We now have a new blog that replaces this blog. The new blog is found at: http://grandhutsassociation.blogspot.com/
Visit the new blog, where you can find general news updates, building progress, and photos of the Broome Hut project.
If you have this blog bookmarked, please update the link to the new blog at: http://grandhutsassociation.blogspot.com/.
Thanks!
Snow is falling heavily this morning, and I am beginning the winter’s work of staging construction of the Broome Hut on Second Creek – slated for next summer. The owners of the Rendezvous Development in the Fraser Valley have kindly donated the use of a large metal building where materials for the project will be bundled in loads designed for lifting by a helicopter from the top of Berthoud to the cabin site.
Loads of logs were hauled from various places to a storage yard donated by Boxwell Construction in Tabernash. These logs will be processed on my portable band saw mill this winter into beams for the center, timber framed section of the structure – and into beetle kill paneling for the interior of the cabin.
GHA will be searching this winter for donated building materials and components. If you have any likely items, please contact us. We have a master list of items needed.
Mainly we need pledged volunteer hours for next summer’s construction. There is a link to the Volunteer Interest Form at the bottom left portion of the home page. We have a good financial base to complete the cabin, but need pledged volunteer hours and donated materials to complete our cabin building budget. You do not need any building skills to be a volunteer! – Andy Miller, GHA Project Manager 970-726-4099
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 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.