Linking together a multi-day hut-to-hut traverse in the Alfred A Braun & Friends’ Hut System has been a goal of mine since I moved out West and learned about the 10th Mountain Division Hut Association.

With the help of my friends, I’ve organized several Colorado-based hut trips over the years – most prior to when I started this blog. Some have been big hits (Thanksgiving 2020 at Green-Wilson), while others ended in mutiny (Betty Bear 2021… if you know you know…). These weekend trips are always a welcome reprieve from the grid & grind, a great excuse to bring people together, and sometimes even offer some stellar skiing.

Pulling together a hut-to-hut traverse, however, had felt a bit daunting. It wasn’t until I completed (albeit, as part of a guided crew) the Bow Yoho Traverse in 2023 that I had seriously considered a similar trip in Colorado.

The 10th Mountain Division Hut Association & Alfred A Braun/Friends’ Hut System is an incredible recreational resource. The huts are beautiful, well maintained, and well-suited to supporting groups with ambitious backcountry skiing goals. For better or worse, the secret is certainly out and skiers flock to the hut system in the winter. In order to lock down desired huts & dates, you often must book over a year in advance and enter a reservation lottery system where you submit and rank trip preferences. The entire process is not too dissimilar from scoring a river permit or pulling a hunting tag.

In May 2024 when the reservation system opened for the following season – psyched on the idea & finally familiar with the game – I was lucky enough to score the right hut schedule during a prime window in early April 2025. I quickly fired off some texts (it wasn’t too hard to convince a rad crew of friends to join) and it was time to hurry up and wait!

Day 0 – Full on in the Roaring Fork Valley!

The week before we were to set out on our trip, the Grand Traverse – a ski mountaineering race that follows much of the same route as our traverse – was cancelled due to unseasonably warm temperates and a rotten, isothermal snowpack, preventing safe travel. This was the only time in the race’s 27-year history that it had been called off entirely. Woof!

A few days later, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center issued an Avalanche Warning for the Elk Mountains due to a strong spring storm that was blasting the region with upwards of 2ft of snow. Talk about whiplash.

Meanwhile, I am in Carbondale trying to do my day job around lunches and dinners and evening ski tours with local friends, while also neurotically checking the weather & avalanche forecasts grasping for signs that pointed to a go…

There is a saying about spring in the mountains…

Day 1 – Tagert Hut Approach

The storm was over-forecasted and, luckily enough, dropped just enough snow to freshen up the skiing, but not so much to render our travel unsafe. This was an exceedingly rare occasion where I was actually relieved that a storm dropped less snow than expected, ha!

With clearing weather, an improving forecast, and relatively stable avalanche conditions, our decision was made (easy!) and it was time to party.

The tour up to Tagert is pretty straightforward. From the town of Ashcroft, you make quick work of the flat travel on Castle Creek Road until you veer onto Pearl Pass Road where the real fun begins. There are several gnarly avalanche paths that you must navigate under, but the hazard is quite manageable, particularly in the spring.

Half of the group started earlier in the day and I tagged along with Carolyn, Marshall, Matt and Reed in the afternoon after wrapping up some work. We arrived just as the sun was setting and were greeted with a warm & cozy scene courtesy of Brooke, Paul and Szymon – perks of arriving late!

Carolyn & Marshall cooked up hanger steak along with some broccoli and red wine for dinner… tough act to follow!

Day 2 – Up and over Pearl Pass to Friends’ Hut

We woke up in Tagert Hut to bluebird skies, calm conditions and a bit of new snow. On the approach to the hut, we passed some great powder runs off the north-facing aspects of Greg Mace Peak (some call this zone the “Backyard Slope”). This was a problem because 1.) I like skiing powder 2.) it was a perfect morning 3.) the forecast continued to call for an incoming storm and it was increasingly likely that the weather wouldn’t hold – bummer! With the understanding that we had to navigate over Pearl Pass, I begrudgingly put my powder skiing dreams on hold and we set off for Friends’ Hut.

