Fairy Meadows Hut Renovation

Spent last week volunteering on an ACC work party at Fairy Meadows. This was the first week of a three week major renovation project. The 'Ol girl really needs some attention. We spent the first two days ripping out the upper floor and extending it out over the front porch and the cold room. All the moldy plywood was removed and way too much mouse crap was vacumed out of the rafters. We tried unsuccessfully to chase out the resident pack rat. Its nest was in the up stairs ceiling and consisted of 10 X 20 feet of lichen, insulation, grass and flower stalks mixed with lots of droppings. Gross!!!!

The following should be done by the end of the project:

1. New metal roof with cross flow ventilation. No more shoveling the roof.
2. New floor on the main floor.
3. Drying room where the stairs used to be.
4. Kitchen renovated with new counter tops and cabinets and a long bench along the east wall. Wood stove was removed from kitchen.
5. Upstairs will be larger with the extensions mentioned above. Stairs to the upstairs will be through the cold room. Seperate bunks raised off of the floor with all new paneling and insulation. Large windows on each end. Because of the lack of ventilation (removal of moisture) the low paneling had lots of mold. The new design of the roof will now take care of this.
6. The sauna also had mold problems. All affected wood was removed. The Sauna will have tiled floors with drainage now.

I may be missing other items but those were the big ticket items. 35 sling loads of material was choppered into the hut for this project. If your part of a trip this coming season you will be impressed with the changes.

Note: Story of the Fairy; the well know Fairy that resides on the pole above the sauna was crafted by a Calgary metal worker and climber. The model for the fairy was taken from a '60's album cover featuring Tinkerbell. The ski angles and body positions were derived from a '70's ski manual. Next time you give the fairy a glance notice the great technique.

Gregg

wow Gregg, y'all did a ton of work up there! nice job! I look forward to never having to shovel that roof again

....and I always wondered exactly how massive the attic rats nest was....after reading your description, perhaps I didn't want to know that I was sleeping under a roof filled with that much nastiness afterall...

now that the cabin is all renovated, do you know if the ACC has plans to have a cabin 'host' there during the winter like they have at the Kokanee hut or will guests still have the place all to themselves?

We did get one day to go climbing. Otherwise it was hard grunt labor. The roof was really a chore to strip-- long nails through cedar shingles and double layer of 1/2 plywood. The folks that did the roof in '73 did not want it to fail. It could have lasted another ten years if folks hand not cramponed up there to shovel it off.

Yes, I know now the true meaning of the word rat's nest. It was pretty gross the one day of rain watching the brown goo drip from the ceiling..... Hantavirus anyone?????

Oh yea, the ceiling was painted white. Much improved for evening lighting.

No hosts planned for FM. That is part of the appeal, eh!

Visual Treat:

Father Gregor and Brother Michael at last New Year's Eve Powder Ceremony at FM.

Good motivation on the Hut....That place is amazing.  Saw the New Years Party and though about the good times at Fairy Meadows.  Thought I would share chaotic moments...Cheers, Jeff S.  Missoula Crew...

Great pictures Jeff. We heard that you had 8 feet of snow the week you guys were after us. That most have been crazy. Good thing the place has good tree skiing.

Nice work! Man that sauna really needed a drain. Sounds like it should be more comfy for the mandatory high season 20 people needed to fill it up. Thanks for your efforts-