Brew Hut

Information about our Brew Hut can be found on the VOC "static page".

About the Hut

The Brew Hut is located in the alpine area around Mt. Brew, on a ridge above a small lake East of the peak itself.

The hut was damaged during the winter of 1998-1999 and is in need of major rebuild or replacement. That being said, the hut is still standing, the walls and roof are fine and the structure of the hut has been reinforced to prevent further damage. It still makes for a reasonable shelter despite the quirks. Also see the VOC Static website page about the Brew Hut.

Facilities

The upstairs loft sleep about 15 comfortably, 20 if you squeeze. There are two coleman lanterns for light downstairs (both work), and a nearby outhouse which is usually complete buried in winter. A two burner coleman stove is functional, but does not run very smoothly as the fuel / air mixing chamber is prone to catching fire.

There are some tools and supplies up at the hut: 3 hand saws, a hammer, a hand drill, various crow bars and a lot of paint. A notable abscence is any sort of screw driver (robertson needed for work on outhouse door). Also, the broom is very poor and should be replaced ASAP.

Library

• VOCJ 2002-2003
• VOCJ 2001-2002
• VOCJ 1991
• VOCJ 1990
• VOCJ 1989
• VOCJ 1988
• VOCJ 1984
• VOCJ 1980
• VOCJ 1979

Skiing

There are some good ski slopes nearby, varying from mellow (around the cabin and Brew Lake) to death defying (gully running N from a col E of Mt. Brew). A high alpine ridge connects this area to Cypress Peak and Mount Fee to the west.

Power Mountain Catskiing

Powder Mountain Snowcats operates a cat skiing operation out of chance creek on the south side of Tricouni. They have an exploratory tenure for driving their cats up the Roe Creek logging road and skiing off the slopes east of Cypress Peak. These slopes are only a few kilometers from the Brew Hut. PMS has agreed to take their clients elsewhere while parties are at the brew hut (and during the 5 previous days) given 2 weeks advance notice. Be sure to give them a call before going to the brew hut in winter to make sure they don't bother you. Also, if skiing in to the hut via the Roe Creek route, PMS may have plowed the chance creek FSR - be sure to ask them about parking at the Roe Creek turnoff. Contact information is provided below.

• Phone: 604-932-0169
• Toll Free: 1-877-PWDRFIX (1-877-793-7349)
• Fax: 604-932-4667
• Email: info@pmcatski.com

Access

Brew Lake Trail

This route is only practical in summer, and it requires tresspassing illegally on BC Rail property. Park at Brandywine falls parking lot and walk the railroad tracks south. After a prominent bend right, and then back left, you will find the trailhead on the right side marked by flagging tape and a FMCBC Adopt-a-Trail sign. The trail climbs steeply from here to Brew Lake. The section from the lake to the hut is above treeline, has no trail and must be navigated on your own. Once at the lake, don't make the mistake of trying to beeline it for the hut because of cliffs in between. Instead, stick to the mellower terrain in the basin further west (left) and climb up over a col just south of Mt. Brew.

Roe Creek

This is the longest access route, but provides the safest way to access the hut in winter. The basic route is to drive or ski up the Roe Creek logging road, and then climb up onto a ridge that runs south from Mt. Brew. Clearcuts on the east side of the creek may be used to gain the ridgetop if doing so is favourable (depends on snow conditions). The ridge can be followed up to the alpine above brew lake, where it becomes necesary to drop down to the lake and then continue up through the basin to the hut as described in the Brew Lake Trail route.

Brandywine

This access is the shortest route in summer, and is used in winter as well providing avalanche conditions are stable. Drive / ski Brandywine FSR to a 3 way junction at 800m elevation about 5km from highway 99. Here, take the leftmost fork which crosses brandywine creek and continuous up towards Mt. Brew of the other side. This fork is narrow at first, and then becomes impassible to vehicles beyond the bridge, but there is a good footpath through the alder and willow. a couple hundre meters beyond the bridge, take a left fork which switchbacks twices and climbs around to the north side of Mt. Brew. This section is steeply sidehilled, and can present considerable avalanche hazard in winter. The road ends at the far side of a clearcut, which must be climbed to the top, and then continue climbing up into the forest, heading right to a subalpine bowl at 1500m. There is no trail for this section, but look for metal markers in the trees, especially higher up. The subalpine bowl should be crossed to reach a shoulder above The Gully of Death. Cross through the col at the top of The Gully of Death and you will find yourself at a nice little lake. The hut is on the other side, sitting on the ridge above the lake.

History

The first incarnation, Brew Hut I was built by the Varsity Outdoor Club in 1982 at the outlet of a small lake. This location was unsuitable, and the hut was destroyed by snow creep the first year. It was taken apart and helicoptered to its present location and rebuilt in 1984, atop a ridge above the lake. Some pieces were damaged, so Brew Hut II was slightly shorter than the original. It was expected that the ridge location would protect the Hut from snow damage but snow accumulates at the present location to an alarming degree because of a line of trees acting as a snow fence beside the hut.

In the Spring of 1999 (the high-snow year) snow depth was two metres over the roof top, and though the hut was found, it was too much work to dig down to use it. When it finally melted out it was found to be a bit crushed by the snow, but still useable. A new location with much less snow accumulation was identified later that summer, a few hundred meters west of the present hut. Snow depths at this new location have been monitored over a few winters and it has been shown to accumulate much less snow.

In the fall of 2002 (?) a work party went in with the intention of dismantling the hut, but ended up just making modifications, reinforcing some of the cracked beams on the upper floor. Some scrap material from around the hut was moved to the new hut site, and a small structure was erected to further test the effect a structure would have on wind transport at this site. This structure was named micro-brew in light of its diminutive size and the popularity of Granville Island Pale Ale among the builders.

In april 2003, a party visited the area, finding the brew hut buried up to the top of the roof. The hut was located only by the 2x4 pole sticking out of the snow. Nearby, the micro-brew structure was relatively snow free, and still easily visible despite being only 1/3 as high as the Brew Hut.

Plans have been made to replace the hut with a completely new structure at the micro-brew location. The new hut has been designed, and funds are in place to build it, but the club is still awaiting permission from the Ministry of Forests to proceed. Also, the project needs a new leader to spearhead the effort as Greg Reken, who headed the reconstruction effort in 2003, is now off studying overseas in Southeast Asia.