Grand Huts Association: $100,000 expansion grant
Congratulations! According to an article in the SkyHiDaily News, a major grant from private donors will help fund the second hut in The Grand Huts Association.
Their first hut (the Broome Hut pictured here), which took 15 years to get permitted and built, was completed in 2012 at a cost of $400,000. Located in a remote location with excellent back country skiing, materials were delivered to the site by helicopter. The hut is very popular and operates close to full capacity in winter and at about half-capacity in summer. Located on US Forest Service Land near Winter Park Colorado, the Grand Huts association hopes to eventually grow to 5-7 huts, creating a hut-to-hut system from Berthoud Pass to Grand Lake in Grand County.
Grand Huts Association partners with the Tenth Mountain Division Huts and is a member of the Colorado Alliance of Huts and Yurts. According to their web site, the mission statement is:
The Grand Huts Association is a non-profit organization working to enhance backcountry recreational cabin facilities in the forests of Grand County. Grand Huts Association will work to open to public use cabins already in existence on public and private lands and to build new structures where appropriate to assist in managing intense use of fragile ecosystems.
Grand Huts Association has a volunteer Hut Master program, also described on their web site:
Our Hut Master program was launched with the intention of building community involvement and reducing our annual operating expenditures by encouraging more volunteer participation. A knowledgeable Hut Master will improve the experience of our guests too!
Our ultimate goal is to build a network of trained volunteers who can consistently maintain and run the Hut. You are part of that goal! We need your participation along with many others to make this dream a reality.
The Hut Master program has brought a lot of talent and good folks into our organization. Help expand this program by bringing your adventuresome friends along on your hut day, they may decide to sign on too.
See the picture gallery for more photos of Broome Hut, and stay tuned for another great addition to the Colorado hut scene!