by Janet Manley

As a keen Cherry Creek Valley skier who loves the nearby ski resorts, I am drawn to the shaded hills at the periphery of the trail map — the Colorado backcountry. Just miles from the Interstate are gladed fields of untracked powder with unparalleled views of the frozen tarns and rocky bluffs that make up the Continental Divide. The best way to access these remote areas is on a hut trip. Huts are cabins, sometimes very elaborate ones, located in the backcountry, built for multi-day hikes in summer and winter.

The 10th Mountain Division Hut Association maintains 29 huts in the Aspen-Vail area, on Forest Service land, each cushioned from the frenzy of lift lines and traffic by deep drifts of snow. You can book an entire hut or just a single bunk space in one of the huts. The huts house anywhere from five to 25 people at a time at a cost of $30 to $40 per person, per night.

The distance of the huts from the trailhead varies from a few miles to far into the backcountry; some are quickly reached, and others scorn casual visitors. Getting safely to the hut and back is of course part of the thrill and adventure of a hut trip. You can go alone (highly unadvised), with a group of friends, or with a guide company such as Aspen Alpine Guides — ideally, the trip leader will have experience in the backcountry.

The 10th Mountain Division hut system was conceived by veterans from the 10th Mountain Division infantry, a military unit that trained in the Colorado mountains during World War II before fighting in Italy. Fritz Benedict, an infantryman, built the first hut, Braun’s hut, near Aspen in 1982, and helped create the association. Today, the huts can also be rented in the summer from July 1 to September 30 for hiking and mountain biking enthusiasts.

This past month, I went on my first hut adventure of the winter to the Fowler-Hilliard yurt outside of Vail, with a group of 13 friends. Though we saw almost no one else in the wilderness, we joined the throngs of people from around the world trekking off the trail map in Colorado.

An Education —

In Nature, A Teacher And Threat

The first challenge facing a hut trip participant is sheer fitness. Trails typically climb around 2,000 feet over several miles up to the hut, located just below the tree-line, generally in the shadow of a windswept summit. The thin atmosphere at high altitude causes the adventurer to work harder aerobically to deliver sufficient oxygen to their muscles, even when acclimated to Denver.

The availability of alpine tour (AT) gear for purchase and rental means that you needn’t be skilled at cross country or telemark skiing to venture out of the resorts. AT gear provides a “hike” mode where your heel is unlocked and you can step up hills in your skis with ease, and then a “ski” mode, in which the heel is locked down and you descend with the stability of regular alpine skis. For AT and telemark gear, hikers apply adhesive “skins” to the base of their skis for traction against the snow. Split-boards have eliminated the need for snowboarders to snowshoe with their boards strapped to their backs while hiking. They use custom skins as well.

On leaving the car, my first impression was, “Gosh, it’s all uphill,” accompanied by an optimistic conviction that heavy foodstuffs and luxury items would be no problem to hike in the five miles and 2,500 feet of vertical to our destination. The group fell into a rhythm, and coagulated into slow-moving caravans — competitive hikers at the front, peaceful nature-lovers at the rear. Go too slow, and you risk a chill, go too fast, and you risk pushing your body beyond its lactic threshold.

Some had trouble keeping vital energy bars down midway through the hike in. I found, in exhaustion, that raisins took on complexities of taste I had previously been oblivious to. Elizabeth Kelly found the trek in “grueling,” but was buoyed by thoughts of “floating downhill through powdery snow with a jolly pack of chums.” Shane Cross, who reached the hut first, and then hiked back down the trail to assist friends, says, “Huts bring out the competitive hiker in me. If I am not the first one at the hut, I will have a terrible rest of the weekend. If I make it first, we’re good to go.”

Basic navigation skills are required to reach the huts. Although the 10th Mountain Division Association has marked the interlinked trails with blue diamonds, bad weather and an excess of snow can easily throw a hiker off the route if they do not follow a map. Two hikers near Vail spent a February night in a snow cave this year after falling short of their destination, and were rescued the following day after sending text messages. Cell service, while patchy, should not be relied upon for emergencies. Perhaps the key element in group safety is a knowledgeable team leader who can communicate the day’s plan and is aware of group weaknesses. Frost-nip, frostbite and hypothermia can come on fast, and the victim is often unaware of their impact. Similarly, dehydration and a loss of energy can affect decision-making skills and turn a five-mile hike into a dangerous race against the setting sun.

Avalanche Danger

The next, and more significant, threat to backcountry travelers is that of avalanche danger. Guests are encouraged to check the avalanche report from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC), as hut routes generally cross some avalanche terrain. Moreover, those who wish to get some leisurely powder turns in are typically drawn to avalanche terrain — 28 to 35-degree slopes accommodate both superb alpine skiing and dangerous loading of snowpack (at higher pitches, snow tends to slide before it loads up as much).

Studies show that those with some avalanche training are most prone to accidents. Ninety percent of avalanche victims trigger the slide themselves. Says Scott Messina of Aspen Alpine Guides, “We know the beast and the problem, and it’s us.” According to a study by Dale Atkins of the CAIC, “In recreational accidents where the group had prior avalanche training, a stunning 89 percent had evidence the danger was high.” In February, a skier staying at Lindley Hut was killed in a nearby avalanche.

