Instead, it’s Hut Trip 2k12!! And yes, those words actually mean something!
For the past 3 years, a group of us has organized a hut trip through the 10th Mountain Division. Basically, it’s a series of backcountry huts that are spread throughout the Colorado Rockies. They are open in the summer for mountain biking and in the winter for skiing/snowshoeing. Every year, we book a hut and then take a 3-day vacation to get away from life. This year, we’ve reserved the Benedict Huts for a weekend in January: Fabi and Fritz Hut.
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| Fabi Hut |
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| Fritz Hut |
According to the website, it is approximately 6 miles to get into the hut. Now, to everyone who is a runner, 6 miles doesn’t sound like a lot, right? Let me tell you– 6 miles in the snow, uphill, with a pack on your back, in the backcountry is NOTHING like running a 10k! To make it even tougher, all of the huts sit at high altitude. I think our huts this year are just shy of 11,000 feet, and we gain over 2,600 feet during the 6 mile trip in. One year I wore my HR monitor to make sure I didn’t die out of curiosity, and it said I burned 6000 calories by the time I arrived at the hut. According to their site, it should take us about 6 hours to get in. Yup, 1 mile per hour. But is it worth it? You bet it is!
We usually spend the first night hanging out in the cabin, eating enormous amounts of food and drinking far too much alcohol to compensate for the blisters and bruises we’ve acquired on the hike in. That’s all quickly forgotten the next morning when we wake up and take a look at the sea of fresh snow and silent forest around us–then it’s go time!
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| The view from the Betty Bear Hut, 2009 |
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| Angel and me on the ski in last year |
We booked our hut back in August/September because the damn things fill up so fast, but it’s looking like we are just now finally getting enough of our friends to commit to coming along for the ride. Unfortunately, they seem to trust me on this one….[insert evil laugh here].
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| Harry Gates Hut |
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| The view of Harry Gates from our sledding hill |
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| There is no reason why snowboarding on a sled is a bad idea. None at all. |
In all honesty, there is nothing like being literally in the middle of nowhere with acres and acres of snow-covered mountains sprawling everywhere you look. One of my fave parts of this trips is when I drunkenly stumble onto the front deck go outside at night and look up at the sky. The stars are incredible. There is nothing for miles: no manufactured light, no people, no sounds, nothing (except for 16 loud and obnoxious Denverites!) Just a shining sky and complete silence. It’s not something you find too often in this day and age, you know?
Have I convinced any of you non-snow lovers to come back from the dark side yet?! 🙂
18 Comments
That sounds like a great adventure!
That is like my total nightmare. I am firmly residing on the “dark side.” I can’t believe I haven’t been kicked out of Colorado yet for hating snow. I think they would be really fun in the summer!!
Hut trips are awesome!!!!! I hope to do more with the fam. On one with the Womens Wilderness we built a quinzy (snow shelter) and had so much fun. Yes – you burn tons of calories and the colder it is the more you burn – perfect opportunity to eat more yummy food.
Wow, what an adventure!
That is a freaking awesome trip!! I totally want to do that
I moved to the dark side 5 years ago
“I love trees, my tiny trees, woooo, lets make a big tree, I like making trees, have making trees” ~ Bobby Ross
YA!!!! He MAKES it seem SO SIMPLE!!! ITS NOT, preschool finger painters have better luck then me
It looks so beautiful there! I’m not sure I’d be down, I’m not really good in snow. My husband is the one who is good on skis and grew up whizzing down the Alps. 🙂
Looks like so much fun! I have snow shoes and cold weather gear stuffed in my shed here in AZ. Makes me want to break them out and find some snow.
I love hut trips, though I’ve only done one. It was to Francie’s Cabin and the highlight was the SAUNA. We had to chop our own wood for it, but it was so much fun. I still remember the feeling of my toes thawing out.
I think the key to learning to love the snow is learning how to dress for it.
you are just so amazing! I sometimes wish I could be you….you are truly fantastic.
PS: I hate winter. lol
this seriously sounds like the most awesome adventure everrr! i kinda sorta did something similar once but definitely not at such high altitude. me and the bf worked all early fall to build a little hut in the woods. literally with fallen branches and thatched with pine. bahaha. its kinda funny to say it like that now. but we were determined to build this thing. we then waited for the snow and hiked the 6 miles up the canyon to get there. the main canyon road was not so bad but once we got up to the lake where we built the hut…things got interesting with the deep snow. that part alone maybe took 2 hours. but it was awesome and i am so glad i did it. your alls trip would be something i would totally love! such a cool tradition!
That sounds so awesome!!!
I am so jealous! I have always wanted to do a hut trip and haven’t yet. It looks so peaceful!
Beautiful pictures! Even though its a bit too early for snow 🙂
Hi! I love love LOVE back country.. it’s our plan to move into a cabin tucked away in the middle of the mountains. This looks great-the perfect getaway 🙂
I just found your blog a couple a days ago, always exciting to find other CO bloggers! Can’t wait to read more!
Julia–I love that story! Homemade huts are the absolute best 🙂
Brooke–Thanks for checking out my blog! I’m realizing there are more and more CO bloggers out there–I’m enjoying checking them all out too.
This is something I have always wanted to do. I completely forgot about it until I read your post. I bet I am too late to book one this winter, but maybe next.
OMG, I want to do that so bad. Do you think I could make it?
That sounds amazing. I love living in WA, but our wet, heavy, Cascade Concrete snow gets old fast…what I would give for some Colorado powder! With another La Nina upon us, I will do my best to embrace skiing this year.