NSW Nordic Ski Club
Colorado Backcountry
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Getting Ready
There are many groups of backcountry huts in the Rocky Mountains of the USA which are available to backcountry skiers. Colorado in particular has lots of them. Preeminent amongst these is the 10th Mountain Division Huts. The 10th Mountain Division Hut system was build and is named in honour of the soldiers of the US Army's 10th Mountain Division, an elite ski corps commissioned during World War II for duty in the European Alps. For three winters from 1942 to 1945 some 14,000 soldiers were based at Camp Hale, near the centre of today's hut network. The first of the 10th Mountain Division huts was built in 1982.
The system now comprises huts on 15 different locations and several hundred kilometres of trails providing a wide array of skiing, walking and biking experiences. Eleven of the huts are owned by the 10th Mountain Division Hut Association and four by private owners, but are managed as part of the 10th Mountain Division network. In addition, the 10th Mountain Division Hut Association acts as booking agent for several other hut networks in Colorado.
The majority of the trails linking the huts are classic cross-country tours through evergreen forests varying from light to dense, with some open country and above-treeline skiing. There is a comprehensive series of trail markers along the most popular routes, although these are not provided on all parts of all routes, and are of course not installed above the treeline. The huts are generally located at around 11,000 to 11,600 feet elevation.
Each of the huts is comprehensively equipped, having two wood-burning stoves used for hut heating and providing water by melting snow, split firewood, propane cooking stoves, solar-powered lighting and a vast array of cookware, crockery and cutlery. They generally accommodate 16 people in spacious and luxurious circumstances compared to our Snowy Mountains huts. Booking of the huts is easily accomplished by first consulting the 10th Mountain Division Huts Association's website www.huts.org to obtain hut information and booking status, and then phoning the Association. Costs are generally US$25.00 per night, with the Shrine Mountain Inns somewhat more. Comprehensive details of the huts and routes between huts are also available in book form in Colorado Hut to Hut, published by Westcliff Publishers, Englewood, Colorado, and 10th Mountain Division Huts, published by the 10th Mountain Division Huts Association.
Kenn skied to some of the huts about nine years ago, in April. That trip was notable for fresh snowfall every day and the absence of other skiers, resulting in hard work skiing between huts through deep fresh snow. This recent trip was in the second half of February. There were two reasons for this: one is that it was tacked onto our usual two weeks of downhill skiing in the first half of February, and the second is that the huts were fairly solidly booked in February and we hoped that this meant that other skiers would groom and firm the trails for us.
So it was that we planned two separate trips, each of six days. The first took in the Jackal, Fowler/Hilliard and Shrine Mountain Inn huts while the second was to Peter Estin, Harry Gates and Polar Star Inn huts. Both trips were from Sunday to Friday as the huts were all solidly booked on Friday and Saturday nights. Weekend bookings are conducted on a ballot system, with 10th Mountain Division Huts Association members having priority.
Because the huts are so comprehensively equipped, we were spared some weight. We did however carry an emergency tent (Megamid, weighing around 1.2 kg), groundsheets and sleeping mats, a stove, fuel and billy for melting snow in case we were unable to reach a hut. We also carried shovels and an avalanche probe, as all backcountry skiers do in Colorado in case of avalanche. We did not carry avalanche transceivers, as the 10th Mountain Division trails in general are routed to avoid avalanche danger and all the routes we planned to use avoided avalanche danger. Nevertheless in Colorado one needs to be aware at all times of possible avalanche hazards and the avalanche danger throughout our trips was at "considerable" to "high" levels.
The clothing we used was exactly the same as in Australia. While temperatures in Colorado can be much lower than in the Snowy Mountains, the winds that typically accompany snow in Australia are generally not a factor in Colorado. They do get blizzards in Colorado but they are much less frequent than in the Snowy Mountains. If one's gear can survive a good Snowy Mountains blizzard it should be adequate for the weather typically experienced in the Colorado Rockies, even if that is colder, because it doesn't get wet in Colorado.
