Powder Paradise at Janet’s Cabin 11,610’ | A Summit Huts Escape

Having done a winter hut trip before at another 10th Mountain Division Hut, we didn’t hesitate to say yes when we got invited to Janet's Cabin in February by some friends of ours.

Access to Janet’s Cabin is unique in that you take two lifts up at Copper Mountain to access the backcountry gate when you begin your hike to the hut. Free, one-time-use lift tickets are available with the hut reservation, all you have to do is show your registration at the ticket window outside of the Kokomo lift which is a nice perk of this hut!

You can either hike up from the top of the Komomo lift or take the Lumberjack Lift to the top and ski down the "West-Ten Mile" run to the backcountry gate on skier's left. From there you can ski down to the bottom of the drainage, transition to skins and start the long but very gradual ~4 mile hike in to the hut. Since you are following the same drainage the entire way, it is very hard to get lost on the way. We found the hut, started a fire to heat it back up and melt snow for water before settling in for the night.

The next morning was very cold but we skied some of the obvious lines outside the hut above treeline. The snow was excellent and untouched and we could not have been happier with the conditions. After lunch back at the hut, the snow really started coming down, giving us free refills all afternoon. We started skiing the tress which held snow from previous storms and found knee-deep powder the rest of the day.

We fired up the sauna to thaw ourselves out at the end of a long day in freezing temps, cooked dinner for all 18 of us and played cards until we could no longer keep our eyes open. The sunrise on day 3 was pretty magical. It was another cold morning but the sunshine helped keep our spirits high as we made our way back to Copper and back towards reality. The hike out took a fraction of the time it took to hike in, but was flat enough that we could not ski too far before putting our skins back on.

We loved our time at Janet's Cabin and would highly recommend adding it to your list in the future!


Music:
Devotion - Tiko Tiko
Find an Outside - UNKLE, The Big Pink
Toasting All My Life - Duce Williams

Time Stamps:
0:00 - 0:33 Driving to Janet's Cabin
0:34 - 1:08 Copper Mountain
1:09 - 2:10 Hiking up Gutter Creek
2:11 - 2:52 Arriving at Janet's Cabin
2:53 - 4:55 Morning Laps Outside the Hut
4:56 - 7:24 Afternoon Powder Laps
7:25 - 7:56 Night Lift at the Cabin
7:57 - 9:23 Hiking Back to Copper Mountain
9:24 - 10:42 Hut Group Photos