Here is a trip report from a hut trip that I worked with CBMG celebrity guest employee Jenny Abraham two weeks ago. Forgive the tardiness, but it's off-season and I had to run down to the desert for some sunshine and rock climbing last week. After a solid week of high pressure and warm temperatures, winter returned just in time for us to head out to the Gothic Hut with Gary, Bettye, Fern and Kathy. More snow was just fine with me because the ski conditions needed to be freshened up a bit. 
We all met on Wednesday morning and skied the 3 miles into the town of Gothic. Luckily someone had broken trail for us. Once we reached the Maroon Hut, I took Gary and Fern for a "quick" ski tour up to the saddle between Gothic and Snodgrass while Jenny, Kathy and Bettye went for a nordic tour.
There was already 40 cm of new snow and we all earned our turns as we broke trail up 1200 vertical feet to the saddle.
All that new snow translated to tons of soft powdery skiing. It was just hard to see what was in front of us. I made a passing comment that "there was almost too much new snow" but was promptly told by both Gary and Fern that that was impossible.
Like all hut trips good food and good conversation always compliment great skiing. I was intellectually out of my league during the Darwin discussion at the dinner table, but nonetheless learned plenty about Darwin, Lyell and the politics of 19th century publishing! The undisputed highlight of the hut trip was breakfast on Thursday morning. Jenny woke up bright and early to make her special caramel rolls.
She wasn't sure if they were going to rise at 9500 ft above sea level.... After breakfast, we had a brief beacon refresher clinic and then we skied back to the car. The storm had dropped over 60 cm of snow in Gothic and two weeks later my hip flexors have finally recovered from breaking trail home! Thanks everyone for a great trip; Jenny and I hope you had a special first hut trip. It was our pleasure skiing, dining and conversing with you!
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