The coronavirus has changed many aspects of our lives. As the seasons change, many resorts are announcing their plans for promoting social distancing on the mountain. Nearly all of these reopening plans include guidelines meant to reduce or limit the amount of time guests spend indoors, meaning that chowing down on an overpriced burger from the resort’s cafeteria might not be an option for winter 20/21. We have compiled a comprehensive guide to the best mountain snacks to help fuel the stoke in spite of limited indoor dining options.
Classic Snacks:
PBnJ is a perennial favorite of outdoor recreators everywhere. Make it with your favorite nut butter and jam combination on a tortilla for maximum durability in case of an epic crash or two before lunchtime. Other classic snacks include granola bars, trail mix, cheese sticks, adult beverages (like Montucky cold snacks), cold pizza, bagels with cream cheese, and, my personal favorite, whatever looks good in the gas station on the way to the mountain.
Pocket Bacon:
This snack is so ubiquitous and universally cherished it deserves its own category. As the name implies, pocket bacon is literally a pocket that contains bacon, ideally in a Ziploc bag. It can be made the night before or the morning of and is the perfect snack to keep skiers and boarders energized. As an added bonus, nearly everyone wants to be your friend if you offer them a perfectly crispy piece of bacon on the chairlift–even if it’s a pow day.
Savory Snacks:
If chasing a sugar high while getting face shots isn’t your thing, here are some savory snack ideas. Some folks love to snack on jerky, fancy cheese, fritos, sardines, tuna packets, peanut butter filled pretzels, packets of nut butter, corn nuts, olives, smoked salmon, and hard-boiled eggs. For the foodies in the group, dolmas, a greek treat made of grape leaves stuffed with rice, are a great snack.
And, for the sufficiently motivated–charcuterie boards. Charcuterie, according to Wikipedia, is a “French term for a branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products.” A charcuterie board is composed of various cured meats, as well as olives, cheese, crackers, jam, dried fruit, and whatever else your classy dirtbag heart desires.
There are also a ton of different variations of savory sandwiches. As previously mentioned, for a more crash-proof sandwich, swap out the bread for a tortilla rollup. Some savory sandwich ideas include thanksgiving leftovers, salami cream cheese and spinach, peanut butter and cheese, and classics like ham and cheese. Other folks take a different approach to their sandwiches and swear by Mcdonalds or gas station breakfast sandwiches purchased in the morning on the way to the mountain. Your mileage may vary.
Sweet Snacks:
For those looking to pair an adrenaline high with a sugar high, here are some sweet snacks to fuel the stoke: Uncrustables, squeezy applesauce packets, baby food pouches, honey stinger waffles, candy, dried ginger, apple or banana chips, little oranges, chocolate, pop tarts, and twinkies.
Advanced Lunches:
If you’d like to pair your pocket bacon with something a bit more sophisticated, consider bringing a thermos full of hot soup, pasta, casserole, mac n cheese, or tater tots. To keep your hot lunch warm all day, fill your thermos full of boiling water to heat it up before filling it with tasty goodness.
For those looking to keep it classy without lugging around a heavy thermos, make your own muffin tin treats. Think way outside of the muffin box with food items like mini pizzas, casserole bites, and corndog muffins.
And finally, bringing your own cooking items is also an option. One Colorado skier swears by carrying a pocket torch and hot dogs so that he can cook himself hotdogs on the chairlift in between laps. This same system, I’m told, also works well for chairlift S’mores. Others bring camp stoves to cook on, which opens up snack options considerably. Pocket steaks, anyone?
Leave your personal mountain snack recommendations in the comments!
