Stunning backcountry hut near Vail Pass offers comfortable getaway with remote feel

Awakened in the middle of the night recently in a backcountry hut on Shrine Pass, I glanced out a window and saw stars, so I threw on a jacket and went out on the deck of Jay’s Cabin, three miles northwest of Vail Pass at 11,223 feet.

The moon had set, so the stars stood out in the deep black of the sky above. I stood awestruck, captivated by the wonder of the galaxy above, reminded once again why I love backcountry hut trips so much.

Jay’s Cabin, an annual December trip for me, is one of three huts adjacent to each other that are known collectively as the Shrine Mountain Inn. Calling it hut is a misnomer, though. It’s a three-story log cabin that sleeps 12 in four bedrooms. It has a common area with a table for meals, a cast iron wood fireplace for heat and a kitchen with a propane stove, dishes, silverware and utensils. It has electricity, running water, a shower and a bathtub. Whenever I share photos of Jay’s Cabin, the comments I get back are something along the lines of, “That is NOT a hut.”

It even has decent cellphone coverage. One year we watched the Super Bowl on an iPad.

Unless you buy up all 12 spots ($67 per person), you probably will be spending an evening with a few strangers, but I’ve never had a bad experience. One year I got to the hut well after dark and found a couple already there. I thought, “Oh no, they thought they had the hut to themselves and I just ruined their romantic evening,” but they welcomed me warmly. And, when I told them it was my birthday, they offered me a cupcake with a birthday candle.

Colorado has a network of three dozen backcountry huts, reservable through the 10th Mountain Division Hut Association, which owns 14 of them and handles reservations for the others. Several are privately owned, including the Shrine Mountain Inn.

I’ve done far more challenging hut trips than Jay’s Cabin which typically involved four to six miles of skiing with elevation gains of 2,500 to 3,000 feet. One time we skied from the 10th Mountain Division hut to Uncle Bud’s, not by the standard route but by climbing a 13,000-foot peak, traversing four miles on the Continental Divide and skiing down a 12,000-foot peak. We spent the day above treeline with incredible 360-degree views.

I did a three-day, two-night trip to the Eiseman hut north of Vail — 6.3 miles, 2,948 feet of climbing — with a group that included the late nature photographer John Fielder.

One of my most memorable single ski runs came at the Polar Star hut, 10 miles south of Edwards. We skied 5.7 miles with a 2,341-foot elevation gain in a heavy snowstorm, but after dinner, the clouds left and a full moon came out. Exhausted but eager, one of my ski buddies and I stepped into our boots and climbed a beautiful moonlit glade with a foot of fresh powder, then skied back to the hut making glorious powder turns.

The next day we climbed and made a ski descent of 12,546-foot New York Mountain.

The Shrine Mountain Inn isn’t nearly so adventurous. Located on 80 acres of private land surrounded by the 55,000-acre Vail Pass Winter Recreation Area in the White River National Forest, getting there involves 2.7 miles of skiing or snowshoeing — snowmobiles are prohibited in the immediate vicinity of the huts — with an ascent of 615 feet. That means it’s accessible for families. From the hut it’s possible to ski two miles to the top of Shrine Mountain, a climb of about 600 feet, which offers gorgeous 360-degree views. Another option is to ski two miles over moderate terrain to an observation deck showcasing a view of the Mount of the Holy Cross, a magnificent fourteener.

Another feature of Jay’s Cabin is exceptional sunrise views on that deck facing southeast. I always get up before sunrise, make some coffee and oatmeal, and watch pre-dawn light transition into alpenglow before sunbeams explode into view over the Tenmile Range, seven miles to the southeast.

Those moments bring me back year after year. For me, it’s the best way to enjoy winter in Colorado.