For skis, James and Margaret used their Tua backcountry telemark skis, with patterned bases, about 90 - 100mm wide at the front. Kenn used his old non-patterned 75 - 62 - 66mm Black Diamonds which were once the latest thing in wide telemark skis, but are now look a bit skinny and dated. They did however have the advantage that on long gentle downhill runs, of which there were several, they ran much better than James' and Margaret's. They also didn't ball up to the same extent that James' and Margaret's did.
We were lucky with the weather. There were no heavy snowfalls in the two weeks of these trips, unusual for Colorado. Having to wade through 60cm of fresh snow is no fun. There was enough snowfall on the odd occasion to freshen up the tracks, but (apart from the section into Fowler/Hilliard Hut and the Commando Run) not enough to make it hard going. When it snowed it wasn't accompanied by blizzard conditions as it typically is in Australia. Instead it followed normal Colorado practice of snowing from a still, and sometimes partly clear, sky. Temperatures were also unusually mild for this region in February. Overnight temperatures never seemed to fall below -10°C and were generally higher. Daytime temperatures were often above zero, especially when the sun shone.
The downside of this was that there was little in the way of good powder-covered telemark slopes, but one can't have everything. Typically snow on open slopes was crusty and where there was powder it was in dense forest or rather heavy, or on a slope that had avalanche danger.
Navigation presented no problems. The compass was used only a few times in two weeks and the GPS once, where the tracks of skiers on the ground varied from the trail marked on the maps and route markers were lacking. Otherwise, as expected, ski tracks were a good guide to the correct route. Had the tracks not been there navigation would not have been a problem, though finding a way through thick forest and breaking trail would have been.
There were two scares before the trip started. On our second day of downhill skiing James misjudged an intended graceful dismount from the Vail halfpipe and fell heavily on his back and head. He had to be escorted back to the condo by Kenn, whom James failed to recognise. The concussion cleared up quickly but for a while it seemed that the bruise on his back would prevent James from undertaking the cross-country trip, but with the aid of a cushion between back and pack managed OK.
Then on the night before our first trip, we appeared to have a disaster! On making a courtesy check at the hotel, that we could leave the gear in the hotel's storeroom, we were informed that the hotel did not have a storeroom and we could not possibly leave our gear there. This of course came as a great surprise, as we had done this many times in many parts of the world without any problems. If we couldn't leave our gear somewhere, we would not be able to do the trip. After the requisite protests from us and a promise from the night manager to review the position, we retreated to our room to try to ring Australia to obtain telephone numbers of someone in Vail who may have been able to help. A few minutes of overseas telephone calls and US$90 later, we were no further advanced. This left us at the mercy of the hotel and an inquiry a couple of hours after the first elicited a response (from a different night manager) of "of course you can leave your gear in our storeroom. Just bring it along in the morning." And we did.
First Trip
For our first day's skiing we elected to take the direct route from South Camp Hale to Jackal Hut. This was only 4 miles (6½ km) and required 2,330' (700m) of climbing and was a typical 10th Mountain Division track in that it wound its way up through spruce and aspen forests and in some places was a bit steepish and narrow. All established backcountry skiing routes in Colorado assumes that skins are used and this was no exception. The track was well used and we had no trouble in following the route. The bad news was that it was so well defined that it was a bit icy in places. Where this coincided with closely spaced trees and steep sections it required some care in climbing. James however was sufficiently impressed to do much of it twice, leaving his drink bottle behind at a rest stop to justify the repetition. We thereupon decorated his bottle with red duct tape to ensure it was prominent in the snow.
As we climbed views opened up of the Holy Cross Wilderness area that we were to visit the following week. We also gained an overall view of the Camp Hale area that has been home to 14,000 army trainees during World War II, now open flat paddocks covered by snowmobile and dogsled tracks.