We made quick progress to the “Mace Saddle” and, looking back over Castle Creek, were rewarded with beautiful views of Castle, Conundrum and Malamute peaks.

We stayed high in the basin to avoid dropping into the Cooper Creek drainage. Once Pearl Pass came into view, we saw what looked like a person standing at the top of the pass – soon it become two and then four – and then a whole group. This turned out to be the party that was leaving Friends’ Hut, en route back to their cars at Ashcroft.

Our new friends shared tales of abundant powder, thieving porcupines, and bespoke board games that awaited our arrival just over the pass in Gunnison County. We saw that the clouds had begun to build and we were warned that skies were darkening in the west towards Crested Butte. With that, we said our goodbyes and set off.

We made it up & over Pearl Pass just as the visibility was dropping and the snow started to fall in earnest. Using the previous group’s skin-track as a guide and reference for our depth perception, we skied all the way down to Friends’ Hut – enjoying the gradual terrain and soft snow.

After dropping our gear and quickly setting up shop, we set off towards Carbonate Hill in search of some skiing. The snow showers were convective & quite intense at times. With visibility changing on a moment’s notice, we exercised some patience and precise timing (read: “luck”) to sneak in our turns between squalls of snow.

Pretty solid skiing, the party from the “Mace Saddle” hadn’t led us astray! Back at Friends’, we settled in for the next couple of days – enjoying hut life – while the snow continued to fall outside.

Day 3 – Powder Skiing

Waking up at Friends’ Hut was a dream. Bluebird skies, fresh snow, and the entire day open for skiing.

The big line to hit from the Friends’ is the June Couloir – a steep, south-facing, straight shot that falls right off the summit of Star Peak. With a group of 8 and strong April sun hitting fresh snow on a steep, south aspect… we figured it wasn’t the day.

After a bit of Caltopo sleuthing (a favorite activity of mine), we settled on the E/NE faces that roll off the ridge that runs N/S from the summit of Star. We figured this was our best shot at finding some cold & dry powder skiing.

After gaining the ridge, we set off for the sub-peak of Star and were rewarded with views deep into Gunnison County and likely even out to the San Juan’s. Marshall and I navigated down to Star Pass to see if the cornice had been cut ahead of the Grand Traverse – something we would have to worry about the next day. (Spoiler – it had been cut and we both sighed a breath of relief, as the cornice had grown quite large).

We scarfed down a quick lunch and went skiing – pleased to learn that our thinking had been spot-on, and we found plenty of dry powder to party in!

The skiing was fast, fun and open. While not the technical, aesthetic, and “brag to my friends on Strava worthy” June Couloir… it’s hard to beat ripping 35 degree powder turns with your friends… on a beautiful Colorado bluebird day, no less! We took a couple of runs and then meandered along East Brush Creek back to the hut, just as the snow was starting to warm up on the solar aspects.

After some sunshine-filled deck lounging & a second lunch (another favorite of mine), we motivated for an afternoon lap out towards Timbered Hill. With plenty of daylight left, and a mostly north-facing descent in mind, we figured it was worth a shot. It is also worth noting that I had sniped some pillow lines the day before (out on Timbered Hill), but not everyone was convinced of my find… it was high time that we set the record straight.

We set out and confirmed that some pillows did in fact exist, though perhaps not the iconic “lines” that I had been peddling… whatever, the skiing was good and a few of us even nabbed some air!

Reed and I peeled off early, along with Brooke & Szymon, to prepare dinner back at the hut. While the rest of the group enjoyed a second lap, we cooked up a pronghorn antelope bolognese – yeah! The antelope was courtesy of my buddy Ian who had hunted the animal in Wyoming. It was pretty special to be cooking for my friends, deep in the Colorado backcountry, using local meat provided by another friend… that we had collectively hauled-in on our backs. And to think that most people are impressed by farm-to-table, ha!

Reflecting back as I write, this was the sort of day that you don’t get too often… Friends’ hut is aptly named!

