Nokhu Hut, Never Summer Yurts [photo by Will Rochfort, @twomillstones]
Stats:
- Trip shape: Out-and-back
- Distance to hut: 1.6 miles,
- Touring from hut: 2.5 miles, 600 feet of elevation gain
Nokhu Hut, Never Summer Yurts [photo by Will Rochfort, @twomillstones]
The Nokhu Hut nestles in Poudre Canyon, a criminal 1.6-mile skin from the trailhead via a snow-covered forest service road. The skin in will take even beginners less than an hour. We started at sunset after working a half day and still arrived before complete darkness set in. Get beta from the map above.
The Hut:
Two nights spent in Nokhu pretty much ruined any desires I ever had for that drudgery known as “winter camping.” Instead of falling asleep, frozen, in the fetal position at 5 (because what else are you going to do once it’s dark outside?), the night raged on in the 75-degree Nokhu. Laughing, games, libations, s’mores, headroom, sleeping on top of my bag—need I go on? At a few points we even needed to crack the windows to cool down a bit. The hut itself is quaint—a summer camp-style, wooden shelter with two sets of bunk beds and a wood-burning stove. The bottom bunks are full-size, so the hut itself can sleep six comfortably.
Ryan Horjus sends in the Never Summer Mountains of Colorado [photo by Will Rochfort, @twomillstones]
We avoided the steeps because they’re north-facing and more than 32 degrees, though I suspect the slopes off Mts. Richthofen and Mahler will ski well in the spring corn cycle. Instead, we looped south to Lake Agnes and around to the
All images taken by Will Rochfort , @twomillstones .
To Trailhead
40.504777, -105.910928; 71 miles west of Fort Collins off CO 14.
- Tags:
- Backcountry Skiing , Field Scouts
