Hi Everyone,
A somewhat delayed report given holiday-busyness, but a few useful bits of information to share after family, friends and I flew into the Great Cairn Hut for four days over the holidays (December 23-26). For those heading in to the hut this ski season take note that the ACC has replaced the old coleman white gas stove with a new propane (threaded bottle) stove (which is not yet updated on their website but should be soon). We left a decent stockpile of dry wood inside the hut but flying in wood is very much still needed to make the cabin cozy during the chill of winter. The white gas lantern in the hut is also in need of additional mantles, though a few candles can also do a very good job of lighting the hut.

With marginal forecasts and less than ideal snow stability we stuck to low/moderate grade skiing on sparsely treed slopes directly west of the hut and a longer tour up the Haworth Glacier to reach the upper icefield. In good snow conditions, there is certainly a lot of potential for neat steep skiing around the hut and on the glaciers above! There is also some potential for climbable ice north of the hut (descending off the Silvertip Glacier) but we ran out of time to give it a go.

If you are planning on heading in to the hut this winter/spring, feel free to send me an email for other info/pictures of the area.
Have a great 2017,

Ben Nearingburg, ACMG AHG, WHG