Archive:Hut Bulletins

This page documents bulletins for the Hut and Trail Conditions that are now older than 2 years. Five bulletins should always be kept on the VOC Hut Registration Page and can be permitted even if older than 2 years.

Brew Hut

2014 March 2nd

Lots of fresh snow! Vehicles with 4WD or AWD were able to get to the snowcat base (1.7km up Chance Creek FSR). Due to snow, the road is impassable to most vehicles beyond this point. There is a new clearcut (2013) just past the "old" trailhead on R200 that can make route-finding challenging when fresh snow covers any previous tracks. Recommended approach: Bring GPS waypoints if possible but otherwise from the "old" trailhead you can follow the new road R230 originally heading east for about half km and then climbing north between two small hills, skirting the edge of a band of trees through the clearcut. Look for orange markers at the base of the first rock bluff about 1km from the "old" trailhead. From the base of the rock bluff the route is well marked by orange markers all the way to Brew Lake. From Brew Lake to Brew Hut there are no markers but the route is fairly straight forward. Head WNW over mostly open slopes with sparse trees for about 1km before turning north to ascend a col just west of the hut. Brew Hut is in good shape. The lantern and stove are both working well and there is ample firewood in the wood shed. The outhouse is accessible (but quite full).

2008 September 1st

Road in good shape to the trailhead. Blueberry bushes are quite dense, but once through them, the trail in the forest is pretty good. Some chainsawing of stumps, to improve the skiing, was done this summer. Unfortunately the trail permit is for a "winter ski trail", and that's what we built. We are not improving the trail to summer standards, partially because that's not what the permit is for, and partially because of the amount of work involved.

2008 June 14th

The road was drivable all the way to the trailhead. No seasonal water bars were put in on the road. Bushwhacking through the clear cut then spring snow conditions on most of the trail, with about 20% of the below treeline trail melted out (mostly in the open boulder field sections). Still lots of snow in the alpine. Minor repairs needed to the seal around the bottom of the hut door.

2008 January 19th

Vehicles with 4WD or AWD were able to get up to the snowcat base and other cars were stopped at the highway. The road up Roe Creek was packed down by snowcat. Tons of snow at Brew, fantastic powder, and not too much to not have a hard time making tracks. The wood stove chimney was plug by snow, but we manage to dig a big chunk out. The evening/night was then nice and warm.

2006 December 27th

Vehicles with 4WD or AWD were able to get up to the snowcat base at 1.7km of Chance Creek FSR, other cars were stopped by the highway. 2wd and chains might do the trick as well but nobody tried that. The road up Roe Creek is now packed down by snowcat, and all cross ditches on Roe Creek mainline and on the R200 branch are filled in. Snow depth estimated to be about 3.5 or 4m around Brew Lake. The chimney for the lantern is broken but it still works, and the pumps on both the lantern and the stove needed a lot of oiling during our stay.

2006 November 25th

Chance Creek FSR plowed for heli logging, but Roe Creek road was completely snowed in. Trail breaking from the start of Roe Creek road to the hut took 7 hours, arriving just before dark. A half dozen or so open water bars on the road, but most will be completely covered over soon. Trail is in great shape, with over 1m of snow at the start and lots more at brew lake. Snow depth was 2.5m in the meadows just below the hut. South and West side windows are frozen closed but the north side ones work and so does the door. Outhouse was not buried, but wind seems to be blowing the door inwards, and it's supposed to open out. The old Coleman stove was replaced with a different old Coleman stove that does not suffer from the problem of the air intake catching on fire.

2006 November 12th

Did the inaugural boot pack in. Broke trail from the Roe Creek bridge at 11am. Only had made it to ther 2nd rock outcropping by 3:45. Very slow going. Decided to turn around and made it back to the car in about 90 min. Under the cover of trees, snow was appx knee deep with snowshoes on. In the boulder gardens/clearings snow was up to waist deep or higher at times. Trail well marked up to our turnaround point.

2006 October 14th

Cleared out ski trail from Roe Creek - much easier travelling now. Brew Hut boasts a new fire extinguisher and a new hatchet.

2006 July 22nd

Brew Lake trail is snow free, and there are only a few snow patches left above Brew Lake. There is still plenty of snow around the hut for drinking water. The outhouse has now been installed just NE of the hut.