Atkins’ study of avalanche statistics from the 1990s determined that the human factor was the primary element in avalanches. For that reason, even the most cautious of travelers are advised to carry and know how to use avalanche transceivers, shovels and probes. Buried for 20 minutes, a person has only a 50 percent chance of survival, which means that skiing companions trained in rescue are the best hope for an avalanche victim.

Plush Accommodations

Inside The Tree-line

The trails into huts are often as short as a few miles and the huts themselves are marvels of the log cabin aesthetic — on first view, the round, golden timbers of a spacious deck or A-frame peak are overwhelmingly heartening to the intrepid traveler.

The Fowler-Hilliard hut was struck by lightning in the summer of 2009, and a yurt was hastily rebuilt by the 10th Mountain Division Hut Association prior to this winter, a move described jauntily by the association as a “lousy idea from strictly a financial point of view.” The original hut was a local favorite for its stateliness, proximity to great downhill skiing and views of the Gore, Sawatch and 10 Mile ranges nearby. Its replacement is more intimate; a circular, single-section hut with 16 bunk beds, electricity, gas, the old outhouse and a fabulous deck poised above Resolution Bowl.

On breaking the tree line and rounding Resolution Mountain, sight of the yurt revitalized legs — the hike in had taken four hours. Where the route leaves the Shrine Mountain Trail, you are directed down the Resolution Narrows aside a bristling spine of jagged rock. Those who reach the hut first receive water-gathering honors — surrounding snow is collected and melted on the stove inside (once a fire is built), which also serves to heat the hut.

Janet’s Cabin and Francie’s Cabin are two of the more amenable huts, generously portioned with private rooms, gas stoves, photo-voltaic cells for electricity, outhouses, stacked firewood and occasionally saunas to round out the luxury bill. The digs are, in fact, so plush at many huts that skiing becomes a secondary activity to touring gently, or admiring the view from the balcony, book in hand.

Visitors are insulated from the frigid temperatures experienced at 13,000 feet. Ski gear can be thawed and dried, and the hiker can change into a dazzling suit of thermal underwear and down booties for a night resplendent in conversation, burritos and frequently an improvised card game.

Minimalist To Maximalist

For some, the lure of the backcountry is the thrill of leaving behind civilization, and relying only on that which you can pack in. The rise of heli and cat skiing has dropped the entrance bar for intermediate skiers, who are taking to backcountry powder in increasing numbers.

For those unaccustomed to deep off-piste skiing, a different technique is required to balance, un-weight and turn in powder. Those who have a “powder epiphany” are frequently sold on the experience of being semi-immersed in nature’s flurries. The sensory difference equates to off-roading, almost. The hut trip experience is much cheaper than heli-skiing, and fits under the umbrella of eco-tourism, being a minimal impact adventure.

My father roamed the ramshackle Australian backcountry huts during the ’70s on skinny wooden touring skis in woolen knickerbockers — the Colorado experience today requires equipment no more sophisticated. However, the trend toward “fat” skis with side-cut makes the technical aspects of skiing easier and encourages groups of young, enterprising powder hounds to make the trip out. More often than not, woolen knickerbockers have been forsaken for technical layers, and groups on hut trips look freshly groomed for the REI catalogue. Huts present an opportunity for family or friends to challenge themselves but keep in mind that you are risking being pent up in small quarters come bad weather, so make sure you like your companions.

One important decision that must be made is what kind of food to bring along. While some bring gourmet dishes others just bring the bare minimum. Always remember that the more you bring the more you have to haul up the mountain.

And for any who have experienced true snow-camping — typically a lonely and bone-chilling undertaking — hut camping is a world removed. The communal nature of accommodations (some of the huts must be booked out entirely by private groups) are a key draw for the social trekker.

Social Code — Sharing The Huts

It is no secret that many a high country party has taken place at the huts. The 10th Mountain Division Hut Association has thoughtfully placed hut-user etiquette which observes that unless all occupants of the hut are intent on a big night, guests should keep the festivities subdued. Often it is the unexpected friendships sparked at 13,000 feet that make a trip. Shane Cook, a frequent hut traveler, recalls, “I shared a hut with a Scandinavian guy who was very liberal with everyone else’s booze. This was special because all I had was the bottle of tequila I found on the shelf when we entered the hut.”

Organizations like Aspen Alpine Guides and Babes in the Backcountry run group outings to the huts, which offer education and the chance to meet other outdoor enthusiasts. For many, hut trips provide introspective knowledge about yourself and the group dynamic. Good friends Jeff Gaston, Jeff Conklin and Joshua Norkin visited Polar Star — Carl’s Cabin near Beaver Creek, and found that the shared experience acquainted them better.

Once A Hutter, Forever A Hutter

Cherry Creek Valley residents agree that living in city limits and escaping to the mountains on weekends provides the perfect balance. For many, the serenity of the deep backcountry powder and pristine views are enough to draw them back again and again to the huts. As Muir once said, “I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” Paraphrases Elizabeth Kelly, “I’m hooked on backcountry skiing. Now to find a deal on AT skis ...”

To book 10th Mountain Division huts, visit www.huts.org or call 970-925-5775. For the latest avalanche report, or to report an avalanche, visit www.avalanche.state .co.us or call 303-499-9650.