Hot lunch in the ski lot in fifteen minutes

Skip the lodge line. A stove, a pot and one cup of water turns your tailgate into the best lunch spot on the mountain.

The lodge line is long, the food costs a lift ticket, and you're already parked next to everything you need. Here's how we do lunch in the lot: hot, filling, and back on the hill before your legs cool down.

What to bring

• A canister stove and a full fuel canister
• A small pot that holds at least 1 cup of water per pouch
• A lighter, plus a backup
• A long spoon (the pouch is deep)
• One Oso pouch for every two people. Each pouch is two servings.

The fifteen-minute lunch

1. Set the stove up out of the wind. The space between the tailgate and the next car works well.
2. Bring 1 cup of water per pouch to a boil.
3. Pour it in, stir to the bottom, seal the pouch and give it 10 minutes.
4. Stir again, wait 5 more minutes, and eat.

Cold-weather tips

• Canister stoves lose pressure in the cold. Keep the fuel inside your jacket or in the cab until you're ready to cook.
• Tuck the sealed pouch inside your jacket while it rehydrates. It stays hotter and so do you.
• On a really cold day, give it a couple of extra minutes before the final stir.

The tailgate is the table.

Which meal for the lot?

Bison Enchiladas are the crowd-pleaser. Pozole is the one for the coldest, windiest days. Running dawn patrol? Elk Huevos Rancheros, with 62g of protein per pouch, is breakfast that lasts until last chair.

Pack it out

The empty pouch rolls up small. Leave the lot cleaner than you found it, and save the stove's last boil for hot cocoa on the drive home.