Jackal hut was a typical 10th Mountain Division hut. On arriving we were greeted by Leroy, a solitary skier, lounging on the extensive deck in the afternoon sun. There was a wood stove for hut heating and water melting, plus a wood stove for cooking. Lighting was supplied by solar-charged batteries and there were and four gas cooktops fed by propane bottles which are replenished in summer. A huge amount of split wood was stacked in the hut and the woodshed, accompanied by notices that too much wood was being burnt in the huts and requesting prudence in its use. There was a double-seater outdoor toilet of most generous proportions about 15m from the hut. Originally the toilets were located just outside the back door of the huts but in recent years they have been moved some way away because the odours permeated the huts. The originals have been converted to cold rooms and woodstores. The bad news about the new toilet locations is the need to keep the path clear of snow, and the trudge through the snow on cold wintry nights.
At around 8:30 that night (it got dark at about 6:00) the door burst open and three skiers marched in, only to dump their packs and march out again, saying, "We'll be back". About 15 minutes later they were, with lots of food they had deposited near the hut in a food drop a week or so earlier. They were doing something similar to us, a six-day trip staying at four huts and Jackal was the midpoint of their trip. They had left Vance's cabin, about 12km away, at 10:00 am and had encountered deep soft snow, which slowed them down. They must have included some snore pills in their food drop, as that night the cabin shook to its foundations.
We were to learn during our two-week wanderings that skiing from hut to hut was unusual. Typical was simply to ski in from a trailhead, stay a night or two and then ski out to the same trailhead. An essential part of the ritual is the carrying to the huts of vast quantities of food, so that gastronomy in an integral part of the locals' hut experience. People generally overestimated what they could eat, so they were keen to give a lot of it away, much to our delight. A further consequence was that the trails between huts and trailheads were more intensely frequented than those between huts, where these were different. So it was generally more difficult to ski from hut to hut.
Views from Jackal Hut were great, with the 180° views taking in Holy Cross Mountain and the Holy Cross Wilderness, Galena Mountain, Mount Massive, the abandoned Climax Mine and much of the Continental Divide amongst others.
We were considering skiing to Fowler/Hilliard hut by way of the "high traverse" which follows the Continental Divide for much of the way. This is described as "more ski mountaineering than cross-country skiing" and a "committing, high altitude, hut-to-hut ridge traverse ? one of the most scenic tours in Colorado, overlooking deep, forested valleys with unobstructed 360-degree views of Central Colorado's mountains". Potential problems were that it traversed some avalanche terrain, and the avalanche danger at the time was "considerable" to "high". Also good clear weather was needed to make it practicable and worthwhile.
On our spare day at Jackal hut James and Kenn set out for Elk Mountain, one of the high points of this ridge traverse, to determine whether we would use this route to ski to Fowler/Hilliard hut on the following day. The weather was overcast and windy, with a little snow, as they set out. They climbed the western fall of the Divide, past the treeline at 11,600' and over Pearl Peak at 12,147', down to a saddle and then up to the Divide. On top the views were sublime, but the wind was a gale and ice blasted their faces, so they beat a retreat to the hut. They could see however that they had overcome the hardest part of the route and that the ridgetop part of the route was over ground that was exposed to the prevailing wind so was quite windblown and rocky on the windward side and heavily corniced on the lee side. We decided however that we would use the low level route the following day as James and Kenn had seen the best of the route and it would be a bit difficult with full packs. Also, we had something ambitious in mind for the last day a decided that one set of heroics per trip would probably be enough.
The party that made the food drop enlivened dinner that night. Realising that they had greatly over-catered, they distributed large quantities of food to the hut's other residents. Accordingly, to accompany our relatively boring freeze drys we dined on beer, wine, enchiladas, bagels and ice cream. This was surpassed at Peter Estin Hut the following week - of which more later.
