My First Backcountry Hut Trip
- Nov 16, 2025
- 6 min read
This trip was not on my winter radar at the start of the season. Even when I first got asked about going on a backcountry hut trip, I said no thanks. I had never done a backcountry trip, let alone one in the winter. I had really just started touring and didn’t think I had the skill set needed for a trip like this and I definitely didn’t have all the gear needed.
After a day of skiing at Sunshine followed by a happy hour in Banff, our little group was talking about a proposed hut trip and I had said I wasn’t going. As they talked about it more and asked why I felt that way I slowly started to get the best kind of fomo. The kind where you get out of your comfort zone in a good way. By the time we had made it back to Golden, with a stop for cheap Alberta gas I was convinced and felt confident to join these friends on the hut trip.
We had looked at a few huts and picked one that was close to Golden and was beginner friendly, the Elizabeth Parker hut in Yoho National Park, right near lake O’Hara. The drive from town was about an hour, which was super easy for us. Before we left, we looked at the route to the hut and the nearby terrain for our day of touring. We collected gear from housemates and friends and planned our food. I was feeling confident and excited to go on this adventure with some great people.
Day 1: Everything Going Downhill
The first day of the adventure started during a cold dark morning, and when I say cold, I mean negative 30 cold. We loaded into the car and hit the road hoping to feel warm before we had to get out and put on our boots. The first bad thing, the car decided it didn’t want to heat that day so our hour drive was freezing. When we got to the parking lot our friends in their van were there and I put my ski boots on in their less cold car.
With our heavy packs on and toes we could barely feel in cold ski boots, we started the 12-kilometer journey to the hut. I’m not very fast when it comes to touring, something I’m working on, thus a friend and I took up the rear. My friend had recently gotten new boots, and if you know anything about new ski boots, especially ones for more advanced skiers, they are tight. Less than 2 kilometers in, they couldn’t feel theirs toes and knew it was not looking good so we stopped to reassess. There is only so much you can do when it’s that cold and the sun is yet to come above the mountains. They decided to turn around and not risk what the next 10 kilometers and 2 days could bring to already frozen toes. I had to make a decision if I was also going to turn around. With no view of others in front of us and no radio to communicate what we were doing, I decided I wanted to keep going.
The next 5-6 hours were quite possibly the hardest hours I’ve ever done both mentally and physically. Walking 12km is not hard for me, but add a heavy pack, ski gear, negative 25 to 30 weather, some elevation gain and then having to do it all alone, it quickly gets way more difficult. With the repeated words of “you can do this” as I passed the kilometer markers that seemed to get farther and farther apart, I was expecting to cry alone in the winter forest. I kept reminding myself I had no choice but to make it to the hut. I stopped to fix my blister and try to warm my toes once and another for a pee break. When the sun first came onto the trail, I stopped and took a minute to enjoy the warmth.
As I made the final approach to the hut, I left the snow covered road onto a skinny ski track. There was a little bit of an uphill and then down where, with my heavy pack and tired legs on skins I fell over. Unsure of how I was going to get up I lay there a second as a twisted pile of skis, poles and a heavy pack. I undid my pack and managed to untangle myself back to my feet and lifted my pack up for what I really hoped was the last time it would be this heavy. I collected myself and continued to a fork that I wasn’t sure which way to go. I heard a voice behind me that after so long alone in the forest I almost did believe was real. The person was on cross country skis and told me which way to the hut, which looking back on could have been a miracle in the form of a person since I was considering going the other way.
When I finally got to the hut, I took off my skis and a friend that had seen me arrive through the window of the hut came out to meet me. I took off my bag and immediately started bawling my eyes out as they gave me a hug. I was so relieved to finally be there. Once inside I had a hot chocolate and the lunch I had yet to eat as I warmed up. The others wanted to go adventure but all I wanted was to lay down, so I set up my sleeping bag and took a snooze as they headed out, this time I had a radio with me.
Later that night we talked about the day and what went wrong and how to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again. Going forward I was always going to have a radio and a visual on me. We played some Monopoly Go and enjoyed our first night at the hut sharing stories and the warmth of the fire.
Day 2: Some Fun Exploring
Sleeping with earplugs and an eye mask in a cool hut makes for a good nights’ rest and you’ll likely be the last to wake. After breakfast we bundled up for yet another cold day, this time with lighter packs since we only had to carry a day pack. We ventured up right from the hut and saw some clear skies and beautiful peaks. A truly beautiful experience to be the only ones out there. We had our first transition and skied down our first slope. A blissful moment enjoying fresh tracks and great views. We then made our way to another area that was a perfect low angle sheltered terrain. Once at the bottom we put our skins back on and hiked out. We made our way through the trees on the way back towards to hut. The last section down was a fun balance of skiing through trees and some relatively steep skin tracks we came up.
Back at the hut we warmed by the fire and had way too many rounds of hot chocolate! The night continued with some storytelling and card games. We were blessed with a clear sky which made for some beautiful stargazing. Trips to the outhouse were cold with the negative 20 temperatures, but it did mean they weren’t stinky since everything froze.
Day 3: A Speedy 12km Ski Out
The last morning some of us were ready to head straight out while others were going to have a side quest on the way. Since the way out was a gradual downhill we knew there would be opportunity for speed, but still the need for grip on the flat and ups. A few of us decided to have one ski with skins on. I did that with both skis in walk mode. These 12 kilometers were fun and went by so quick. Before we knew it, we were back at the start and even got to see a group of sled dogs starting their day.
Our time estimate for coming out was almost perfect and the friend that had turned around the first day met us a few minutes after we arrived, this time the heat in the car decided it was going to work. I learned a lot from this trip and despite everything that wasn’t in my favour I would still do it again.
Some takeaways for my next hut trip:
Pack lighter food and not so much extra food. (I came back with quite a bit I didn’t eat)
Make sure there is either a visual on everyone or a form of communication.
Bring booties for hanging out in the hut and walking to the outhouse.
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