In late 2007, Mud Tribe member, Sheryl came up with the idea for a back-country ski / snowshoe trip to one of the 10th Mountain Division Huts located throughout the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. When everyone agreed that it sounded like a grand idea, Sheryl went to work on mapping out the plans.
She took a look at the various locations and decided on “Janet’s Cabin” which is located southwest of the Copper Mountain Ski Resort, near Vail Pass. Janet’s hut is a 3000 square foot log cabin located at the head of the Guller Creek drainage near the timberline. You can get to Janet’s hut from two different trailheads – one at Vail Pass and one at Union Creek, near Copper Mountain. Both routes are between 5.5 and 6 miles with varying elevation gains.
We chose to take the Union Creek / Copper Mountain route. The dates chosen were April 26th through April 29th, 2008. Throughout the winter months, preparations were put in place, new gear purchased, skis & snowshoes tuned up and everyone started getting in shape for the adventure.
Since the majority of the members were traveling from Northern California, it was decided the contingent would meet in Reno, Nevada on Friday the 25th and fly out to Denver where Colorado member, Sheryl would pick us up. We would stay with her that evening and head to the mountains on Saturday morning.
When the time came, Janet, Linda, Nana and I all met on a beautiful Friday morning outside Reno where we parked our cars at a friend’s place and caught a ride to the Reno Airport. There was one slight problem though – Janet was battling a case of “Bottle Flu”, AKA a raging hangover. Not much fun when it comes to flying in the mountainous west where things can get a bit bumpy at times.
Soon we were whisked off to Phoenix where we had a layover before heading on into Denver at sunset. Sheryl was right on schedule to pick us up although I had us all waiting at the wrong level of the airport for pick-up. Once that was straightened out, we all piled our gear into Sheryl’s truck and headed north to Fort Collins where we would stay for the evening.
Once there, we started the process of comparing what we each had brought and started paring down what we needed to take. Unfortunately, the booze alone weighed several hundred pounds!
Here, Nana and I sort through tons of gear, seeing what will fit in our packs.
Finally, we arrived at a reasonable (or at least we thought so) amount of gear, food and booze to sustain us for the three nights at Janet’s Cabin. Then it was off to bed so that we could rise early on Saturday and head towards the mountains.
Unfortunately, Saturday morning dawned cloudy with some snow showers and brisk winds. We headed out to do some last minute shopping and then loaded the truck for the 2+ hour drive to Copper Mountain.
Linda waits in the truck as we get some gas…
The drive to Copper Mountain was uneventful and the nearer we got, the better the weather. By the time we pulled into the parking lot, the skies had cleared and the sun was shining. The trail was covered with several inches of fresh powder and the temps were warming.
The Mud Tribe gets ready to hit the trail…
Since Copper Mountain was already closed for the season, we had to head up the slopes to the “USFS Back Country Access Point” without the assistance of the ski lifts, which help out considerably during the winter season. This was an additional 1.5 miles of UFH we had hoped to avoid.
The Tribe heads UFH pulling the “Booze Sled” – about 60lbs of food and liquor…
The USFS “Back-Country Access Point” leads into the Guller Creek drainage…
We finally reached the USFS back country access point at an elevation of 10,640 feet. Once there, the trail goes from wide open ski slope to single track through the woods, downhill for approximately 3/4 mile to the bottom of Guller Gulch. This area was quite icy and sloped at odd angles which created problems for towing the booze sled. Try as we might, it kept getting caught on every tree we passed. This caused the towing person to fall. After almost an hour and not much progress, the decision was made to abandon the sled and distribute the food and booze amongst our already heavy packs. We then hid the sled in the trees and marked it with tape so that we could retrieve it upon our return. Unfortunately, we also chose to leave behind some booze to cut down on the weight.
“Mud Tribe Rocks” – our familiar mantra…
Once back on the trail, we picked up the pace although by now, it was late afternoon and the temps were dropping.
We also started to feel the effects of the altitude. Although every single one of us lives at higher elevations, none of us were used to the almost 11,000 feet where we were now. We all continued to hydrate well but headaches, dizziness, muscle cramps and other altitude sickness related ailments still started setting in. This slowed our pace quite a bit and caused us to delay our arrival even more.
Finally, just after 9pm, guided by our headlamps, we arrived at Janet’s Cabin at an elevation of 11,610 feet. There were several other guests there who had a warm fire going in the woodstove and bright lights visible in the windows. It was just what we all needed!
After getting out of our sweat-soaked clothes and greeting the others, Sheryl made us some wonderful lamb chops and couscous before we settled in for the evening.