Our trip to Fowler/Hilliard hut the next day by the low route was of 13 km, with 2020' of climbing and 2200' of descent, much of it through trees. The guidebook says, "Because this route requires several thousand feet of ascent and descent (in either direction) it is a very challenging tour". So we left at 7:30am expecting a long day. Basically the route involved a steep descent along a trail through trees down the side of a ridge, a gentle descent on a track along a creek, a gentle ascent on a road beside a creek and a steep ascent on a track up a creek and then the nose of a ridge before a short traverse to the hut. We were very pleased that the steepest part of the descent, through trees, was negotiated with relative ease. Using skins to improve control helped. James and Kenn removed their skins for the gentle part of the descent along a creek through scattered timber and initially found it a bit difficult, as the track was well used, icy and soft in places. The snow is so different from that at home, it took some experience (falls) to get used to. After a while however the going became easier and skiing was a delight.
On reaching the uphill part, we were surprised to find the road was corduroy groomed. Being on the main route between Vail Pass (on a major interstate highway) and the next valley, and being approved for motorised transport (read snowmobiles and snow cats used for skier transport), it supported lots of traffic and we had to dodge snowmobiles for the next few kilometres.
It was only 11:00am when we began the steep part of the ascent, having already skied 8km and having only about 4½ km and 2,000' of climbing to go. But this was evidently one of the lesser-used routes, and hadn't been skied for some time. While there were signs of the track, the snow was deep and soft. Skiing on the track one sunk up to one's knees, while if we strayed just a few cm from the track we sank thigh-deep. This was a true initiation, facing the difficulty of making way through unconsolidated powder. It was a little easier for the skiers second and third in line, but not dramatically so, as the snow was of sugar-like consistency and didn't compact very well. Nevertheless we pressed on and slowly but surely gained a saddle at 11,000', where the trail followed a relatively gentle ridge, which promised easier going.
Here Kenn again took the lead, expecting that by doing so he would make it easier for James and Margaret. He skied on for about 700m, encountering some ski tracks partway up. By now the earlier cloud had cleared and the sun shone from a brilliant blue sky. This shone directly onto the ridge we were climbing, causing Kenn to experience some balling up, but not enough as to be a problem. Kenn stopped to wait for James & Margaret. Margaret wasn't far behind, saying the James wasn't far behind her, but after a long wait James still hadn't appeared. This was not unusual, as James typically spends some time taking photographs and then magically reappears. On this occasion however James was having serious problems with massive balling up. He had tried taking his skins off, tried skiing without skins. None of these was satisfactory and, moreover, every time he took his skis off to remove the 10 to 12 cm thick buildup, he sank up to his waist in the snow. On trying to extricate himself he created large wallowing pits reminiscent of Kakadu boars. Accordingly he was frustrated and exhausted when he reached the spot where Kenn and Margaret were waiting. Frustrated by his experience he pointed out that we should all stay in visual contact with each other in case of injury.
We tried to reduce the balling up by removing ice from James' and Margaret's skins and coating them with glide wax. This improved matters a little but balling-up remained a problem until we reached the hut at 5:30pm, with just a little daylight remaining. It had taken us 6½ hours to cover the last 4½ km. It was the hardest going of the whole two weeks. We later learned it was best to stop, dry the skins in the sun and use a soft wax to try and prevent balling up.
Fowler/Hilliard hut is on top of a ridge, with views to both sides. In particular, there were great views of the Continental Divide and the high level route we had spurned in favour of what we expected to be an easier one. On our free day at Fowler/Hilliard Hut, James and Kenn skied to Ptarmigan Peak, mostly along a road. This area is the center of snowmobile activity in the Rockies. There are snowmobile tracks everywhere and convoys of snowmobiles continually pass one as one sky along the roads. They tended to come in convoys and with their headlights shining; you could almost hear Wegner playing in your head, scenes reminiscent of the movie Apocalypse Now. To shelter from the strong wind we had lunch in a wooden box on top of Ptarmigan Peak, which was somewhat reminiscent of Disappointment Spur hut with no internal fixtures or furniture.
