Rest Stop for Backcountry Enthusiasts

Following in the footsteps (and ski tracks) of our European counterparts, Whistler’s chapter of the Alpine Club of Canada has submitted a proposal to BC Parks to create a series of backcountry huts throughout the popular Spearhead Traverse.

Intended to encourage visitors to explore Whistler’s incredible backcountry, the Spearhead Huts Proposal is a $1.7 million project that would see the construction of two new huts and the replacement of the existing Russet Lake hut, connecting a 35-km long loop of trail. Whistler Councillor Jayson Faulkner, also a member and Chair of the Spearhead Hut Committee, sees this project as a future “must-do” experience. “Backcountry skiing is everything skiing is supposed to be about—solitude, adventure, powder, beauty, self reliance and IULHQGVkLS…DQG PXFk, PXFk PRUH,´ VDyV )DXOnQHU.

The entire cost of the project would be paid for from fundraising and donations, with trail and hut construction slated to move from start to finish as the funding dollars come in. Naturalists need not worry about encouraging more visitors to venture out into the backcountry, for it is believed that building a series of trail-connected huts will serve to steer hikers and skiers along a common path, minimizing their environmental impact. As Hans Gmoser, a founder of modern mountaineering in Canada, said, “In the end, to ski is to travel fast and free—free over untouched snow country. To be bound to one slope, even one mountain, by a lift may be convenient but it robs us of the greatest pleasure that skiing can give, that is to travel through the wide wintery country; to follow the lure of peaks which tempt on the horizon and to be alone for a few days or even hours in clear, mysterious surroundings.”

To learn more or donate, visit www.spearheadhuts.org.