Burton Hut

About the Hut

The Burton Hut, also known as Sphinx Hut, is the VOC's oldest current hut. It is located in Sphinx Bay, on the east side of Garibaldi Lake. Access is easiest in winter when the Lake is frozen. In late spring, it seems that the hut occaisionally floods with water due to ice jamming the nearby creek where it flows into Garibaldi Lake.

Facilities

The Burton Hut sleeps about 10 people comfortably - 6 on a sleeping platform and 4 in the attic. It's quite drafty by modern hut standards, so it tends to be colder than usual inside. There is an outhouse, and a nearby stream (and a huge lake) for water.

Skiing

The Burton Hut is an awesome base for fair weather skiing, with amazing long glacier descents all around. There are few trees however, so it is a poor destination in bad weather or in unstable conditions. The hut is often used as a stopover on the Garibaldi Neve Traverse.

Mountaineering

There are good nearby climbs on Castle Towers, Sphinx, Deception Pinnacles and Guard Peak. Short, alpine rock routes can also be found on the Phyllis Engine and the Bookworms.

Access

Access to the Burton Hut is complicated by the fact that there is no trail, and that Garibaldi Lake is so huge that it doesn't usually freeze until sometime in January.

Winter

Mid winter access is generally straightforward. Ski / Snowshoe the well used trail up to Garibaldi Lake (9km) and then continue across the frozen lake to the hut (4km). Make sure to scout the ice from a hill first, as the far side of the lake around the Burton Hut is always the last part to freeze, and it is not easy to spot open water from so far away if you are standing at lake level.

Summer

Summer access requires walking around the Lake, usually via Black Tusk Meadows, over the Helm Glacier to Gentian Pass, and then bushwacking down from Gentian Pass to the hut.

History

Try asking Roland Burton. The hut was built back in 1969 making it the VOC's oldest standing hut. For many years, the hut was the site of an annual Sphinx Spring Ski Camp. This used to be a huge event with dozens of people trekking across the lake around easter to ski in the basin. There's even an old 8mm movie in the clubroom archives somewhere about it.

The Burton Hut has seen somewhat reduced activity in recent years, and remains in pristine condition despite its age.

Hut and Trail Conditions

Feb 16-17, 2006

Lake is frozen very solid. Big winds and Hut was cold first night, but for second night we got the catalytic (naphtha!) heater going and partially buried the exposed parts of the hut to insulate it, and it wasn't half bad. Some urbanites had filled the Coleman lamp with kerosene, so this had to be dumped and washed with naphtha a couple of times before it would work. Did not investigate the Coleman stove or the kerosene heater, but likely the heater is rusted up and won't work. I am putting together a proposal to insulate the Hut, and take out the kero heater. Anybody interested in this one way or another, contact Roland.

Feb 18, 2006

JP's party of five were seen crossing the neve around noon on the 18th so they likely spent the night at Sphinx.

Feb 19, 2006

Nick Cowan's party of 5 left Elfin early on the 19th, heading across the neve, so they likely spent the night at Sphinx.

Nick's story: I somehow convinced 3 others (Sam, Clemence, Rok) to drive up to Garibaldi Park and try skiing over the Garibaldi Neve. This classic traverse is on most Vancouverites' checklist. Sam, Rok and i headed up to Vancouver Friday night in Sam's burly truck. We met up with Clemence, did some groceries and crashed on her floor. Woke up nice and late to avoid the early-morning Whistler traffic on the Sea-to-Sky. Set off from the Diamond Head parking lot around noon. The route up to Elfin Lakes Hut was super crowded due to the spectacular weather and, not surpisingly, we had to settle for floor space in the huge hut. Rok and i, having skinned up to the hut in pretty good time, headed up Columnar Peak to try out new gear (his splitboard, my helmet). We reached the summit at sunset and enjoyed some suprisingly juicy snow on the NE aspect. Made it back to the hut (just) before dark.

We woke up at 5:00 on Sunday and did our best to not wake up the 50-something other people in the hut as we ate breakfast and packed up. Sunrise saw us traversing the avalanche slopes underneath The Gargoyles. Crossing Ring Creek turned out to be a bit spicier than expected but by noon we were on the Garibaldi Glacier, just North of Opal Cone. The slog up the glacier was hot and heavy and we wondered when we were going to experience the frigid alpine weathers that had been forecast for the weekend. We reached the highpoint (about 7000 ft) below Mt Garibaldi in the early afternoon, and as some clouds were showing up, winds picking up and the temperature droppping, we decided to leave the summit for another day and simply ski down the Warren Glacier towards Glacier Pikes. Once again, we were pleasantly surprised at the good snow. We easily avoided crevasses and never came close to roping up. From Glacier Pikes we skied down Sentinel Glacier to Garibaldi Lake. From there it was a short jaunt up the lake to the Burton Hut, maintained by the Varsity Outdoors Club. Unlike the night before we were the only poeple in the (much smaller) hut. We enjoyed the peace and quiet and another delicious dinner.