From Ptarmigan Peak James and Kenn could see along the divide to where they had skied to two days previously, as well as Shrine Mountain and the 10th Mountain Division route to Shrine Mountain Inn, our destination for the following day. Then we skied down to Ptarmigan Pass and thence back to the hut.
Next day we skied to Shrine Mountain Inn. We did not use the 10th Mountain Division trail, as we were desperate to avoid the soft snow and balling up problems of two days previously. Instead we opted for a longer but easier route along the dreaded snowmobilers' road to Ptarmigan Pass, then down an icy and very abrasive Wilder Gulch to the Vail Pass trailhead, thanks to the snowmobiles. The weather was deteriorating rapidly as we reached there, so we sheltered in the roadside shelter there, fired up the liquid fuel stove and had hot soup and coffee for lunch. As we were sipping from our steaming mugs we were admonished by a National Forest Cleaner for smoking in the shelter. He was apologetic when he realised that we were not smoking, it was steam issuing from our cups! Perhaps he could smell burnt fuel as James had set the concrete shelter floor a little afire when lighting the "space shuttle" (stove).
It is an easy 4½km ski from Vail Pass trailhead to Shrine Mountain Inn, skiing along the valley of West Tenmile Creek and gaining 200m on the way. Although there was a headwind and it snowed fairly enthusiastically most of the way the skiing was quite pleasant and visibility more than adequate. The valley is quite beautiful, being much gentler than anything we had encountered so far on the trip and being reminiscent of the open valleys in the Jagungal and Tantangara regions of the Snowy Mountains.
There are four Shrine Mountain Inn huts and they are usually in great demand, because of their ease of access and the standard of their accommodation. We were in Walter's downstairs, which turned out to be deluxe. It was like a regular two-bedroom home unit. As well as the two spacious bedrooms there was hot and cold running water (no shoveling and melting snow for water), hot shower, towels, bed linen, a large lounge room as well as the usual fully appointed kitchen (complete with refrigerator and rubber desiccated chook!). As an added bonus we had the downstairs to ourselves, although the top was also occupied. The only drawback is that we had to clear the 10cm or so of snow that fell overnight from the large outside deck before we departed the next day.
The next day was the final day of this trip. After much consideration, we planned to ski the "Commando Run", so named because it was used by the 10th Mountain Division troops as a training run. According to the guidebook it is "one of the most difficult [day] tours in the state". Conceptually it goes from the Vail Pass Trailhead to Vail, a total distance of 18.7 miles (30km) involving a height gain of 2,000' and a loss of 5,000'. We were emboldened to tackle it because we had a 4½ km and 710' of elevation head start, and it is possible to utilise the groomed slopes (and maybe lifts) of the Vail Ski resort for the second half of the run.
The entire trip Margaret had had trouble with her new Garmont ExCursion plastic ski boots. While they were generally most comfortable, they were pressurising her medial malleolus (the bones that stick out at the inside of the ankle). Increasingly they caused Marg acute discomfort and while at Shrine Mountain Inn James and Marg spent considerable time fashioning packing, reheating the boot liners and generally doing anything that might enable Marg to complete the Commando Run in comfort. We aimed for an early start, as usual, but after a hundred metres had to return to the hut to adjust the packing in Marg's boots. Some radical modifications had us on the road soon after 8:00am.
The first part of the run was a delight. The overnight snow on a firm base made the skiing easy and we enjoyed a long downhill run along a picturesque valley. Spectacular views of Holy Cross Mountain, reminiscent of Nepal, were a feature of this section. Another notable sight was a car abandoned apparently the previous day along the road - somewhat like finding a car abandoned in the middle of winter in the upper Snowy River valley.
It soon became time to leave the snowmobile road and do the climb of around 1,300'. To our relief there were signs of recent passage along the track and the climb was accomplished with relative ease. This brought us to the top of a ridge, which we were to follow for a few kilometres before dropping down to Two Elk Pass. That pass is of significance because from there one is in the Vail resort area and can simply ski down through 'Outer Mongolia Bowl' to a ski lift. The 'official' Commando Run climbs a few hundred feet from Two Elk Pass and then follows a road outside the ski area downhill all the way to Vail village.
