Fowler-Hilliard Hut: February 2009


31 January 2009
20090131_1721_P1020672.jpg

Although this is about a ski trip to the Fowler-Hilliard Hut, located between Leadville and Vail, Colorado, our first stop along the way was in Moab, Utah.

We left Flagstaff for Moab with hopes of catching late afternoon light at Arches National Park. We drove along the main Park road to just before the turn to the Windows area. With the rock catching the soft afternoon light and the LaSal Mountains lit up the scene was very good and I shot a number of photos. While none were great, many were good.





01 February 2009
20090201_1010_P1020676.jpg

Susan wanted to explore the Slickrock Trail area and we walked the "Practice Loop" trail (a distance of about 2-3 miles).

With patchy snow still on the red rock and bikers on the trail, it was another good photo opportunity.





02 February 2009
20090202_1001_P1020681.jpg

20090202_1014_P1020682.jpg

20090202_1355_P1020687.jpg

20090202_1613_P1020688.jpg

Susan, Jan, and I were on the ski trail that would take us up McAllister Creek at 9:30 a.m. The snow was cold and blue wax was a good choice for this part of the trail.

We finally put on the climbing skins just as we started the steeper climb out of the creek drainage and up to the southwest shoulder of Resolution Peak. The trail through this section was very narrow and much of the powder had already been skied off. We wondered how challenging this was going to be skiing down when we returned in a few days?

We arrived at Fowler-Hilliard Hut at 2:15 p.m. It was almost empty with just two skiers there. Other skiers were out on the slopes and more would be arriving later today.

After some hot soup and tea, it was time to head back out and find some powder slopes for some telemark turns. We found good snow on the north-facing glades and had fun cutting turns through the trees. It was getting late and the light was fading. Time to head back to the (nearly full) hut.

We had hoped to watch the International Space Station (ISS) as it transited the skies tonight but clouds rolled in during the late afternoon. Maybe tomorrow night will be better!





03 February 2009
20090203_1006_P1020696.jpg

20090203_1103_P1020699.jpg

This morning Susan and I decided to ski towards Ptarmigan Hill and check out the slopes. We stopped along the way to ski a ridge. The W-NW aspect gave us some good powder for a few runs.

We continued on and skied to the summit of Ptarmigan. From the summit we had a grand view in all directions and were able to see many unskied slopes. But we were also able to see the numerous snowmobile and snow coach tracks. This is, after all, part of the Vail Pass Recreation Area and it is a well known area for motorized sports. We were disappointed that the skier-only terrain was limited in scope so we would have to be on the watch for motorized vehicles.

The snow on the summit was pretty stiff on the south aspect with wind slab on the top and sun crust down lower. In the middle was an elevation belt with good snow and I managed to get in some tele turns on the skinny skis.

Near the saddle on the west side of Ptarmigan Hill we found a WNW-facing slope with trees and did a couple of runs through the delightful powder before heading back to the hut for another late lunch of hot tea and snacks.

With clear skies we were able to watch the ISS as it transited the sky. Many in the hut came out to watch and it was a pretty cool (and cold!) experience.

The hut is crowded tonight.





04 February 2009
20090204_0725_P1020713.jpg

20090204_1227_P1020723.jpg

20090204_1407_P1020725.jpg

20090204_1556_P1020734.jpg

Today, Jan joined Susan and me as we headed back to our powder slope and we spent the day skiing the west face of Ptarmigan Hill until there was (almost) no untracked powder left. By the end of the day we were very tired and very happy.

The ISS made another transit tonight but it was earlier in the evening and it was still twilight. Even so, it was very bright (magnitude -4.1) and was easy to track is it crossed the sky.

The hut is fairly empty tonight with only six people here. With fewer people, the pace is more laid back, the conversation level quieter and, more importantly, the hut is not overheated.





05 February 2009
20090205_0654_P1020747.jpg

20090205_0933_P1020751.jpg

20090205_1011_P1020755.jpg

20090205_1113_P1020757.jpg

There were some high clouds at sunrise today and I finally managed to get some good photos of the morning colors on the clouds. The past few days have been either very clear or overcast resulting in "boring" sunrises and sunsets. Of course, no sunrise or sunset is ever truly boring when staying at a hut at 11,500 feet!

The trip out was an adventure. First we had to skin up the moderate angle gully from the hut to the northwest ridge of Resolution Peak. Once on the west face of the Peak we were able to get in some turns in the still-good snow.

Then we were on the narrow and steep trail that would take us back down to McAllister Creek. There was still some powder on the edges of the trail -- and plenty of powder in the trees -- but the steepness and narrow width of the trail made it challenging to control our downhill speed. In the end, the best solution was to do some tree skiing -- and it wasn't too bad!

Once we were back down in the flats of Camp Hale we became concerned that the warm temperatures of the past few days might have melted or made unsafe our snow bridge across the creek. But, lo, there it was and we were able to safely cross the stream.

The weather during this hut trip had been very good with mostly sunny days and clear nights but the warm temperatures had hurt the snow on the sun-facing slopes leaving powder only on north slopes. A bit of work each day was sufficient to find these powder slopes and we were able to ski tele turns all day long.

For more information on this and other huts in the 10th Mountain Division Hut System, visit the 10th Mountain Division Hut System web site.