The 10th mountain is a 501 C3, Non-Profit organization, dedicated to the management of 34 backcountry huts throughout the Colorado Rockies. These huts are connected by nearly 350 miles of trails. The name of this non-profit is an honor to the men of the U.S. Army in the 10th Mountain division who during WWII trained at Camp Hale in central CO.
Image by: National Parks Service – nps.gov
Why rent a Mountain Hut or Yurt?
Renting a hut provides you with a unique experience to be close to the trail and fully experience the outdoors right at your doorstep while still having the comfort of 4 real walls and a roof overhead. Enjoy winter backcountry sporting adventures such as backcountry skiing, mountain biking, hiking, or snowshoeing with your bed just steps from your trail. Backcountry enthusiasts who rent huts find them rustic, historic, well maintained and safe. However, hut users agree, knowing the skill level of your campers and sporting enthusiasts is the top priority. Choose a route your group is capable of, including giving consideration to the avalanche-prone areas some huts are situated in. Most of the huts on the 10th Mountain Chain of huts can house up to 16 to 20 people, throughout 3-4 bedrooms. Each hut is equipped with wood burning stove for heating and for cooking, firewood and starter, propane burners and basic kitchen necessities.
There is no running water. Hut users are expected to melt snow for water during winter and collect water from running streams nearby in the summer. Hut users are also advised to be sure you have a high-efficiency water filtration system. However, the 10 th Mountain Division requests you first boil your snow melt in a metal pot, and once cooled, then filter through your own personal filtration system. It is impossible to ensure each hut users filtration connection has been properly cleaned and disinfected after each trip or use. Bacteria can reside in the system connection outside of the filter itself. For this reason you are encouraged to boil, cool, then filter your water.
There are more than a dozen huts spread across miles of trail. Whether you are looking for a summit location near Breckenridge, or you feel capable of handling the most adventurous avalanche prone huts in the Braun Hut region, the huts along the route throughout Colorado’s 10 th Mountain Division Hut system are simply the closet to nature you can get while still maintaining a roof over your head.
