The sound of chopper blades cut through thin October air. Over the horizon, a helicopter appears before the Continental Divide, a long line trailing to a giant, white cube dangling below.

It swings around like a colossal tetherball hundreds of feet above the Second Creek basin. The pilot slowly lowers above the crowd of awaiting volunteers. The cube touches down and two people unhook the tether, as the blades spin with abandon, filling the basin with their inescapable drone.

As the pilot speeds off back down the valley for the next load, many hands goto work, unloading the boxes and moving supplies inside. Several trips and hours later, the backcountry Broome Hut — 11,350 feet high on Berthoud Pass — is resupplied for another winter.

How Broome Hut came to be

Through a decades-long effort, a humble A-frame shelter tucked away in the Vasquez Wilderness somehow became a state-of-the-art, 1,800 square-foot cabin, fully equipped with a kitchen, bunk rooms, plumbing and electricity. Located on the west side of Berthoud Pass, Broome Hut opened to the public in 2012. It’s the first in a new series of huts being built in the Grand County’s wild backcountry.

The Broome Hut project was spearheaded by the Grand Huts Association, a nonprofit founded in 2006 by a group of Fraser Valley wilderness enthusiasts. Funding came from a mix of sources including local businesses, towns, private donors and foundations.

Once the finances were secured, volunteers provided over 4,000 hours of labor to make the cabin a reality. Native plants were relocated, insulated panels were installed for structure, drainage leach fields were dug and every detail was planned to blend into the alpine landscape. 

Today, the cabin is open year-round for free public day use and overnight reservations starting at $50 per person, per night. Though most dates are already filled for the 2025-26 winter season, open reservations can be made a Huts.org.

A popular destination for winter recreation and backcountry skiing, 10th Mountain Division Hut Association opens a lottery in mid-February each year to book for the following season. Visit Huts.org/winter-reservation-lottery to enter.

A resupplying tradition

According to volunteers, one of the most unique aspects of operating a high-altitude backcountry hut is the annual resupply. Every year, helicopters carry in essential supplies: propane, cleaning materials, wood stove pellets, toilet paper and paper towels that will last through an entire winter season with hundreds of overnight hut users.

The supply drop ensures that the hut remains fully stocked and functional throughout the long, cold months. It’s also an exciting hands-on opportunity for volunteers who feel the first stoke of winter as they prepare the hut for another season.

“I love coming up here and doing it,” said Cyndie Saffell, a board member of the Grand Huts Association. “I just love the excitement about the helicopter. It’s phenomenal to watch the whole process.”

Crew leader Adam Roth said the hut restock would not be possible without a community that shows up year after year to keep the process moving smoothly.

“I really appreciate all the volunteers that show up on frosty mornings to help move all the materials in for the winter,” Roth said. “I can not thank those who volunteer enough. They are truly the life blood of the Broome Hut. From the initial construction to the current operation, volunteers make it happen.”

A network of huts throughout Grand County

Grand Huts Association hopes the success of Broome Hut is the first step in building out a larger network of backcountry cabins throughout the region. Board members are working to repurpose existing huts on public and private lands in the county, and eventually build new structures to complete a grid of shelters.

The Broome Hut and the High Lonesome Hut, located near Granby in the Arapaho National Forest, are currently the only two finished projects, but the board has proposed four additional huts: Twin Creek Cabin on Lake Granby, Devil’s Thumb Hut near Devil’s Thumb Ranch, and the Rendezvous Hut and Jim Creek Hut, both in Winter Park. 

Grand Huts Association, a Grand County-based nonprofit, followed the model of the 10th Mountain Division Huts Association, which was founded in 1980 by Fritz Benedict to create a network of backcountry huts between Aspen and Vail. 

Benedict’s vision for the hut system was inspired both by a century-old hut network in New Hampshire, and by the legendary Haute Route spanning from Chamonix, France to Zermatt, Switzerland. He imagined a similar network that would link Colorado’s mountain towns, and there are now 40 huts built under his system that connect over 300 miles of Colorado’s backcountry.

According to Roth, the hut experience varies based on the time of the year.

“The winter is the most social time with the Broome hut seeing full occupancy from December through March,” he said. “The spring and autumn are a bit quiet offering a bit of solitude. Summer is a great mix of people and we are fortunate to be open year round. The experience can range from bustling hostel with lots of excited users to a quiet place at the edge of treeline.”

At the center of the magic is the volunteers, which board members say is the heart of the organization and the reason the huts continue to function.

“We, as the board, observe the process, but volunteers are the guts of it all,” Saffell said.