Day 4 – Star Pass to Opa’s Taylor Hut

After two wonderful nights at the Friends’ Hut, it was tough to get excited about leaving. Alas, the show must go on. We had been charmed with tales about Opa’s Taylor Hut – which helped to stir some excitement – but we never did see the thieving porcupine that the previous party had warned us about… maybe if we stayed a bit longer…

Anyways, we said our goodbyes to Friends’ and trudged along our skin track from the day before, headed out towards Star Pass.

Once we gained the ridge (a little more difficult with the full weight of our packs and a whipping, relentless wind), we contoured underneath the small sub-peak of Star Peak, and traversed towards the pass. Matt startled a group of ptarmigan as he broke trail (though, his screech made it sound like they startled him) and we had a chance to observe these beautiful birds up close.

From Star Pass, we could see all the way down the Taylor River drainage to the Sawatch Range – with Opa’s Taylor Hut perched below Little Italian Pass several miles down valley. The winds that had been blowing all night & morning had all but died down, and it looked like the NE facing aspect below had collected plenty of dry snow as a result – the skiing looked fantastic!

After a quick lunch, we skied off the cornice (thank you to the Grand Traverse organizers for the cornice cut) and arched beautiful, soft turns all the way down to the Taylor River. Paul popped off a small wind slab on a cross-loaded gully feature, but we generally managed to find stable soft snow and great skiing conditions the whole way down.

After about ~1,000 ft of skiing, we bottomed-out at the headwaters of the Taylor River, ripped skins, and started to look for signs of the Taylor Divide Trail – our ticket to Opa’s Taylor. Fortunately, it didn’t take us too long to discern where the trail cut through the forested terrain, and we had a highway home.

We had dropped some elevation and the afternoon sun was working the fresh snow into a damp and sticky mess. But, despite some skin globbing, we managed to make it to Opa’s Taylor quite quickly.

Opa’s Taylor Hut is a modern & beautiful structure that sits in the lee of Taylor Peak and offers massive views into the Taylor River valley – a part of the Colorado Rockies I had not yet seen. While I had been told that this hut was special, it was an entirely different experience to be there in person.

With a lack of reasonably accessible north-facing terrain, strong spring sun, and maybe a bit of fatigue (though I would never admit it).. we collectively decided to simply enjoy our last afternoon together at the hut. We sipped whiskey, tried to eat through the remainder of our cheese, read books in the sun, and napped on the deck.

Carolyn & Marshall cooked up a mushroom risotto dish for dinner and we played card games until bedtime. Sheesh!

Day 5 – Back to Ashcroft over Little Italian Pass

We woke up early to bid farewell to Carolyn & Marshall – who were exceptionally ambitious and went into work for the day. The rest of us enjoyed a relatively slow morning and reveled in the dwindling few hours we had off-the-grid.

The exit back to Ashcroft took us up and over Little Italian Pass, where we skied back into Pitkin County. We followed a tributary of Express Creek until we came upon the creek proper, at which point we followed the Express Creek Road (more of a luge..) all the way back to our cars at Ashcroft.

We didn’t score much good skiing on our exit, but we did spot plenty of tantalizing lines that will require a trip back to this zone. That said, we certainly got our fair share of thrills navigating the icy, hardpack, and at-times barren, Express Creek Road.

With the majority of the exit being a descent, we made it back to Ashcroft in just about 2 hours. While I was certainly bummed to be ending our trip, I was psyched that we had have pulled it off with such great conditions and with such a great crew. A feat & goal several years in the making! All in, we gained closed to 11,000 ft of elevation over almost 31 miles of travel – pretty solid!

We grabbed quick lunch at Alehouse and then parted ways – back to Carbondale, Denver, Salt Lake, and Jackson. It’s becoming increasingly harder and harder to see my friends as frequently as I’d like to. Fortunately, skiing tends to be a rally that keeps the dream alive and my community close, which is the whole point anyway.

See y’all on the next one!