Hut to hut 2007 -
This was my first real hut to hut
trip. I've skied to and stayed at a
number of the backcountry in Colorado
including Margys, McNamara,
Goodwin-Greene, Markley, Polar Star Inn,
Janets, Francies, Betty Bear, and
Arestua, but this was the first time
that I skied between huts. Krista,
Kurt, Julie, and I spent two nights each
at 10th Mountain Division, Uncle Buds,
and Skinner, all located just east of
the Continental Divide near
Leadville.
.
The snow was pretty
bad especially during the first half of
the week. The weather was chilly
especially during the second half of the
week. It was windy the whole time.
However, we still had a great trip. It
wasn't a trip for making turns. In 7
days I made about 6 turns, but it was a
week of great touring. The views were
incredible. It was cool enough that we
hardly sweated all week. It was
amazing, actually, how clean we felt at
the end of the trip. And then we
realized we didn't sweat and hardly saw
any dirt all week.
.
The packs
were heavy for the first day into 10th
Mtn. Div. but seemed to feel fairly
reasonable after that. Our rest days
really were rest days. The most
ambitious excursion was a 3 hour
roundtrip up 13,209' Homestake Peak from
10th Mtn. Div. Hut. The conditions
(hard snow) made the climb much quicker
than we expected.
.
My favorite
days were the trips between the huts.
These are on trails that get used less
frequently than the trails between the
huts and the trailheads. We didn't see
other people those days. We had to do
some navigation with the map and
compass, make sure everyone was staying
warm and energized. And there's a bit
of an adventurous and edgy spirit as we
really didn't want to spend the night
out, a not uncommon
occurrence.