Spearhead Huts

A recent donation by the Kees Brenninkmeyer Foundation to the Spearhead Huts Project is keeping the project on track with its plan to build three new backcountry huts along the Spearhead Traverse near Whistler, BC. 

Digital Mockups by chadmanley.ca

Expected to be completed by 2018, the Kees & Claire Hut will be situated near Russet Lake, not far from the aging Himmelsbach Hut that was built in 1967. Whistler was a very different place then than it is now. Some may call it a blessing; others may call it a curse. Call it what you will, you cannot deny that it continues to enable access and comfort into these remote areas so more people can enjoy the spectacular landscapes. Each "hut" will sleep 35-40 people (much more than Himmelsbach) and provide running water, heat, toilets, etc. 

The Himmelsbach Hut (Photo by FieldandForest.co)

While this may boost Whistler's reputation and draw awareness to the Garibaldi Provincial Park area, many people are divided on the subject. I feel concern for the wildlife and the environmental impact of this project in years to come; others say the "huts" will ruin the untouched wilderness and scenery because of their conspicuous placements. Jayson Faulkner, founder of the Spearhead Huts Committee argues, "When you give people an opportunity to enjoy and see a landscape that is typically only available to half of one percent you change people's perspective about nature and wilderness and the value of those places..." One of the original of the half percent and longtime Whistler local Karl Ricker was one of the first to complete the Spearhead Traverse on skis and he is ecstatically happy for the project and would rather see it sooner than later. 

While I see both pros and cons in this, I hope they are successful in their mission and keep environmental impacts to a minimum and perhaps preserve the Himmelsbach Hut as a shrine or museum, similar to the Slocan Chief in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, to offer perspective about nature and wilderness and the value of those places, the way they once were...