Once on the ridgetop however we again encountered the dreaded balling up. This was prompted by a bright sun shining from a brilliantly blue clear sky. It slowed our progress enormously. This at least gave us time to enjoy the fabulous 360° views. It did mean though that we would need to take advantage of whatever shortcuts Vail resort might offer. As it turned out, the existing tracks did not even bother to go to Two Elk Pass, but instead headed off in the direction of the lift tops at the resort's Blue Sky Basin, specifically Pete's Express lift. Because of our balling-up problems we were keen to get onto groomed snow as soon as possible so as not to miss the last ski lift, so we followed the herd, or at least their tracks.
On emerging at the top of Pete's Express all that remained was to ski the groomed slopes to the Orient Express lift and from the top of that lift choose our runs to the main ski area terminal. From there it is a short walk to the Vail Transportation Terminal for a bus to our hotel in Avon. On the way down the Vail slopes we attracted several inquiries as to whether we had skied the Commando Run and expressions of envy when we confirmed that indeed we had.
Between trips we had lots to do. Marg went back to the shop where she bought her boots to have them reheated and refitted, with padding in the right place during thermal setting so that when they set they would not put pressure on her ankle. James bought new skins as Marg's old ones were disintegrating. James put an electronic camera memory chip through the washing machine without apparent ill-effects. We were desperate to eliminate or minimise the balling-up problems that had plagued the first week. Kenn in particular had problems towards the end of the trip because of glue from his skins sticking to his ski bases and snow sticking to the glue. While we had removed this glue using the stove fuel we carried, this treatment dried out the ski bases and so they were prone to balling up despite application of wax.
So Kenn had his skis hot waxed, and also went through the tedious process of cleaning off the old skin adhesive and applying new adhesive. This involved heavy brown paper from supermarket bags, an iron and lots of time and tedium. We also armed ourselves with a more comprehensive array of waxes than we carried on the first week. We had carried a solid glide wax, plus a wide spectrum below-zero wax that had worked brilliantly on Kenn's previous trip to the 10th Mountain Division huts. For the second week we added to this Maxx Wax to prevent balling up of both skins and bare bases, silver wax and a regular ski base cleaning fluid. The Maxx Wax turned out to be effective in eliminating any potential balling up in the second week.
Second Trip
Our second trip was in the Holy Cross Wilderness and we looked forward to less contact with snowmobiles. From the trailhead at Yeoman Park we skied to Peter Estin Hut where we were to stay on the first and fourth nights. For nights 2 and 3 we were to stay at Harry Gates Hut, before returning to Peter Estin, then to Polar Star Inn for our fifth and last night before skiing out to West Lake Trailhead near the town of Edwards. This itinerary was dictated by availability of spaces in the huts at the time of booking.
At the trailhead we encountered others who were heading for Peter Estin. One of their cars sported a bumper sticker advocating "ski naked". We elected to take the direct (steepest) route which involved lots of zigzagging up a well-used track through fairly dense spruce forest. Nevertheless the climb of 2,140' was accomplished with relative ease. But about halfway up we realised that we had neglected to bring with us a record of the combinations of the locks that are used to lock the huts. There was no prospect of going back to our base, because the trailhead is at the end of a little-used road. Because we knew at least one other party would be at our hut that night we pressed on. The hut was already occupied when we arrived, so we were able to get in.
The party we encountered at the trailhead turned out to be staying there for just one night, but had brought enough food for a week. And what food! We gladly accepted offers of freshly baked (in the wood-fired oven) bread rolls, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, burritos and ice cream. A jolly night was had by all with the abundance of food and wine. But next morning we had to endure the aromas of bacon and eggs while we waded through our dull porridge and meusli. The ice cream (like that made in Jackal Hut the previous week) is simply made by beating together a tin of sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, a bucket of frozen fruit and powder snow. The snow has to be light powder, so it may not be possible to rely on being able to make this dish in Australia.
