Gimme Shelter

 At last!  The dream of a warming hut on Amabilis, a place to get out of a storm, make a hot drink, meet your friends, or change into dry clothes, has been on Don and Frank's minds for a long time, and at last, it is real.  

Last fall a troop of skilled Kongsberger carpenters built the hut over the course of multiple weekends. 

Today, the Four Amigos (Don, Frank, Jeff, and Erik) finally, after an aborted attempt last weekend that involved too much snow and broken truck chains, pulled the sweet little hut up to its winter staging place on Amabilis.  

It's not as high as it was last winter, when permit problems kept it locked down most of the winter, but it's still above the Y, where it will be a welcome haven.  This year we avoided last year's permit drama by siting it on USFS land, and the USFS permit is firmly in hand!

The guys report they worked their butts off!  It was a full day of hard labor, chipping and shoveling ice, jacking up the structure to push blocks of wood underneath for extra support when it's covered with snow, shoveling precarious corners on the road to keep the hut upright as it was towed, backing the trailer into the final location, but they got it done -- thanks, guys!!

Kongsberger volunteers built the hut, but it's open to all nonmotorized users this winter, so come and enjoy!  We only ask that you treat it with kindness and respect, as if you loved it as much as we do.

(Thanks to Jeff and Erik for the photos from today's efforts, and to Joy for the reporting.)