By Owen Leeper
Canadian huts are so fun.
I’ve only done one before but it was one of the best trips of my life. You get to fly in a helicopter to the hut with a group of friends and then ski tour for a week. This winter, I explored around the Meadow Hut, operated by Golden Alpine Holidays, near Golden, British Columbia.
The hut sits in a valley with alpine lines above and amazing pillow tree skiing below. If the avy danger and weather allow, you can get up high, but we stayed in the trees this trip.
The hut is well set up with beds, linens, blankets, full kitchen, dining room, and boot/gear room. There’s even a sauna for relaxing after a long day of touring! The hut master that accompanies every trip manages the hut, shoveling snow, manning the fire and keeping things running. We opted to pay extra to run the generator each night to charge our batteries since there is no electricity. Pro tip: Don’t forget a power strip so everyone can charge at the same time.
As for the skiing, the best ski zone is right below the hut, accessed with just a quick side-step. A short 30-minute skin takes you back up for another run, or you can head down the valley for more, slightly smaller pillow zones. The biggest and best zones are right near the hut. But for good warm-ups, the second hill might be a better place to start. Set good skin tracks because you can reuse them for every lap.
From the hut, there is mellow tree skiing between the pillow lines for a good warm up. You ski straight down to the lake, and then you get a great shot of the lines. Take some photos of what you want to ski, because once you get back to the top, everything looks like a big drop off.
There is a decent ski map at the hut, but a good satellite image on your phone is also helpful. I use Google Earth. There is no cell service at the Meadow Hut, so download everything you need ahead of time. If you need to get service, you have to skin/hike up to the ridgeline, probably an hour or more.
There are hidden pillows all throughout the trees, so just ski down through the woods or skin to find some great airs. If you’re not looking to jump off things, there are lots of fun chutes and trees to ski as well.
A Few Tips
In case you’ve never done a heli hut trip…
Bring an extra pair of skis with rental bindings that are fully adjustable. Rent a pair and split the costs if you have to. One guy broke his binding the second day and couldn’t ski the rest of the trip. Bring an extra pair of poles too. I broke one and luckily was able to fix it. Bring a small repair kit including glue, duct tape, extra screws and bolts for boots and bindings, skin clips. It’s pretty amazing how one broken piece of gear can ruin the trip. Also—booties are great for winter camping and huts, so pack something to walk around in other than ski boots. The hut has some extra footwear, but having your own is better.
How to ski it, you ask? We concentrated on the zone nearest the hut. It was easy to set a skin track up and around the main pillow zone and do quick laps. There were so many lines to ski, but it took some creativity and good memory to know which way to air. I took photos from the bottom of the line I wanted and memorized different trees and rocks to know which way my line went as I skied down. Sometimes it takes a couple runs through to really know where you are.
Another suggestion is to bring hot food. Even better—bring the optional cook to take care of all the meals. We opted for a no-cook breakfast and lunch, but really a hut trip is way better with bacon and eggs in the morning. Don’t bother with solar panels because there is no sun at the hut, at least in December and January. L.E.D lanterns are also nice to have for your bedroom, but I forgot mine.
The right preparation will make your epic hut trip that much better. I highly recommend everyone going on a hut trip, especially a heli hut in Canada. There are tons to choose from! Just grab a group of friends and make a reservation as early as possible. They book up fast.
See more alpine touring insight in our Ultimate Guide to Backcountry Skiing
