Words and Photos by Jada Lippincott @whereisjadaa
John, aged 85, and Kris, aged 76, do more outdoor activities in a single day than most younger folks do in a week. From canyoneering to biking, and climbing to skiing, I’ve never seen people more jazzed to get out and get at it than these folks. When John called and asked if we, my partner Jon and I (not to make it confusing) wanted to go a backcountry-ski trip to a hut on the Continental Divide in Colorado, there was only one answer - “Hell yes!”
I had just spent the summer walking on the Continental Divide Trail and now I get to ski on it? Well, technically I’m on a split-board, as I’m a snowboarder, but you get the gist. This would be my first ever backcountry-ski hut trip.
The 10th Mountain Division, managed by a nonprofit, is a system of 38 backcountry
huts, used in both winter and summer, that are sprinkled around the Rocky Mountains in
Colorado. There is a vast network of trails connected by the huts that provide a one-of-a-kind experience for the outdoor enthusiast. The hut that was our destination for the trip is called the Goodwin-Greene Hut. It is nestled between Crested Butte and Aspen, in the Elk Range, and it sits above 11,600 feet in elevation. The trek into the hut from the Ashcroft trailhead is only about 6.6 miles, and you climb around 3,000 feet to reach it. Compared to a lot of other huts, the Goodwin-Greene has a potential to be a bit spicy when skiing in. You’re above the tree line a little after the three mile mark, so if the wind picks up, you can quickly find yourself in a whiteout.
Before you leave the treeline though, you’re walking through beautiful patches of Aspens. You follow an old logging road for the first few miles which make the initial climb not too steep. Once you’re up, you cross a few different ridges to access the basin where it sits, so if you’re unfamiliar with the area or do not have GPS, good-luck-Chuck!
Thankfully Kris and John have been coming to this one for years, so they know the way. As a splitboarder, I found the skin to be a bit annoying because it’s not all uphill, meaning that I had to switch my splitboard between climb mode and ride mode a few different times. My boyfriend thinks I just need to transition to skiing, so I don’t have to deal with a splitboard in the backcountry, but I refuse. At first, I was surprised by the fact that John and Kris can keep up with mid 20 year old kids so well, but then I remembered who they were and it no longer surprised me.
We left the trailhead around 9am and arrived at the Goodwin-Greene hut just before the sun had started to set. This was also the first time I was taking my new Hyperlite Mountain Gear Crux 40 backcountry-ski pack out, so I was even more excited! I would definitely plan a whole day to get your crew to the hut when planning your own trip. I didn’t really know what I was expecting from a hut, but this definitely exceeded my expectations.
It’s a single-room structure that can sleep 10 people. There are no bunks, just single and double beds. There’s a kitchen with propane burners, lots of pots, pans, and utensils, a
dining area and a giant wood fireplace that heats the whole room. There is no running water, so you bring in snow and put it in a giant bucket that sits on top of the fireplace and wait for it to melt. There’s an outhouse with a big window so you can look at Gold Hill while you do your business. There’s a big deck out front to sit and watch the stars in the evening as well, which was one of my favorite parts.
Wood is stocked at the hut over the summer–it’s just our responsibility to cut it into smaller pieces for the stove. Before we left for the trip, Kris explained to us that when doing something like this with a group, normally each couple (or single person) takes charge of one breakfast and one dinner to share with everyone. Jon and I packed out things for goulash for our shared dinner and pancakes for our shared breakfast. Being noobies in the presence of seasoned veterans, I was a little nervous, but it turned out pretty alright.
I would say the ideal timeframe to be at the Goodwin-Greene hut is three days, two nights. You ski in the first day; everyone has time to get settled, and then you leave the skiing and exploring for the next couple days. Jon and I prepared our goulash for John and Kris on the arrival evening, and they made us their breakfast on that first morning. After we got our tummies full, we suited up and started skinning up the ridges around the Goodwin-Greene hut. It was quite chilly above 11,000 feet! We spent the day following Kris and John around to their favorite spots that they’ve found over the years of coming out here. John and Kris were on skis that have scales on the bottom, meaning that they didn’t need to have skins to help on the ascents, as that’s what the scales are for. In short, their lives are easier than ours out here, as we have skins that we have to rip off and stick back on after each run.
After we all got our fix for the day, we brought the party inside the hut and watched as the snow started to fall. There are all kinds of board games and playing cards shoved up on shelves in the dining area, so as we waited for John and Kris to prepare dinner, we played some cards. We spent the rest of the evening chatting and telling stories. Kris and John have lived a life full of adventure, from putting up the hardest routes (that still stand) on Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, to skiing volcanoes out in the pacific northwest. It’s the kind of thing that when John and Kris talk, everyone shuts up and listens.
Our final morning waking up at the Goodwin-Greene hut was a whopping -12 degrees Fahrenheit, also known as cold as frick. There was an area high above the hut that we all had our eyes on checking out before we began our trek back to the car, so we all motivated each other by getting our snowpants and jackets on and headed out.
John and Kris are pretty conservative with their skiing nowadays, rightfully so, but it was very neat to see them both go out of their comfort zone with Jon and me when it came time for us to choose the ski lines. I look at John and Kris, and I hope to be half as cool as they are when I get to be their age. You would too if you knew them.
After we got a few runs in, we all met back up at the hut to begin our checking-out process. We cleaned the kitchen and dining area, we chopped some wood for the next group, and we swept the floor. The final adventure of the trip was going to be getting back to the car.
It seems like the 6.6 miles back to the car should be all downhill, as when we skied in, it seemed to be all uphill. Well, that was not the case. It was quite flat, and if you’re familiar with how snowboarding works, you don’t have your two separate legs to move yourself along. Long story short, the first couple miles getting out of the hut meant a lot of split-skiing which is when your split-board is in uphill mode, but you’re going downhill. After a few miles of that, I was finally able to have my snowboard in downhill mode, and it went a lot smoother.
My first backcountry-ski hut trip within the 10th Mountain Division system at the Goodwin-Green hut was way cooler than I could have expected. There are a lot of huts within the same system that are more accessible, but I loved that you have to trek in quite a way to reach this one. Not only does it create a more “backcountry” feel, but you and your crew are the only ones skiing those lines back there. We didn’t see a single person or group once we left the trailhead. Having to melt your own water, chop your own wood, and finding ways to entertain yourself that don’t involve technology - yeah, those are the good times. I am already looking forward to the next time I get to be above the clouds on the Continental Divide, skiing untouched powder, laying my head down at night at the Goodwin-Greene hut.