Kenn assured the others that Harry Gates Hut would be swarming with occupants and that the lack of the lock combination would not be a problem. This hut is 1,500' lower than Estin. We elected to take the gradually descending road to the hut, leaving the shorter steeper track through the forest to return to Estin two days later. The road through Crooked Creek Pass and past Crooked Creek Reservoir should have been easy skiing, but it was churned up by snowmobiles and crusty, so it was not much fun. Also, Kenn's hot-waxed non-patterned skis took off down the hill while James and Margaret had to push for much of the 2,000' descent to Lime Park. On the way views of Table Mountain were great - much like those of the Paralyser from the Kosciusko road just south of Perisher Gap, but on a much larger scale. The sewer odours emanating from the Crooked Creek Reservoir, which had a few houses scattered around its shores, detracted from the view however.
When we arrived at Harry Gates Hut we were dismayed to see no other inhabitants. While being unable to get into the hut was not life-threatening, as we did have a tent and stove, the weather was looking bleak and the inside of the hut very cosy. On consulting the combinations of the huts we stayed at the previous week, which James was still carrying in his map holder, we detected some clues as to what the combination might be. Fortunately all the prior lock combinations ended in zero. So, on a lock with 10,000 possible combinations, this reduced our search to a manageable 1000 combinations. We found the right one on the 257th attempt, which took around 20 minutes. It is just as well we did get in because we had the hut to ourselves that night (the only time this occurred), as well as a good dusting of snow.
James and Kenn skied up burnt Mountain the next day - a climb of 1,500'. The route was a mixture of dense and open forest with the last 500' over several false summits being above the treeline. A feature of the top was a cairn comprised of a single-rock supported by a wooden platform. We hadn't realised that rocks were in such short supply thereabouts. Views from the top were spectacular during the periods when the snow stopped and there was some visibility. In particular, views to the east over Tellurium Park of rugged mountains rising to over 13,300' were impressive, while to the west the ski runs of Aspen could be seen. To the south towards Leadville was the country Kenn had skied over on his previous trip to the 10th Mountain Division Huts, and to the north Mt Charles and the ridge where Peter Estin Hut was located.
Skiing back down the hill to the hut we enjoyed the best downhill skiing of the trip, although it wasn't particularly good. While the snow was soft and not crusty it was fairly heavy, but better than anything else we encountered in two weeks in the Colorado backcountry other than in heavily treed areas. Some tree-hugging was involved in the descent and Kenn spent some time that night patching a hole in his Kinetix. We did have the company of two snowshoers in the hut that night - so if we had been unable to crack the combination we would have had to wait only one day to get into the hut.
Our route the next day back to Peter Estin Hut was made enjoyable by a little snow overnight and some fine views of the country James and Kenn had seen the previous day from Burnt Mountain. After a cloudy morning it cleared to a beautiful sunny day. There were lots of Aspens on this route, in particular an avenue of Aspens along the top of a narrow ridge that made a majestic sight. The strong sun on fresh snow initiated some balling up but the Maxx Wax controlled it well.
When we got to Peter Estin Hut there were several parties there with their skis arrayed outside. They were notable for their shape - most would have been at least 125mm wide at the front with an 80-90mm waist. One of the parties was a group of three doctors accompanied by a guide who were seeking out some of the powder telemarking for which the Peter Estin Hut is renowned. James and Marg got to talk shop for a while.
To get from Peter Estin Hut to Polar Star Inn required either a descent of the steep winding route through forest that we had climbed on the first day followed by a climb up a trail also through trees, or a descent along a road to our original trailhead and climb along a road from there. Either way there was a 2,000' ascent involved. James' apprehensions about the road down being churned up by snowmobiles like the one to Harry Gates Hut turned out to be unfounded and we took only a little over two hours of very enjoyable skiing to cover the 12km back to the trailhead on a good even surface with a little fresh cover.
