Easy access
A summer trip to the huts can be infinitely easier to pull off than a winter one. When there’s snow on the ground, access can go through avalanche-prone terrain. Navigating from the trailhead to the hut can be challenging in a blizzard (once, it took my party three hours to find themcnamara Hut in a whiteout; we were probably 100 yards from the front door the entire time).
In the summer, Forest Service roads allow you to drive a (four- or allwheel drive) vehicle to within spitting distance of the hut’s front door. This proved helpful two summers ago, when I organized a family reunion at the Eiseman Hut near Vail and a mighty thunderstorm broke loose as soon as we cut the ignition. We waited out the booming thunder and blinding lightning in the safety of our car (with two young, sleeping kids), and when the storm passed, we carted our stuff to the hut while rainbows bloomed over the horizon.
What to expect
“Hut” doesn’t quite explain your digs. While they’re not fancy, some of these places can sleep up to 20 and have two stories. There’s a shared common area, plus several bedrooms and bunk rooms with foam mattresses and pillows (bring your own pillowcases). As for design, expect rough-hewn pine furniture, solid tables and chairs that can withstand the use of many. Outside there are typically fire rings (check on any fire restrictions in advance of your trip). Most huts have enormous decks and floor-to-ceiling windows.
Living history
The hutswere the brainchild of soldiers fromtheu.s. Army’s 10thmountain Division, which trained in Colorado’s high country to prepare for battle