Hut Trip – An Exercise in Survivalism
Like all truly rugged outdoorsmen, we spent a harrowing weekend in the high country in Summit County, Colorado on a University of Colorado hiking club trip.Picture Bear Grylls, but without the accent.
We began with an alpine start. 9am departure from the CU Engineering Center parking lot, with frigid 45 degree weather. We had an expedition of 30, and dutifully split up the rations. Pancake mix, burrito fixings, a couple gallons of milk, and of course, libations for everyone.
2 hours later, we were at the foot of our everest: the 1.8 mile with 1000 feet of gain hike up to our survival spot: Frances Cabin. 11,000 feet of pure alpine hell if you aren’t prepared for the harsh conditions.
The cabin (no more than the barest of wind shelters), luckily was ready for us when we got there, and the emergency wood-powered sauna was still warm for those of us who needed to nurse our blistered feet from the ascent.
Recuperating from the hike, endless board games and the worlds hardest puzzle ensued. Thirty people in all, everyone found something to do.
We even enjoyed the evening scenes, as temperatures dipped to dangerous levels (high teens).
For the next two days, we spent the few daylight hours exploring the almost-arctic terrain, and simulating some typical survivalist situations.
There was backcountry skiing
Dealing with uncontrolled slides
With plenty of documenting along the way, for when we make it onto a discovery channel survival special
More pictures:
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Awesome images. Great work!