Brian Waddington Hut

2015 February 15th

Road is okay until landslide. Landslide itself has worsened since Oct, and large (30cm diameter) tree crosses road about .5km above (with cut in it possibly allowing snowmobile access, NOT wide enough for passenger vehicles). Intermittent deep snow and bare road. All small creek/drainage crossings exposed. Attempting to ski in would be about equal mix of skinning and boot-packing (at best).

2014 October 11th

Road, including slide, is in good condition. Stucco mesh on "one log bridge" needs to be replaced and nailed down, as it is a hazard at present. Solar air heater still works. Two Coleman stoves are fussy, but work. No Coleman lantern up there. Coleman catalytic heater shoud not be used as it is damaged and gives off poisonous fumes. Outhouse works, but deposits a stream of runny shit on the trail to the outhouse, and is not up to Canadian standards. And marmots are eating the outhouse.

2013 January 21st

The Coleman white gas lantern no longer works, otherwise the hut is in fine shape. Spent 3 nights, beautiful weather and tough snow conditions, variable snow with hard crust mixed with softer sections and breakable crust. Lots of wind affected snow on Cabin Hill and other places that normally have powder stash :( Will need at least 1 m of snow to cover it up.

2011 July 14th

Big VOC trip to replace the four biggest windows ($1300) and do a little more work. Windows were carried in and replaced successfully and look good. They can be opened and closed to control humidity in the Hut, and being properly double glazed, should help to trap some of the negligible heat in the winter.

2010 August 14th

Big thanks to Jim's group for clearing the deadfall! Road was easily 4WD HC accesible. Found a dead mouse in the trap, removed and reset.

2010 August 12th

Large boulder has been rolled out of the way, but the slide is still only 4WD HC accessible. Jim's group has also cleared the deadfall all the way to the trailhead (Thanks!).

2010 July 13th

Tree down (2-3 foot diameter), blocking road a few minutes beyond slide area with large boulder.

2010 February 8th

Blackwater Road plowed and recently graded. Good coverage on logging road and trail. Soft snow to second bridge, but firmer above and through forest. Great snow quality and coverage on northern aspects. South facing aspects are tree bombed and crusty. Some minor natural activity related to cornice falls. Otherise very stable conditions. Ski out was fast (2 hours) and uneventful. New reflective blazes are well positioned and helpful. Perpetual slide at km 0.5 would make access for even HC 4x4 difficult in summer. Snowmobiles were having difficulty getting around it. Did not use any heaters (brought lots of friends) or stoves (brought our own). Coleman lantern needs new mantles. Left one lantern full of fuel (~1L). Temperatures relatively warm at -5C from Feb 5-8. No new snow during our stay. Sunny during the day and clear at night. Cleaned hut and took out garbage that others left behind. No water buckets, but one stainless pot and one kettle.

2009 March 9th

Blackwater Road plowed but sheer ice all the way through, graded but not sanded, don't brake! Ski in was fast, icy and hardpacked sections in the forest. Ski-out was via col between Peregrine and Frodo, a bit crusty below the col and powder afterwards, almost all the way to the clearcut. No water buckets in the cabin, used the large stainless steel pot (8 L) and 4 L milk jug instead. White gas supplies low, the newer larger heater is hard to get going, the old one is easier to light. The heater warmed the upstairs to about 11°C but it was back to 0°C by 4 AM. Warm sleeping bag definitely recommended. Skiing was awesome. Slideshow: Skiing at Phelix Creek http://www.flickr.com/photos/runningclouds/sets/72157615190470223/ -- runningclouds 18:01, 10 March 2009 (PST)

2009 January 17th

Blackwater Road plowed to end. Low snow year (approx 0.5m on logging road) with slide alder still poking through in places. Very tough, crusty conditions through the forest, but skiable all the way. Good skiing in the glades on cabin hill, and better stability than expected. Cabin in good condition. Supplies of "left over" white gas in the hut are very low; everyone is encouraged to leave left over fuel in the containers provided for refilling the lanterns etc, rather than carry it out, and maybe bring in a little extra. -- Matthew 16:28, 20 January 2009 (PST)

2008 January 1st

Road to trailhead was partially plowed. May have to park further back and prepare for a little extra distance. Lots of snow to cover 95% of the shrubbery on the trail. Snow bridges are stable across the creek crossings now. Conditions were powder at the time. There are snow mobiles using the logging roads portion of the trail. Cabin is in great shape except the water bucket became a puke bucket during the trip. Advised to give a good wash-down before future use. Notice one mouse scurrying at the bottom of the hut and climbed the ladder to the top. Traps were set and one mouse was caught. Ensure food is stored properly.

