2010 Progressive Ski Dinner - Press Release

February 15th, 2010

Press Release: Grand Huts Progressive Ski Dinner and Benefit

Hard to imagine anything better than skiing through a meadow at Devil’s Thumb Ranch by moonlight. Picture a bowl of hot soup during your trek, served up in a Yurt. Throw in candle light along the trail, dinner at the Ranch and fabulous music & desert at the beautiful Hecks Tavern. On Saturday, Feb. 27, the eighth annual Grand Huts Association Progressive ski dinner will be staged, with proceeds helping to fund the construction of the Broome Hut on Second Creek.

Local restaurants donate delicious dishes, served with aplomb at three venues. Revelers will begin with a short jaunt to the horse barn where appetizers will be served; then on to the Yurt at the top of Sawmill Meadow, where hot soup and bread awaits. A downhill slide across the meadows return moon inspired travelers to dinner at the Day Lodge. The final stop is Hecks Tavern for desert, a silent auction, and music by the acclaimed local Jazz band Tight Like That. This will be an incredible evening!

Diners will get to see the design for the Second Creek Hut. Huge windows will heat the cabin and give the airy perch incredible views of the timberline basin above the west side of Berthoud Pass. The cabin will serve as a retreat for visiting and area residents, and will double as an educational center - giving students a classroom at timberline.

The goal is to create a building that derives its heat and electricity from the sun and wind and processes the waste generated by its occupants, minimizing its impact on the local and global environment. A day use room and volunteer quarters will provide free use and a way to lessen the human footprint in the heavily used Second Creek basin.

In the future this classroom in the sky will lead young and old alike up a path toward engagement with our mountain studded back yard.

Tickets for the dinner are available at the Winter Park Market, Devil’s Thumb Cross Country Center, Rocky Mountain Roastery by Alco in Fraser, Budget Tackle in Granby and Never Summer Mountain Products in Grand Lake. Call 726-4099 or 726-9877 if you need any other information, if you need tickets mailed and for will call tickets. You may also visit Grandhuts.org to find more information or to buy tickets online.

Tight Like That will perform from 8:00 – 10:30. All are welcome! No cover but donations will be appreciated.

Hope to see you there!

2010 Progressive Dinner Update - 11 days and counting!

February 15th, 2010

The 2010 Moonlight Progressive Dinner and Auction is just around the corner. Mark your calendars for Saturday, February 27th, and join us for a fun evening on the nordic trails at Devils Thumb Ranch. Ski to three locations for a fabulous five course meal. There are three separate dinner start times (6:00 pm / 6:30 pm / 5:30pm is SOLD OUT) and tickets are available for purchase through our website (www.GrandHuts.org). There is also a listing of locations in Grand County where tickets can be purchased in person that can be found on the events page of our website.

The Silent Auction and Live Jazz Music by Tight Like That will be in Heck’s Restaurant until 11pm. The GHA silent auction will have a fabulous selection of items to bid on such as: Winter Park Resort Lift Tickets, Art & Photography from local artists, nights stay at High Lonesome Hut and other lodging properties, tickets to Events, Sporting Goods, Food and Beverage, Massage Therapy, a variety of services from professionals and much more!

Moonlight Ski Progressive Dinner & Auction February 27, 2010

February 5th, 2010

Date: Saturday, February 27, 2010
Location: Devil’s Thumb Ranch Nordic Center
Times: 5:30 pm (sold out), 6:00 pm, and 6:30 pm start times
Tickets: $50 adults, $15 under age 16 - BUY NOW!

Join Grand Huts for the 7th Annual Moonlight Ski Progressive Dinner and Auction on Saturday, February 27, 2010. Ski to Three Locations for a Fabulous Five Course Meal. Silent Auction and Live Music in Heck’s Restaurant until 11pm.

There are three different start times for dinner to choose from, and tickets are available on the GHA website, as well as at local participating businesses, which are listed on the website. The 5:30pm start time has Sold Out! so get your tickets quickly before the rest are all gone! Ticket includes moonlight skiing trail fee and equipment rental. (For better visibility bring a headlamp).

Help us build the new ski hut! All proceeds will go towards building the Broome Hut at Second Creek on Berthoud Pass.

Site Update for the Broome Hut at Second Creek

December 14th, 2009

In heavy south wind driven snow, I skied to site with soil engineer, Jed Dindinger. His High Country Soil Testing company is donating time to design the Hut’s greywater (sewer water without toilet waste - which will be composted in large tanks) disposal field. We dug a small test pit to determine how deep the soil was over the granite bedrock - hoping for two feet of soil to allow for the required separation between the infiltrator pipes and bedrock. Using a claw hammer we made it through eight inches of frozen ground to softer soil beneath - finding two feet of dirt above the granite slab beneath. Good news! The ski back out was dicey, thin snow on any sun exposed slopes, three foot deep unconsolidated snow in north facing areas - this will be a crazy year for avalanches.

GHA’s First Hut Project - Help Us Build The Hut!

March 8th, 2009

GHA is working on an eco-friendly hut system for Grand County. The proposed system will eventually go from Berthoud Pass all the way to Grand Lake. This consists of nine huts total and includes four existing huts - Second Creek Hut, First Creek Hut, High Lonesome Hut, and Twin Creek Hut - and five newly proposed huts. The Second Creek Hut is structurally unfit and will be rebuilt as the Broome Hut as the first construction project for GHA.

All funding for the first hut project must be in place in order to receive the final permit from the U.S. Forest Service. Once this permit is issued, building of the hut can begin. Help us reach our goal by donating today! Grand Huts Association is a Colorado 501c(3) non-profit organization and donations are tax deductible. Donations can be made online through the GHA Website.

Welcome to the Hut Log

March 2nd, 2009

This blog will have up-to-date news about everything happening with the Grand Huts Association, including events, news, educational programs, fundraising, building progress, and more. GHA’s goal is to create an eco-friendly Hut System in Grand County, Colorado that will preserve the environment while sustaining activities in the backcountry. Our blog serves as a forum for people to share ideas and experiences that promote sustainable backcountry huts.