Janet’s Cabin sleeps up to 20 people and upstairs there are four bunk rooms. We found one that was empty and had plenty of room to store our gear and spread out our sleeping bags.
Sunday dawned clear and cold – perfect for some back-country skiing. The other guests were preparing to leave but they had to get some runs in first. Conditions looked perfect, especially for so late in the season. Janet tagged along with the group and skinned up into the bowls that are just above the cabin along the Continental Divide.
Meanwhile, back at the cabin, we put together a breakfast of pancakes with real maple syrup.
The rest of the day was spent exploring, relaxing, skiing, snowshoeing, eating, drinking, reading, playing games, napping, etc. Here are some additional photos from around Janet’s Cabin…
The Cabin…
A quick game of Scrabble…
Linda reads a book and relaxes…
Sheryl and Nana skin up the trail…
Me out on snowshoes…
The big woodstove. For fresh water, you melt snow in this huge pot…
Croc-A-Palooza…
Janet’s tele skis…
Last light on the mountains…
The second evening, we enjoyed an Asian beef stir-fry with fresh peppers, green onions, snow-peas, water chestnuts and bean sprouts served with brown Jasmine rice. We also enjoyed some wine and Goldschläger spiked hot chocolate afterwards. Everyone went to bed full that’s for sure. By now, all the other guests had returned to civilization so we had the entire place to ourselves. We sat by the fire and relaxed before turning in for the night…
The next day we awoke again to great weather with temps forecast to reach the mid 40′s. After a quick breakfast, Janet, Nana and Sheryl geared up for some skiing. Linda gathered some more snow for the water pot and I wandered around taking photos and exploring.
Linda shovels snow for the melting pot…
Nana, Janet and Sheryl get ready to head out skiing…
Sheryl, Janet and Nana hit the slopes…
The Rockies from the Continental Divide above Janet’s Cabin…
Sheryl stands along the Continental Divide…
Janet stands along the Continental Divide…
Nana stands along the Continental Divide…
The mountains above the cabin…
Back at the bottom, the ladies salute their conquests…
One of the unique features of Janet’s Cabin is the separate, wood-fired sauna located just out back. This sauna is heated by a small, specially designed woodstove and offers the back-country traveler a special treat after a long day of skiing, snowshoeing or just relaxing. In the afternoon, Sheryl and I went down and fired up the stove. After 45 minutes or so, the sauna was toasty warm so Nana, Janet, Sheryl and I treated ourselves to some heat and steam, courtesy of some melted snow…
The sauna building…
Inside…
Linda and Janet relax before dinner…
Chicken, pasta with fresh pesto, topped with roasted pine nuts – now that’s roughing it!
The last light of the day bathes nearby Jacque Ridge…
On the third morning, we had some more wonderful pancakes and began cleaning up and packing our stuff for the long trek out. Linda and I decided to start ahead of the skiers as we were on snowshoes. We knew that it was going to take us a bit longer to get down the mountain. Linda took off first as I finalized my packing. We all had portable radios so that we could keep in contact with each other. Shortly after Linda left, her radio crackled to life and she told us that she was in the company of a beautiful red fox that had walked right up to her. She said it was so comfortable with her that it lay at her feet and rested before heading back into the woods.
I started down the trail a few minutes later and also had the privilege of seeing the fox as it crossed the trail below me. I watched to see if it would approach me as well but it kept a respectable distance away in the trees. I was hoping to catch a photograph but it stayed well hidden from my camera.
The trip down was much easier than coming up. The Guller Creek drainage is a beautiful valley lined with forests. The snow pack was still several feet deep even this late in the season. I can only imagine that this valley will be filled with beautiful wildflowers in a couple of months.
Looking back up the trail towards the cabin from Guller Gulch…
Looking down the valley…
Linda along the trail…
We retrieved the sled and stashed booze from the spot along the trail and wound our way back to Copper Mountain Ski resort. Once back on the slopes. I climbed onto the sled and was able to slide most of the way down to the bottom. Linda was able to do the same with a plastic bag. Shortly after our arrival at the bottom, the skiers called on the radio and announced that they had reached the resort and would be along shortly. Sure enough, a few minutes later we could hear them whooping and hollering all the way down the hill…
Back at the bottom…
Once the gear was loaded up, we headed east along I-70 and hit the Backcountry Brewery in nearby Frisco, Colorado. A quick lunch and cold beer recharged our batteries for the long drive back to Fort Collins.
Read all about our train ride back home here…
For more information on The Mud Tribe, click here…
For more information about the 10th Mountain Division Hut Association, please click here…
For some additional photos of the cabin, please click here…
For information on SPOT, Emergency Satellite Messengers, please click here…
