Bill Putnam hut

Geobox| alpine hut
name = Bill Putnam (Fairy Meadow) hut
native_name =
other_name =
category =


image_caption =
official_name =
etymology_type = Named for
etymology = William Putnam
nickname =


symbol =
country = CAN
state_type = Province
state = BC
region = Selkirk Mountains
district =
municipality =
location = near Adamant Range
elevation_round = -2
elevation = 2057
prominence =
lat_d = 51 | lat_m = 45 | lat_s = 48 | lat_NS = N
long_d = 117 | long_m = 52 | long_s = 36 | long_EW = W
coordinates_no_title = 1
length = | length_orientation =
width = | width_orientation =
height =
depth =
volume =
area =
author_type = Built by
author = Alpine Club of Canada
style = Log cabin
material = Wood
established_type = Built in
established = 1965
date =
government_type = Governed by
government = British Columbia
owner_type = Owned by
owner = Alpine Club of Canada
public = Reservations required
visitation = | visitation_date =
access = by helicopter
whs_name =
whs_year =
whs_number =
whs_region =
whs_criteria =
iucn_category =
free_type = Capacity | free = 20 in summer/winter
free1_type = Heating | free1 = Wood stove
free2_type = Lighting & Cooking | free2 = Propane
free3_type = Sleeping | free3 = Dormitory style
free4_type = Drinking water | free4 = Creek
free5_type = Human waste | free5 = Outhouse
free6_type = GPS coordinates | free6 = NAD83 11U 0439386 5735331
free7_type = Map reference | free7 = 82N/13 (Sullivan River)
free8_type = Grid reference | free8 = 394353


map_caption =
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website = http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/facility/fairy.html
footnotes =

The Bill Putnam (Fairy Meadow) hut is an alpine hut located in the Adamant range of the Selkirk mountains in British Columbia. It is set on a knoll at the edge of a high mountain meadow and provides access to a great array of mountaineering objectives, but is best known for its spectacular skiing terrain. The hut is maintained by the Alpine Club of Canada. cite book
last = Scott
first = Jim
title = Backcountry Huts and Lodges of the Rockies and Columbias
date = 2002
pages = pp. 262-263
publisher = Johnson Gorman Publishing
isbn = 0-921835-58-2]

History

The hut was built by the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) in 1965 as a project proposed and largely overseen by noted author and alpinist William Putnam, who was president of the American Alpine Club for years and on their board of directors for decades. In 1973 the hut was renovated and considerably enlarged, a project again largely funded and overseen by Putnam. Since then it has been renovated and partly rebuilt two more times. The ACC has held its General Mountaineering Camp in the Fairy Meadow area on four separate occasions since 1981, although it has not used the hut for that purpose.cite book
last = Haberl
first = Keith
title = Alpine Huts: A guide to the facilities of the Alpine Club of Canada
publisher = Alpine Club of Canada
date = 1997
pages = pp. 157-166
isbn = 0-920330-32-0] [cite web
title = Bill Putnam (Fairy Meadow) Hut
work = National Huts
publisher = Alpine Club of Canada
date = 2008
url = http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/facility/fairy.html
accessdate = 2008-03-28]

Access

Summer access to the hut is via a 4-7 hour hike up Swan Creek from a trailhead that follows 65 km of logging road. The time will vary greatly depending on trail conditions, which sometimes can be quite difficult. The road is used by logging trucks. which often travel quite fast, and is sometimes washed out, so discussing it with the forestry company, Evans Forest Products in Golden, British Columbia is advisable before starting out.

Overland access in winter has occasionally been done but is quite difficult. Normally, winter access is via helicopter from a helicopter landing pad located near the Trans-Canada Highway 50 km west of Golden. The helipad is shared with Golden Alpine Holidays so some coordination is required. [cite web
title = 4 Lodges To Stay - A Mountain Range To Play
publisher = Golden Alpine Holidays
date = 2008
url = http://www.goldenalpineholidays.com/
accessdate = 2008-03-22 ] Booking the helicopter well in advance is required and a satellite phone or VHF radio (or both) is needed for communication with the helicopter company on flight day. There is no guarantee that the helicopter can fly on the appointed day, so bringing a day or two extra food is recommended. [cite web
title = Bill Putnam (Fairy Meadow) Hut
publisher = Alpine Club of Canada
date = 2008
url = http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/facility/fairy.html
accessdate = 2008-03-22]

Facilities

The hut is a two story building with sleeping area on the upper level and kitchen and living area on the main floor. It sleeps 20 in summer or winter dormitory-style on foam pads. The main floor divided into a kitchen area and three different living areas, and is equipped with propane powered lamps, two propane cook tops and a propane stove with oven for baking, as well as a wood stove for heating in the winter. The kitchen is well supplied with dishes, cutlery, utensils, pots and pans and bakeware.

Food storage is in a an uninsulated vestibule on the back of the hut complete with mouse proof storage bins and an unpowered refrigerator. Water is available from a creek 100 metres south of the hut. A tall flagpole marks the water hole. There are several 20-gallon pails in the hut for gathering water.

There are two separate double sinks in the kitchen. Grey water disposal can usually be dealt with directly down the sinks, which drain into a ground sump, but if the system backs up, guests will have to dig a snow-pit to dispose of it. Non-burnable garbage must be flown out at the end of the camp, but food scraps, biodegradables, bones, and paper waste can be burned in the wood stove. There is a large 10-person wood-burning sauna near the main hut. The main supply of wood is located in and around the woodshed by the sauna.

Human waste is dealt with by an outhouse located a short walk behind the hut, but there is a snow-walled urinal located off the trail to the outhouse. Barrels must be flown out by helicopter, so the volume of material put in them should be minimized. Garbage should not be disposed of in the outhouse.

Activities

The hut is known as an excellent base for granite mountaineering and backcountry skiing. It is regularly used by the ACC and various club sections for winter ski camps due to its high snowfall conditions and excellent advanced skiing terrain.

The alpine climbing in the Adamants and Gothics areas around the hut is considered superb, and the hut can provide many summers worth of high quality routes on a dozen or more peaks. Two of these, Adamant and Austerity, are over convert|11000|ft|m.

In winter, the snow tends to extremely large amounts of high-quality powder, providing great ski touring and ski mountaineering opportunities. The terrain is suitable only for strong intermediate to advanced skiers, and beginners should not attempt it.

Nearby

* The Nobility Group
** Mount Colossal
* The Adamant Group
** Austerity Mountain
** Pioneer Peak
* The Gothics Group
** East Peak
* Sentinel Peak
* Gog Pinnacle
* Magog

References

External links

* [http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/facility/fairy.html Bill Putnam (Fairy Meadow) hut at the Alpine Club of Canada]
* [http://www.bivouac.com/GtxPg.asp?GtxId=221 Bill Putnam (Fairy Meadow) hut at bivouac.com]