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Published: March 2nd 2009
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Boulder Hut,
Boulder hut is a small hut in the Purcell Mountains near Kimberly. Details can be found at www.ptarmigantours.com . Departure time was 12pm on Wednesday for a Heli pick up at 2pm. I arrived at 11:30 at the Red Tree Lodge and found out that Marion one of the ladies who was supposed to be going had pulled her calf muscle and there was a free space going. So a quick call to Debbie who was in bed in her PJ's. A shower, hair wash and quick pack later Debs was on the bus and coming with!. Now that's a lady, 20 mins to shower and pack for a 4 day back country trip!!!.
The boulder hut is located about a days hike into the Purcell Mountains and so we cheated a little and took a Heli in. It was a short 10 minute flight but through some amazing scenery, we flew over the boulder pass with the Heli just skimming the mountain pass, quite a rush. The Heli then landed in a small clearing near the hut (the spaces that these Heli's put down are unbelievably small). I'll hand over to Debs now.
As we landed, I
realised that when they said 'secluded', exactly quite how secluded it was! There was no phone, no power (unless from a generator), and no help anywhere close. We were literally in the middle of nowhere!!! There was a small trail leading the the 'Hut' so our group walked in to the main lodge. It was a beautiful old hut, with a large stove, and a huge table where we ate all of our meals- imagine the 'Waltons' (which was apparently a tree which feel into the roof one year, so they decide to put it to good use!)....They had a great old stove where they always had hot teas... We were greeted by a large bowl of soup and fresh home made bread... After warming up a bit we walked into our bedroom or again should I say 'Hut' for the next 4 nights. It slept 12 people, 4 downstairs and 8 Upstairs, we had a choice of upstairs being too hot at night (due to the fire we had to light to keep some heat in) or freezing cold downstairs.. We choose downstairs and we were soo right..We had 1 sleeping bag each and we managed to find another
sleeping bag which wasn't being used so we were super warm... Only thing was during the night at some point most people walked past us for a comfort stop but we were pretty tired at the end of each day so wasn't a problem.
That leads me nicely to the next point, the 'Outhouse' or some might say Dunnie... It was actually pretty cool (pun intended), outside (of course) a drop hole, with a toilet seat around it, no door, (so pretty cold in the middle of the night and before) and also a bit unnerving at night seeing as it was in the middle of the trees with no light other than our torch!
Even so after a day of being here, we realised that this place was special, it had such a rustic and unspoiled feel, the owners and staff were amazing and it was so peaceful and serene. Though i have to say to top it off was the hot tub, the only running water they got was from a natural spring, so every other day they heated up the hot tub which was outside (with a fire) and after a day of walking it was
the best feeling ever... We sat and our views were the peaceful setting of our natural surroundings, the only sounds were twittering birds and the crackling of the fire box that was immersed in the water beside us.
So our days generally consisted of waking up around 7:30am, then having a HUGE breakfast, pack a quick sandwich with all nuts and energy bars you could imagine and set off around 9am... We set off on our split board, which were then turned into Ski's for walking- sort of(which was quite bizarre to start with) and generally hiked around 5 hours a day, ... We had a stop for lunch around 12 and spent lots of time refueling and hydrating.. Sometimes we had to boot pack, which was hard work, particularly at vertical angles of around 45 degrees and then having to carry heavy split boards. I might add that anyone who is afraid of heights would have to conquer their fears on this trip, as even i couldn't believe some of inclines we managed to climb, (see pics), anyway the hiking was amazing, as we had all the valleys to ourselves and it was totally unspoiled... When we eventually
hiked up to the point we were to descend from, we then had to put the split board together and make it into a snowboard, however that is easier said that done when you are at the top of a cliff with thigh deep snow!!! The key is not to look down!
We were lucky that we had 3 bluebird days too which was really the icing on the cake. We got some great runs during the day of fantastic fresh powder and nice long steep runs..... The only way i can describe it was like we were flying!
I thought this trip would all be about the snowboarding, but actually the hiking was so spectacular i am not sure which i prefer!
Back to Sam again.. The boulder hut was a eye opener, who knew going uphill could be the highlight! Although the downhill was pretty special. The place has a special feeling about it. It is nice to be in the middle of no where with just the basics in life. Some great exercise for most of the day and sheer exhilaration for a bit of it. The food was fantastic complements to Elly the chef.
Think I finally understand why people like rambling so much.. although I definitely prefer it when you get to snowboard back down!! The owners Mark and Sarah Yancey have two young kids Grace and Alden, whom get to spend their winters in this place.. Am I envious of a couple of under 5 year olds lifestyles? ... absolutely! We had some amazing lines with about 3-4 runs a day but the highlight was going up hill and just enjoying being in the wilderness. We had a few exciting moments.. going up hill to a pass over loose shale kinda got us out of our comfort zone until the owners Mark and Sarah came strolling over the pass wondering what the problem was. Amusing for them no doubt. Anyway some great lines and I hope the pictures do it justice!
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Ailsa
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I am coming!!!
Ryan and I have decided that a month in Canada next winter is in order, need to convince you guys to come back with us, and Ollie and Miriam to come too!!! Saving up as we speak! xx