About Us
Payette Lakes Alpine Yurts, LLC "PLAY" is dedicated to providing quality winter outdoor adventures in Idaho's Central Mountains.
PLAY
began out of a need for access to the strikingly beautiful winter wonderland
that surrounds McCall, Idaho. Those of us at PLAY have long been enthusiasts
of backcountry skiing and snow shoeing. When we moved to McCall 13 years ago we
quickly realized that there were no trailheads in winter for accessing the
backcountry. Like others in the area we got a snowmobile to access the terrain
far from any plowed road, but found we were spending too much time just
getting to our destination, leaving little time to tour and ski. So we applied
for a permit from the Payette National Forest to construct a hut in the
backcountry, from which to base multiple day trips.
We discovered that you need to be a commercial operation open to the public to
get a permit. And so Payette Lakes Alpine Yurts (PLAY) was born. We don't
actually have
any yurts yet but the acronym was too good to pass up. We do have spacious, warm
and sturdy huts. PLAY is a
family operation run by Joe Baugh and Kim Apperson. Joe has been backcountry
skiing for 40 years and Kim for over 20. Both of us are National Ski
Patrollers, with outdoor medical training, and we are both licensed Backcountry ski
guides by the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board and have level II or
higher Avalanche training for guides. Joe is a Registered Nurse (RN) and a
Professional Ski Instructors of America Certified ski instructor. Both of us are
experienced snowshoers, cross country, telemark, and randonee' skiers. We love
the winter environment and spend most of the winter outdoors enjoying Idaho's
Central Mountains.
We hope you will come join us soon.