2007 October 22nd

New west side trail is complete. Follow orange and pink flags. Ignore yellow flags

2007 July 14th

Road is as per below. Flagging is sparse on the summer route, especially near the top. Counted about 40 blowdowns from the clearcut to the lake, making progress slow. Be prepared for a "full body hike" and a few scratches! Creek crossings are a bit dicey as well... Still a metre of snow or so at the cabin, which is in fine shape save for a broken window frame on the south side. This could be mended with a screw driver and 1/2 hour.

2007 June 24th

Logging road is driveable by 4x4 to 300m (?) from the end where there are two blowdowns blocking progress. Lots of snow, starting not far beyond the end of the road. 1.5m snowpack still remains at the hut. Orange flags on the west side of phelix creek mark wet areas and creeks for future trail construction. Please do not remove these flags. Scott Nelson 10:08, 27 June 2007 (PDT)

2007 February 24th

12 VOCers tested out the new flagged trail, and hauled in a catalytic heater as well as replacement globes and mantles for the lanterns. On the way in we met 2 non-VOC ladies who had been staying at the hut. Skiing conditions were truly phenomenal, lots and lots of fresh snow above the previous melt/freeze crust but bonding well. On the way out (a warm, sunny afternoon) we saw (and heard) recent avalanches on South facing slopes in the valleys above the logging roads. We forgot to take in the new hard-backed log book, and the guitar is missing a top E string (there are spares for most other strings). If the next party could take those in, that would be superb. -- Matthew 11:58, 26 February 2007 (PST)

2007 January 28th

Party of 4 flagged the west side ski route from the final clearcut to the lake by the hut with yellow flags. Hut is in good shape except for the lanters which need new mantels and glass. Good skiing conditions only in the narrow band between wind slab up high and melt/freeze crust down low. Contrary to the previous report, the Matterhorm puzzle seems to be ok. A previous party had assembled it on the table.

2006 December 31st

circa 20 VOCers warmed up the Hut over New Years. The hut was found on the 29th with the N window wide open and snow drifts inside (the picture puzzle was one casualty of this). Windows are a little tough to shut. Several non-VOC groups also showed up.

2005 November 13th

We had a party of 10 in over the long weekend. Hut was cosy enough with 10 in it. The two vents and periodic door-opening sufficed for ventilation, we never cracked the windows. The south vent is letting water drip in along the cable from the solar panel to the LED battery. A bit of caulking could fix this, maybe. About 1m of snow at the cabin. One 4x4 made it to the second bridge, another one to the last creek crossing before the cut block.

2005 October 22nd

We also managed to drive a HC 4x4 without difficulty to about 300 meters before the first cut block. Brought up a new log book but lo and behold there was one already there. The weather was very warm at the cabin (5-7°C). No snow. We ended up wading Phelix creek at both crossings; logs were too slippery and wet to cross safely. The creek seemed high. Saw Moose prints, and Grizzly dirt but not the animals. Watch the top rung on the outhouse ladder, looks like it is about to go. Cabin is in great shape, nice and clean inside though there were a few mice type rodents that kept us company over night. We didn't use the Kerosene heater. --Troy 11:06, 24 Oct 2005 (MST)

2005 June 30th

We drove a HC 4x4 without difficulty on the access road. M. Gunn's Scrambles book provides a good description of the drive up. The trail is also well described in the book, well marked and easy to follow. Just remember to go as far as possible to the (very very) end of the cut blocks before crossing east over Phelix Creek. if you cross early, you will bushwhack in Devils club. Unfortunately, we forgot a log book.

Harrison Hut

2014 August 21st - Christian Veenstra

As of mid 2014 hiking season the route is continuous, but it is not yet complete as a trail. Footbed work continues in various areas. But it's brushed out, most of the worst sidehills have a good footbed, Barr Creek has a bridge, and there are sufficient markers that you should have no problem finding the way if you're careful.