PNW Ski Huts

I wasn't initially interested in the Salmon-la-sac area - but when you mention 'Van Epps Pass', Upper Scatter Creek, and even Ghallager Head / Lake Ann area, I am getting interested. The terrain there and the touring possibilities are very nice there indeed! They are not in the wilderness yet, so worthy of consideration - there may even be a structure at the Van Epps prospect site. Van Epps, to me, is a 'capstone' location that has just the right combination of variables for terrain, snowpack, and scenery, but just more difficult to access.

I would like to further share some news from our stateside neighbors to the North, in Anchorage, AK.

www.alaskahuts.org/

There is a hut proposal that has been in the works for several years now for a sequence of huts on the Kenai Penninsula. It has been crafted in quite detail, but at some point was stalled in a 'feasability review' and the plug almost pulled. The forest service is indeed proving difficult to work with... however public support is still strong, and people are sticking with it. The original proposal was for a 'system' of huts, but now I think a single one is in the cards. Let us stay tuned how things proceed - there might be some valuable lessons to learn here about the process.

- Kevin

There is a nice flat spot right at Van Epps Pass that would be a great site for a hut, with motorized mayhem on one side of the divide and more or less pristine wilderness on the other. I haven't driven to the mine site, but I don't think there anything usable as a structure there. There are active claims all over that area so a lot of good sites may already be off limits in that regard.

Both Van Epps and Gallagher Head Lake are road accessible in summer by Jeep or 4wd pickup. So we could get materials in there without too much effort. But everywhere there is a road up there, there are snowmobiles (except for Sasse, which is a voluntary non-motorized zone). Basically that whole upper fortune creek drainage gets heavy motorized use. For a ski hut, it would be better if it could go in a basin that is not directly accessed by roads, like Scatter Creek, or the far upper basins of the middle fork of the Teanaway, which are just over the ridge from summer road access but should be more or less quiet in winter.

There is an excellent already permitted hut site in the Methow Valley at Panther Basin. A yurt was there in the early '90's. It was eventually crushed by snow load. The permit was held by Rendezvous outfitters and is currently, I believe, in the possession of North Cascade Heliski. The hut site is at an altitude of 6400 feet (hence litttle rain) in Panther Creek in the drainage of upper Goat Creek, east of Mazama and just over the line of the Pasayten Wilderness. Nearby peaks go to 8100 feet (Mcleod and Sunrise Peaks). There is enough variety of open timbered terrain around the hut to allow safe skiing almost all of the time. The easiest access route by snowmobile was to go as high as possible in the upper Goat Creek road system, into Cougar Creek, climb the ridge separating Cougar and Panther Creeks (7,200 ft), and then ski down to the hut. There are several direct ways out of Panther basin into Goat Creek, where an old trail takes you to a road. Goat Creek Road is groomed for snowmobiles, making travel on it easy for either snomos or returning skiers. This site with its high and easterly location has many advantages for Washington skiers that no west side site could match. It was great and should be revived.

i think mazama is a bit out of the way for most people that would like to utilize such a wonderful resource.

- Accessibility:
-> hut can be reached in half-day of travel in good conditions (roughly 1000' climb per hour, or 3 miles per hour on flattish approaches), which still allows a full day travel for either deep trailbreaking or a less-than-superfit party.
-> road to trailhead is plowed regularly during the wintertime, and does not require a 4x4 high clearance, or additional snowmobile or snowcat use to get to.

- Serves user base:
-> hut trailhead is within 3 hours drive of a major metropolitan area.
-> hut is primarily intended for non-motorized user - no heavy snowmobile use.

. sounds like great skiing, but i don't have a sled/don't know anyone with a sled... ease of access for non-motorized users is a huge plus in the selection process(at least in this community i think)

Its great to see all the community support for the hut idea.

Before the holidays we had put out the idea of doing a face-to-face meeting to see how we can make this idea actionable.

Before we do that though - does anyone have experience doing projects like this - from the permitting process, to the site selection etc?