The climb from the trailhead towards Polar Star Inn was going well and we were looking forward to an early arrival at the hut despite it being our longest day's travel. We even encountered the previous night's inhabitants of Polar Star Inn skiing back down the road and extracted the hut lock combination from them. That was just as well - it didn't fit the pattern of all the others we had stayed at and it would have taken a long time to come across it, if at all. We made a brief diversion to the village of Fulford, which was marked on the map a shaving a dozen or so dwellings but turned out to be a settlement of over a hundred sumptuous houses, all deserted.
Just beyond Fulford the trail was shown on the map to head up the side of a ridge. Ski tracks in the vicinity however went in all directions and trail markers were not in evidence. Mindful of our experience in getting to Fowler/Hilliard Hut the previous week we followed what seemed to be the most used route with the firmest snow. After a couple of false leads we eventually found a relatively clear way up the ridge to an open slope, which offered an easy way to a road to the hut. James hadn't had enough deep snow and trees however and took us back into them to find the road the hard way. Kenn contemplated starting to consider pondering whether he might take a steeper line up the hill in order to reduce the number of kick turns in the tight trees, but the thought police quickly put a stop to that. We eventually reached the road however and from there it was an easy climbing traverse on the road to the hut. For most of the second part of our trip to the hut we had great views of New York Mountain which, at 12,550', dominates the area.
Polar Star Inn is different from the other huts in that we were greeted on arrival by the hut's mascot, a pine marten - apparently one of the weasel family. The hut had gas lighting rather than solar powered lighting, and pilot lights for the stove and lighting. It also had a water supply from a small dam located up the hill, but because it wasn't guaranteed to be giardia-free we melted snow anyway for drinking unboiled. There are two huts there - one open to all groups that it can fit and a smaller one, Carl's Cabin, that can be booked only in its entirety. Both are privately owned but booked through the 10th Mountain Division Huts Association. Just on dusk a caretaker arrived to stay the night and check the hut's condition, a duty he apparently carries out about once per week.
Our last day involved a descent of 3,000' spread out over 12km. On the map the navigation looked like it may have required some care. We didn't want to be late arriving back at the trailhead as we had nominated a 3:30 pickup to our transport and were looking at a $50/hour waiting fee if we were late. Also we had heard that there was some wintry weather causing havoc in California which was headed for Colorado and due to arrive that day. On seeking guidance on potential problems with the route from the inhabitants at Peter Estin Hut, we were told that navigation is difficult and only those with local knowledge should attempt it. In other words "you will get lost".
Undaunted, we set out early and were rewarded with the best day's skiing of the whole two weeks, equal to the Commando Run. There had been a couple of inches of snow overnight which made skiing a delight. The first half of the trip was along a road not chewed up by skidoos, through beautiful glades. A gentle descent on a trail along Squaw Creek for a few kilometres was superb. There was a difficult short descent into Card Creek but it didn't take too long. On rising up a forested trail James was amazed to find a woman walking a black dog. We didn't expect to come across civilization so early. By the time we gained a roadhead about 4km from our objective, we were way ahead of time and stopped for a hot soup. The rest of the way was a big snowplough down the road, interrupted by a long lunch. On the road we began to see several day trippers, mainly on foot and all with dogs.
We arrived at the trailhead with an hour to spare. It began to snow just as our transport arrived. About 60cm of snow fell over the following 48 hours.
Both trips had been well worthwhile and very enjoyable. None of our fears had materialised. All our roads, tracks and routes were well-defined and, other than on the approach to Fowler/Hilliard Hut, well compacted by skiers, snowmobiles or even grooming machines. Skiing hut-to-hut in this area does not require exceptional skiing and navigational skills nor fitness. It would be well within the capabilities of many members of the NSW Nordic Ski Club. Just remember to take a record of the hut lock combinations!
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