So far 2016 is off to a very similar start as 2015, and that is not a bad thing! NYE IN VT and skiing at Killington and now heading to Aspen over MLK weekend. Both welcomed repeats.
One of my best friends from childhood packed it all up two years ago and followed her heart and her dreams and moved to Aspen. Aspen is a little gem of a town with lots to offer. Imagine: waking up, walking 100 yards out your door to see beautiful mountains while waiting for the shuttle to take you 5 minutes to the gondola at the center of town. That is Aspen.
Excited to go back this year and make the most of our time, I began looking into an overnight at one of the 10th mountain division huts. At first I thought going to one of the back country huts was more of a dream than a reality. My initial questions were: will we be able to find it? Is it Avalanche territory? Do we have the right gear? Can I climb that far? With the more research that I did (found lots of blog posts, searching Instagram led to some!) I began to realize that this could be doable. While I still have a lot of the same questions (seriously, can I skin this far at elevation?!) I learned that the hike to McNamara hut is 5 miles with a steady elevation gain throughout for a total of about a 2000' gain. It is not considered avalanche territory unless you ski in some of the territory near the hut.
Trip Prep
1. I ordered a map of the territory right away and had it sent to my friends address in Aspen. I wasn't sure of delivery time and wanted to know we would have it.
2. Book the hut. From what I've heard they book far out in advance, some have a lottery system. Because we are going on a Monday night there was availability.
3. Research research & more research. Including downloading GPS coordinates to Alex's watch.
4. Supplies. This added a new element to packing for this trip in general...including making room for my sleeping bag (luckily I am staying with my best friend and have access to a full wardrobe!) We packed a lot of snacks & freeze dried meals.
I am really excited for this adventure, but also feeling nervous and anxious. I think the only thing that would hold us back at this point is bad weather.
Stay tuned for a trip report! In the meantime, a few more from Aspen last year.
have a great adventure to the hut!!
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