High on the Hinsdale
Story and photos by Ted Alan Stedman
Up here on the rounded shoulders of the Continental Divide, the only sounds are the hiss of February's blowing snow, the crunchy squeak of backcountry skis, and the laboring pants from two sets of oxygen deprived lungs.
We take turns breaking trail through 2 feet of drifting snow. At almost 12,300 energy-sapping feet, the point skier only has enough wind for about 100 yards of trail-busting effort before passing the lead. Fidgeting with our 45-pound backpacks and climbing skins, we slowly crest the Continental Divide and drink in a magnificent view that seems even more amazing to air-addled brains.
This is our prize, the most elevated snowy summit we’ll reach during a 4-day hut-to-hut ski tour along the Hinsdale Haute Route, the highest hut-to-hut ski route in Colorado. But as we reconnoiter our position on the map and scan the jagged horizon, our elevation celebration takes a serious nose-dive.
Turns out hard-won patch of mountain top we’ve just climbed is nothing more than an unremarkable ridge dwarfed by four surrounding 14,000-foot peaks and scores of 13,000-foot summits perforating the skyline. The scale is humbling, and almost enough to cause a case of vertigo for two skiers with shaky legs.
In Colorado, there are longer backcountry hut tours. There are tougher ones with no shortages of adrenaline pumping, white-knuckle Telemark descents. And with 12 different hut systems and about 60 cabins and huts in all, there are dozens of ski tours with more lavish hut amenities.
But as one of the more wild, rustic and remote hut-to-hut systems in Colorado, the Hinsdale is in a class of its own. Ironically, it rates as one of Colorado's safest ski tours, probably among the best for first-timers. At the same time it delivers a strapping dose of adventure, spectacular scenery and solitude – exactly what a good ski tour should deliver.
What makes the Hinsdale unique is its four “organic” backcountry shelters, which aren't traditional wooden huts at all. The structures are tent-like yurts, modeled after the portable Mongolian shelters used by herdsman across the vast Asian Steppe. Yes, the funky looking yurts are austere compared to the more palatial cabins of Colorado’s premier 10th Mountain Hut System. But after a hard day's skiing, the yurts are as cozy a sanctuary as you could ask for.
Except for personal bring-alongs like clothing, food and sleeping bags, each yurt furnishes everything skiers need to stay comfortable in the frozen backcountry: a wood burning stove, propane lantern, stove and oven, basic kitchen cookware, bunk beds that sleep eight – even a scaled down "yurt" outhouse.
Another aspect that puts the haute (French for “high route”) in the Hinsdale is the route itself, which carries an average elevation of 11,000 feet. Beginning south of Lake City between between Slumgullion Pass and Spring Creek Pass on CO 149, skiers can safely travel along 30 miles of the Continental Divide. The network of ski routes heads west, more or less tracing the old La Garita stock trail once used by cowboys herding cattle.
What's also unusual, at least by Colorado standards, is that most of the terrain involves gently rolling hills, broad ridges and expansive meadows. The undulating Rambouillet Park and the mild eastern inclines of the Continental Divide give the route a friendly disposition, making the Hinsdale a relatively safe haven from avalanches. This is remarkable considering the area lies in the San Juan Mountains, an area notorious for avalanches.
The Hinsdale Haute Route owes its existence to Jerry Gray, director and founder of the non-profit association that essentially got its start from a loose-knit group of self-described backcountry ski bums.
"Back in the early '80s, a bunch of us skied the backcountry off Slumgullion Pass. We'd always thought it was a great area for a hut system," Gray says. "We started researching the 10th Mountain Division Hut Association, which was really getting popular. They helped us understand the application process, and we basically followed in their tracks."
In 1988, the newly formed Hinsdale Haute Route Association filed a special use application through the Rio Grande National Forest Service. After a somewhat lengthy review period, Gray decided to take a low-impact approach by using portable yurts, an idea spawned from his earlier hippie days.
"When we first moved to Lake City in 1976, we had four boys and were pretty broke," he recounts. "I formed a teepee company to get wholesale access to canvas and materials. We moved outdoors, didn't pay rent and pretty much lived the hippie dream."
Gray eventually shifted his skills to building yurts. After earning the required federal blessing in 1992, he and his volunteers built the first yurt in the system, the Jon Wilson Memorial Yurt honoring a popular college student who spent summers in Lake City and died in a 1991 auto accident.
Jon Wilson's namesake yurt lies less than 2 miles in from CO 149, making it the preferred eastern launch point for skiers to link up with the Hinsdale's other yurts. Since the terrain is fairly genteel, Jon Wilson is the best yurt destination for beginning skiers.
An important link is the system came on line in 1995 with the completion of the Colorado Trail Friends Memorial Yurt. The Colorado Trail Foundation and founder Gudy Gaskill were instrumental in donating funds to establish the yurt, which sits in the most spectacular location of all the system's yurts.
From the Colorado Trail yurt, skiers can see three Colorado Fourteeners: the side-by side profiles of Sunshine and Redcloud peak to the southwest, and the imposing Uncompahgre Peak to the northwest. From a nearby ridge, skiers can also take in the view of Handies Peak further to the southwest.
The two other yurts -- Rambouillet and Fawn Lakes -- now complete a system that gives skiers several touring options and about 40 miles of routes to explore.
Depending on points of entry and routes taken, skiers can climb more than 2,500 feet or as little as 500 feet to reach a yurt destination. Most descents aren't particularly steep and are gradual along the prescribed routes. But experienced Telemark skiers with a penchant for powder can scout off-route for more vertical terrain as long as conditions are safe.
"Hinsdale Haute Route progresses in difficulty from beginner to intermediate, to terrain that requires advanced backcountry skills," reminds Gray. "There are several bail-out points and easier alternative routes that make the system fairly user-friendly. As long as you’ve got good lungs, this ski route is at or near the top of Colorado’s best uncrowded and spectacular ski tours.
More info: Visit www.hinsdalehauteroute.org.
