Bill Putnam hut

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Bill Putnam (Fairy Meadow) hut
alpine hut
Named for: William Putnam
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Region	Selkirk Mountains
Location	near Adamant Range
- elevation	2,057 m (6,700 ft)
- coordinates	51°45′48″N 117°52′36″W / 51.76333, -117.87667
Built by	Alpine Club of Canada
Style	Log cabin
Material	Wood
Built in	1965
Governed by	British Columbia
Owned by	Alpine Club of Canada
For public	Reservations required
Easiest access	by helicopter
Capacity	20 in summer/winter
Heating	Wood stove
Lighting & Cooking	Propane
Sleeping	Dormitory style
Drinking water	Creek
Human waste	Outhouse
GPS coordinates	NAD83 11U 0439386 5735331
Map reference	82N/13 (Sullivan River)
Grid reference	394353
Website: http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/facility/fairy.html

The Bill Putnam (Fairy Meadow) hut is an alpine hut located in the Adamant range of the Selkirk mountains in British Columbia. It is set on a knoll at the edge of a high mountain meadow and provides access to a great array of mountaineering objectives, but is best known for its spectacular skiing terrain. The hut is maintained by the Alpine Club of Canada.^[1] Coordinates: 51°45′48″N 117°52′36″W / 51.76333, -117.87667

Contents 1 History 2 Access 3 Facilities 4 Activities 5 Nearby 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History

The hut was built by the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) in 1965 as a project proposed and largely overseen by noted author and alpinist William Putnam, who was president of the American Alpine Club for years and on their board of directors for decades. In 1973 the hut was renovated and considerably enlarged, a project again largely funded and overseen by Putnam. Since then it has been renovated and partly rebuilt two more times. The ACC has held its General Mountaineering Camp in the Fairy Meadow area on four separate occasions since 1981, although it has not used the hut for that purpose.^[2][3]

[edit] Access

Summer access to the hut is via a 4-7 hour hike up Swan Creek from a trailhead that follows 65 km of logging road. The time will vary greatly depending on trail conditions, which sometimes can be quite difficult. The road is used by logging trucks. which often travel quite fast, and is sometimes washed out, so discussing it with the forestry company, Evans Forest Products in Golden, British Columbia is advisable before starting out.^[2]

Overland access in winter has occasionally been done but is quite difficult. Normally, winter access is via helicopter from a helicopter landing pad located near the Trans-Canada Highway 50 km west of Golden. The helipad is shared with Golden Alpine Holidays so some coordination is required.^[4] Booking the helicopter well in advance is required and a satellite phone or VHF radio (or both) is needed for communication with the helicopter company on flight day. There is no guarantee that the helicopter can fly on the appointed day, so bringing a day or two extra food is recommended.^[5]

[edit] Facilities

The hut is a two story building with sleeping area on the upper level and kitchen and living area on the main floor. It sleeps 20 in summer or winter dormitory-style on foam pads. The main floor divided into a kitchen area and three different living areas, and is equipped with propane powered lamps, two propane cook tops and a propane stove with oven for baking, as well as a wood stove for heating in the winter. The kitchen is well supplied with dishes, cutlery, utensils, pots and pans and bakeware.

Food storage is in a an uninsulated vestibule on the back of the hut complete with mouse proof storage bins and an unpowered refrigerator. Water is available from a creek 100 metres south of the hut. A tall flagpole marks the water hole. There are several 20-gallon pails in the hut for gathering water.

There are two separate double sinks in the kitchen. Grey water disposal can usually be dealt with directly down the sinks, which drain into a ground sump, but if the system backs up, guests will have to dig a snow-pit to dispose of it. Non-burnable garbage must be flown out at the end of the camp, but food scraps, biodegradables, bones, and paper waste can be burned in the wood stove. There is a large 10-person wood-burning sauna near the main hut. The main supply of wood is located in and around the woodshed by the sauna.

Human waste is dealt with by an outhouse located a short walk behind the hut, but there is a snow-walled urinal located off the trail to the outhouse. Barrels must be flown out by helicopter, so the volume of material put in them should be minimized. Garbage should not be disposed of in the outhouse.

[edit] Activities

The hut is known as an excellent base for granite mountaineering and backcountry skiing. It is regularly used by the ACC and various club sections for winter ski camps due to its high snowfall conditions and excellent advanced skiing terrain.

The alpine climbing in the Adamants and Gothics areas around the hut is considered superb, and the hut can provide many summers worth of high quality routes on a dozen or more peaks. Two of these, Adamant and Austerity, are over 11,000 feet (3,400 m).

In winter, the snow tends to extremely large amounts of high-quality powder, providing great ski touring and ski mountaineering opportunities. The terrain is suitable only for strong intermediate to advanced skiers, and beginners should not attempt it.

[edit] Nearby

• The Nobility Group
  • Mount Colossal
• The Adamant Group
  • Austerity Mountain
  • Pioneer Peak
• The Gothics Group
  • East Peak
• Sentinel Peak
• Gog Pinnacle
• Magog

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Bill Putnam (Fairy Meadow) hut at the Alpine Club of Canada
• Bill Putnam (Fairy Meadow) hut at bivouac.com