Tenth Mountain Hut




Thought I'd start you out with an enticing view of the tenth mountain hut as viewed before I started skiing down another powder run. Tenth Mountain Division Hut is about a 5 mile hike in, relatively constant on the uphill, with a few significant climbs.  It can be accomplished in 3 1/2 to 4 hours.  The

start of the hike isn't the most glamorous, as you park next to the highway and walk on the road.  However, after about a quarter mile, you head into the woods and follow a newly created trail that hooks up with the colorado trail.  After about 1 1/2 miles, you join the trail to take you to the hut.  There is about a 1/4 mile downhill that is about one hundred feet or so down, I never like losing altitude when I know I am supposed to be climbing!  Also, there are summer and winter trails to the hut, make sure you look at the signs to make sure you are using the correct one!  The forest service has opened the area up to snowmobilers, which is new to me.  I did not see any, but apparently if you go on the weekend, you'll have more of a chance of seeing them.  The hike traverses through several open meadows,

Tenth Mountain Hut is a relatively classic design, with the first floor common area and a second floor sleeping area. It has two propane burners, so more than one group can be cooking at a time.  There is a stove for cooking, and a stove for heating and melting water.  The second floor has two rooms that sleep 4 and 6, and a common area that sleeps 6 more.  There is lighting in the cabin.  The outhouse has to potties, and is separated from the hut, so that makes for a nice walk in the night.  There is a great deck that has a table pointing out the mountains in your view.
 The Hut faces to the south, so you get great sunlight during the day.

There is great snowshoeing and  Skiing around the cabin. A classic hike is to make it up to Slide Lake, Once you get up there, every way down funnels you back to the hut.  If you are more adventurous, climbing to the top of Homestake Peak is also a day trip.

Check out my post of Night Sky Photos of Tenth Mountain Division Hut


From the Deck, you can see Homestake Peak in the distance
This is the map found at the Parking Lot



Comments

Tom Bender said…
And a beautiful hut it is!