What I Packed for 4 Days in Durango

I recently went on a 4-day ski trip with my family to Durango – you can read all about it soon! This was our first family vacation in I don’t even know how many years. I have gone skiing twice before, so I had an idea of what to pack. Drew and I wanted to keep our luggage to just one carry-on suitcase each, his backpack, and one bag for our helmets and miscellaneous ski gear.

I knew were would spend a lot of our evenings at the condo so I wasn’t too concerned with overpacking and looking cute (and thank goodness I didn’t because we literally would not have fit in our rental car). Here is what I packed for 4 days in Durango!

Weather

Highs: 40-48°F
Lows: 11-18°F
Conditions: Cold and windy, but sunny on the slopes during the day

Packing List

As usual, any links I have included below are what I personally use. Anything with an * I didn’t end up using or could have done without (YAY – for even lighter packing next time).

Essentials

• ID
• Credit cards
• Cash
• Fask mask
• Purse
• Hand sanitizer
• Vaccination card
• Ski rental confirmation
• Lift pass confirmation

Ski Clothes

• Ski jacket (insulated)
• Ski pants (insulated)
• 1 set of Long underwear
• Long socks
• Ski helmet
• Ski gloves
• Ski goggles

Non-Ski Clothes

• J. Crew coat* – see my thoughts in the “Packing Tips” section below
• 2 pants (1 pair of jeans, 1 pair of wide-leg pants*)
• 3 sweaters
• 5 pairs of thick socks
• 1 matching set
• 5 pairs of underwear
• Nude bra
• 2 sports bras
• Waterproof boots
• Beanie*
• Ear warmer
• Scarf*
• Swimsuit
• Flip flops

Toiletries (all travel size)

• Toothbrush & toothbrush charging case
• Toothpaste
• Hairbrush
• Face wash
• Makeup removing balm*
• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Sunscreen
• Moisturizer
• Chapstick
• Make-up products – see my recent makeup routine post for my products!
• Skin care products – I’ll do a separate post for my go to skin care products
• Deodorant
• Tampons
• Tweezers

Electronics

• iPhone & charger
• Work laptop & charger – I normally would not bring this, but we’re in busy season so it was packed for this trip
• Airpods

Other

• Wet bag*
• Book*
• Advil
• Lactose pills – dairy free people, iykyk
• Band-aids
• Sunglasses
• Mahjong – my sister packed this, but essential
• Liquid IV in Passion Fruit – my sister packed this and I’m obsessed
• Packing cubes

Packing Tips

• Use packing cubes. The only way I was able to fit all of the above into a single carry-on was because of the magic of packing cubes! I was able to stuff all of my non-clothes (minus the sweaters) within 3 packing cubes, leaving me enough room to squish my ski clothes and sweaters on top.
• Pack true snow shoes. I had waterproof shoes that I thought would be suitable for the snow but boy was I wrong. I wish I had true snow shoes that were warm and fuzzy and gripped the snow. I have my eye on this pair (vegan) and this pair (popular).
• Pack layers. We didn’t leave the condo much, and when we did, I was typically in my ski clothes. However, if we did eat out more or visit the town, I would have packed more layers. Surprisingly, it got pretty hot with my chunky sweaters and coat but I didn’t have enough layers to strip down.
• Pack waterproof/water resistant jacket. I was conflicted between taking my coat or my puffer jacket – I opted for my coat and kind of regretted it. While it looks chic, it was very stiff and quickly got chunky when I had a sweater underneath. My puffer jacket that would have been more flexible and probably easier to travel with – so next time I’d opt for that one.

These are the items that I packed and worked well for me, with a few tweaks I would make for our next trip. Drew is convinced we will be a skiing family so I’m sure this list will grow, but it will be a starting point. Whether you’re skiing or not, hopefully this list helps you pack for a trip in the snow!

Happy packing!

Vivian