Rocky Mountain Research Station needs help from Tenth Mountain members with it's Vail Pass lynx study

Dear 10th Mountain Division Hut users,

The Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) is a mid-sized carnivore that is identified by its long black ear tufts and large feet. Lynx are mostly secretive and rarely seen in the wild. They inhabit remote forested areas in Colorado, including areas near Vail Pass. Members of the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula, MT, in cooperation with the White River National Forest and other agencies, are conducting research to determine if lynx are affected by increased winter recreation, including snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing. We don't fully understand how lynx respond to winter recreation during the winter.

We received your email address from the Colorado 10th Mountain Division Hut Association reservation list. We are asking Hut users to carry a small GPS unit with armband (only weighs a few ounces- see photo), while they recreate on Vail Pass. We are only interested if you are staying in one of the following huts:




1. Shrine Mountain
2. Jackal Hut
3. Janet's Cabin
4. Fowler/Hillard Hut
5. Vance's Cabin
6. Francie's Cabin

Once finished with your hut trip, we request that you return the GPS unit to one of several convenient drop boxes. Your participation is completely voluntary; last year over 90% of recreationists who were invited to participate in this study on Vail Pass chose to participate. No identifying information is retained from recreationist’s tracks. By asking recreationists to carry small GPS units, we are able to “match” recreation use—timing and place—to lynx activities as determined from radiocollared lynx. This information will be used in future management decisions regarding winter recreation and lynx.

If you are interested in participating in this study, we will send you a GPS unit by mail or coordinate a location for you to pick up the GPS. To be included, please email us the following information:

1. Date of planned hut visit
2. Hut name
3. Your mailing address

Thank you for your help,

John Squires
Rocky Mountain Research Station
Research Wildlife Biologist
Forestry Science Laboratory
800 E. Beckwith
Missoula, MT 59801

406-542-4164 - Office

Please Help Improve Guinn Mountain Hut/ Arestua Hut Cleanliness

After this weekend's trek up to Guinn, it's quite apparent that there is a general lack of care being used when it comes to peeing, taking out ashes, and getting rid of dish water and coffee. I've been shoveling the porch each weekend, trying to dig out the hut, and have dug through multiple pits of ashes right outside the door, dug up empty cans of beer, and now that mess has moved out side with several areas of ash and urine circling the perimeter of the hut.

Just about everyone I've met on the trail has great respect for the hut, so it's hard to imagine such a flagrant abuse of the hut. I understand that there have been some brutally cold nights with heavy dumps - but I thought that was why we went up there. Perhaps this was just one group of people, but the impact can be seen every where. What is normally a vision of beauty when you finally reach the hut after the lnog hike up has become mine field of trash.

Here's the first examples, where someone decided to pour their coffee right out side the door. If you look close, you will also notice the ash that was left right next to it. There is no reason for this.








To our left is just one example of many where people have just tossed the ashes off of the porch landing in front.







I could have given more photos of pee spots, but I thought I would show you one of the finest examples of slacker multitasking I have ever witnesses:
Behold the person who walked out the front door, climbed off the porch, and decided that was a perfect spot to take a pee while dumping the ashes. It takes quite the person to think this was a good idea.

I would ask anyone who visits any hut to try and leave it in better condition than you found it. Do some shoveling, sweep the floors, and pick up trash. I know we'll never be able to stop people from doing these things, but we can minimize their impact by cleaning up for a bit each time we are up there. Spring time is coming, and the more trash and peeing that happens now, the more stinky the hut will be.

Avalanche Fatalities on the rise with Backcountry Skiers

The New York Times ran an article titled "Avalanche Survival: Know Your Snow" which was focused on back country avalanche safety. The article mentions a "quantum leap" in the number of back country skier caused by advancements in gear that has created more experts out of skiers who once considered the back country inaccessible. This is not surprising to all of us who use the huts, especially when we are trying to get our reservation forms in! With this comes an increase in the number of avalanche fatalities. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center lists 36 Avalanches in the 2009-2010 Season, with 12 of them by skiers and snowboarders. There were also 2 avalanches in 2010 involving skiers using back country huts in Colorado. One of them resulted in a fatality while the other suffered a broken leg.

The main point of the article is that we all need to be aware of snow conditions and the signs of an avalanche. They discuss groups in Colorado and Utah that are dedicated to teaching avalanche safety. In some instances, these classes include a hut trip! The article also discusses the importance of getting to the victims as quickly as possible. The latest gear including ava lungs and beacons. The best demonstration of this can be seen in the following video, showing an extreme skier who video tapes himself getting buried in an avalanche and his eventual rescue:

There are a number of ways to get informed about avalanche danger. In Colorado, before I go into the backcountry, I head to the CAIC, which has a nice section of tutorials and reference links. One of the nicest features is to get twitter feeds on updates to your back country areas. If you are doing a hut trip, I'd recommend getting twitter updates on the area you'll be skiing. Lasly, If you are going into the Colorado back country, don't forget to purchase a Colorado Outdoor Recreation Search and Rescue (CORSAR) Card