forward to the next time! A major shoutout to our friend Jon for getting the reservations! Without him, this trip wouldn’t have happened!

Coffee in the Ostrander Lake bowl. The lake is frozen over and covered in snow behind us.

Can't wait to do it again soon.

Hope you all can have some fun adventures this Winter!

Blessings,

Casey