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News FROM THE VALLEY
Council considers future
of Spearhead Huts
FUNDRAISING FOR PROJECT TO SPAN FIVE YEARS
By Alison Taylor
The $1.7 million Spearhead Huts
proposal — three backcountry huts
linked by trails in Whistler Blackcomb’s
backcountry backyard — is gaining ground.
Proponents Liz Scremin and Rob
Brusse, of the Spearhead Huts Committee,
made a presentation to council Tuesday at
the afternoon’s Committee of the Whole
meeting, detailing the five-year project that
will take thousands of volunteer hours
and hundreds of thousands of dollars in
fundraising efforts.
The project is designed to capitalize on the
relatively untapped backcountry on Whistler’s
doorstep both in summer and winter.
“It’s a unique high-altitude traverse over
moderate terrain,” said Brusse, of the multiday
hike or ski, stretching about 35 kilometres.
It’s no secret that council supports
the project. In its Council Action Plan,
developed shortly after taking office,
council agreed to support the advancement
of the Spearhead Hut initiative.
Tuesday’s presentation was an in-depth
look at the backcountry project that calls for
two new huts along the Spearhead Traverse
and a replacement hut at Russet Lake. Each
hut is estimated to cost $380,000 and each
could house 35 to 40 people per night at a
cost of $20-30 each.
“We’re not talking about a luxurious
hut or a spartan hut,” said Brusse.
The first step, after getting approval
from BC Parks, which is expected in
October, is to begin fundraising for the
Pattison Hut and the Decker-Pattison trail.
The hut is slated for high on the summit
ridge of Mt. Pattison.
Once that project is complete
fundraising will begin for the Macbeth Hut
and the new trail to that hut from Pattison.
The third phase of the project is to
replace the existing hut at Russet Lake,
slated for a new location a little further
from the lake to capitalize on sun and
WHAT A VIEW The $1.7 million Spearhead Huts proposal is taking shape, with Whistler
Council discussing the proposal at a Committee of the Whole meeting.
views, and build a new trail from Macbeth.
“The views are spectacular, looking
deep into Garibaldi Park,” said Scremin.
Councillor Jayson Faulkner, also a
member of the Spearhead Huts Committee,
believes the hut-to-hut traverse could be
“ridiculously popular” so much so that
it will need an online lottery system to
determine who gets to use the huts.
There are currently no numbers for the
skiers who access the area. Faulkner said it
could be between 500 and 1,500 per year.
This development would see numbers grow.
“It is absolutely a world-class
experience,” he said. “This is way more
GRAPHIC SUBMITTED
dramatic back there (compared to Whistler
Blackcomb), way more wild.”
And he believes it will have economic
spin-off benefits to Whistler. He compares
it to his backcountry experiences in Europe,
bookended by time in town.
“I don’t do the hut trip and leave,” said
Faulkner.
There have been two major fundraising
events, securing $40,000 for the project. That’s
just a drop in the bucket of the $1.16 million
needed. A further $580,000 is expected to
come from volunteer labour and donations.
For more information go to www.
spearheadhuts.org. ■
www.piquenewsmagazine.com | August 23, 2012 | 25