Awake at 6:00, Rok, Sam and i headed up Guard Mountain shortly after sunrise. We skinned and kick-stepped up to a sweet-looking East-facing bowl and absorbed sick views of the surrounding glacier-draped mountains before skiing back down to the hut. Once again, the snow was way better than the rock-hard crust everyone had been expecting. After lunch, packing and cleaning up, we set off across the lake. By eschewing skins we made excellent time. From the NW corner of Garibaldi Lake we skied and hiked down the trail, past Rubble Creek parking lot, right down to Hwy 99. At this point we were in a bit of a jam, since Sam's truck was back at the Diamond Head parking lot. We had laid beautiful plans involving friends picking us up and taking us back to our car, but none of these panned out so we found ourselves hitchiking down the Sea-to-Sky in the dark with lots of gear. Incredibly, one brave soul named Charlie drove up in a big-ass van and offered to drive us all the way up to the truck! An our later we were at the truck, marveling at our good fortune and changing into luscious cotton. A huge dinner at the Howe Sound BrewPub has us in carb coma for the rest of the drive back to Seattle. Got back in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

The trip was everything it was hyped up to be. For those who go out for the sick mountain views, this is about as good as it gets.

Casualties: Clemence's Tuque (lost somewhere below The Gargoyles) Nick's Nalgene (lost somewhere on Warren Glacier) Sam's Cables (snapped on Garibaldi Lake) Rok's Nalgene (lost somewhere on the side of Guard Mtn) Sam's Pole (bent while gawking at The Barrier)

Sphinx Renovation and Insulation Summer 2006

Introduction

The Sphinx Hut, aka the Burton Hut was built in 1969. Were we to apply today for a permit to build a hut at the location of the Sphinx Hut, our chances of getting a permit would be very slight. The Hut is in an area rightly designated as environmentally sensitive, at a place seldom visited in the summer. When we visit it in the winter it is less environmentally sensitive, being protected by snow.

The Hut, though 35+ years old, is still structurally sound, attesting to the strength of Gothic arch structures. But it is very cold in there in the winter, when it matters. People have referred to it as “an icebox”. Attempts to heat it with a kerosene heater did not go well; few want to haul kerosene on his/her back for 15 km, when there isn’t any assurance that the heater works. And the fumes from burning kerosene are not healthy, and certainly not pleasant. Could we insulate the Hut so that we don’t need the smelly old unreliable kerosene heater?

Flushed with the success of rebuilding the Brew Hut, we wondered if it might be possible to renovate and insulate the Sphinx Hut, to make it a more satisfactory winter shelter. For this to work, we would need to come up with some plans and get approval from the Parks people, who have complete jurisdiction over the Hut. We would also need about $3000, and we’d need to get the Club behind the project.

Proposed Sphinx Hut Renovation

Ends: The sphinx hut door should be replaced with a framed insulated steel door, properly weather-stripped. The new door will open inwards, because with the present door, it is possible to get trapped in the Hut by snow accumulating overnight, outside the door.

The end walls are currently un-insulated half-inch treated plywood and have resisted weathering surprisingly well. Cracks in the walls permit drafts, and when the wind blows, snow comes through the walls in places. The proposal is to nail 3/8-inch plywood (painted in Vancouver) to the inside of the end walls, forming standard cavity walls. The cavities formed can be insulated with Styrofoam or with Fiberglas. Vapour barrier, installed behind the 3/8 ply, will make the walls wind-proof. Caulking will take care of the cracks. The plywood must be cut on site using hand tools.

The current sphinx hut windows are single sheets of Plexiglas, not treated to resist ultraviolet light, and they still do their job, but they are getting opaque. If we’re insulating everything else, we should replace the windows with double-glazed tempered glass, or at least doubled Plexiglas. For three of them we simply replace the Plexiglas and trim; for the fourth one we must build a hinged frame (or buy one).

The floor is completely un-insulated, and is supported on four-foot centers, so it is a little too springy. In addition, a porcupine got under the Hut about 20 years ago and partially ate through the floor, so it has a few holes, patched with plywood scraps. (The porcupines can no longer get under the Hut). The proposal is to cover the old floor with new plywood, which will be painted in Vancouver to make it weather-resistant. The new floor can be glued and nailed over the old floor with a minimum amount of work.

The sidewalls are a challenge to insulate because they are curved. It is possible to bend 3/8 inch plywood sheathing, and apply it over (inside) the existing siding, with a layer of insulation (about 3/4 inch insulation. This should cut the drafts completely and give us about R3 insulation.

We should fix up the interior furnishings: The cooking counter is currently made of a small scrap of plywood covered with some battered aluminium. A better counter would be 2’ x 8’ plywood, with a shelf under, and covered with more robust, non-battered aluminium. And people complain of the limited seating, so we propose to put a wide bench along the N wall, which will be used for seating or sleeping.

Transport We would need to rent a u-haul truck to haul the materials. One one flight of an Astar helicopter should deliver the building materials. Perhaps the Parks people could split a charter with us, so we don’t get dinged for the total ferry time. Or, as we need to do some cleanup at Brew, we might charter a single helicopter for both of these.

Cost Summary: around $3k, $1k for transport and $2k for materials.

Weight Summary: one helicopter load (1700#)

Time Frame: To do the work on site, one week's work on site. Some work to be done in Vancouver to prepare for the on-site work.

When? Though we still have work to do on Brew, I'd (Roland) like to get this done summer of 2006, (July, August, or September) while we still have skilled people around from the Brew Replacement Project. Specifically, I (Roland) may not be around to make this happen after fall of 2006.