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Cabin in the Sky
Cabins in the Sky
By ALEXIS KELNER
It was not long after humans created skis that they discovered one of the invention's major limitations: while they helped extend human activities throughout winter, skis also added a new dimension of danger. Long-distance winter travel without protection from the elements had always been extremely hazardous. Besides weatherproof clothing, some form of shelter was essential. Easily erected igloos provided excellent cover for some northern tribesmen. Where the snow was sufficiently deep, quickly dug snow caves shielded travelers from wind and storm; in forested terrain, simple lean-tos served the same purpose.
As winter travel routes became established, erection of more enduring structures followed. Permanent winter cabins evolved in two distinct varieties: wayside (adjacent to a path or route) and destination. The transformation of skiing from a means of travel necessary for survival to a form of winter recreation did not diminish the need for shelters.
In Utah, the sport of skiing began its growth in about 1915, with some early activities taking place in the foothills along the Wasatch. 1 Until the late 1930s—when the first tows and lifts began operating—all skiing was cross-country; skiers had to climb up to the slopes they wished to ski down. As ski equipment and transportation into the mountains improved, skiers ventured deeper into the nearby canyons. Pinecrest Inn, in upper Emigration Canyon, was a destination used annually by the Wasatch Mountain Club and the University of Utah's hiking club. More than one hundred ski enthusiasts would often board horse-drawn sleighs for the trip to the stately sandstone facility. 2
Early in the 1920s members of the mountain club discovered skiing possibilities in the headwater basin of Big Cottonwood Canyon. Three- and four-day Washington's Birthday weekend outings into Brighton became the club's "big ski trip of the year." The adventures commenced in Salt Lake City with a two-hour train or bus ride to Park City. At the outskirts of town gently tapered "wooden blocks were attached to the bottoms of skis for ascent to Scotts Pass or to the ridge known today as Guardsman Pass. The short wedges prevented the skis from slipping backwards on steep slopes; this technique was known as "blocking." 3 The group spent the night at the Comstock Mine and reached the Salt Lake City Waterworks cabin, the destination for their activities at Brighton, the following afternoon. "The surrounding hills became the hunting grounds for scene-thirsty 'Kodakers,'" Lew Stearns described a 1923 outing. "The skiing was ideal, about seven feet of snow and those long hills, certainly furnished us thrills of no little variety or number." Twenty to forty skiers—about a third of them women—participated in these popular events. 4
Impressed with Brighton's alpine setting and its excellent ski terrain, members of the Wasatch Mountain Club began construction of a clubhouse at the community's outskirts. In the mid-1930s the spacious two-story log building became the "ski center of Utah." Today, the lodge is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as "one of the few surviving structures from the period when the canyons of the Wasatch range were first developed for recreation." 5
Until its destruction by the air blast of a mammoth Mt. Timpanogos avalanche in 1935, the Stewart family cabin at Aspen Grove (about 2.5 miles up the canyon from present Sundance Ski Resort) served as a gathering place for skiers. Ray and Hank Stewart spent the winter of 1932—33 at the dwelling, living off the land and off provisions brought by friends. "Fellows from Provo visited nearly every weekend," Ray Stewart wrote in his journal. Arriving late on Friday, the guests brought eggs, milk, and fruit to supplement the potatoes, flour, and meats stored in and about the building. "On moonlight nights we would go skiing," Stewart continued, "and on darker nights, we would hang gasoline lanterns in the trees and ski until exhausted. Then after a good night's sleep, we would be at it again." 6
Late in March 1933, Hank and Ray made a ski ascent to the top of the Timpanogos glacier. "In order to get traction for climbing with our skis," Ray related, "we used about a quarter inch cotton rope, tied in the middle in an over-hand knot that slipped over the front end of the ski. Then we crossed it over and under the ski and tied it down to our boot." The technique is known as "row-locking." Stewart described their equipment as "'modern' skis without any steel edges, with old 'bear trap' bindings. Our ski boots were not much better than regular working shoes, except they did have a stiff sole." 7
A variety of cabins was used by skiers throughout Utah. The shack at the top of Payson Canyon owned by Dr. L. D. Pfouts was a frequent destination for the Mountain Club. In the Ogden area, cabins on Cutler Ridge (along the route to Ben Lomond Peak) provided emergency shelter during long cross-country ski tours and ski mountaineering ventures. Ephraim and Manti skiers often utilized hunting cabins along the west slope of the Wasatch Plateau for their recreations.
In 1935 Kenneth Whitlock, Wes Thompson, and Milton and Lloyd Christiansen built a hunting cabin near Ephraim. Three years later, using "long old skis with the nubbin on the front and single ski poles," three of the builders and Clive Redmond walked into the camp during winter. 8
Lifelong Manti resident R. Lynn Nielson, who learned to ski the "traditional, old fashioned 'way" on barrel staves, remembers participating, during his teens in the mid-1930s, on week-long outings to the snowfields along the Wasatch Plateau's Highline Trail. The treks took place between the Christmas and New Year holidays. It was "an exhilarating experience that we planned for at least a year in advance," Nielson reminisced. "A base camp at a cabin helped get us to our ski site more easily. Climbers on the bottom of our skis made the uphill climb more efficient. These innovations and others that we developed over the years helped make this experience more enjoyable " 9
At about the time Nielson and his teenage companions were skiing on the Wasatch Plateau, U.S. Forest Service officials in Washington, DC, were formulating the winter recreation strategy for America's national forests. While the "ski boom" of the mid 1930s caught them by surprise, they recovered swiftly and by the beginning of the 1936—37 winter season were transmitting general policies to area supervisors. "Recreation is considered as an important function of national forests," Regional Associate Forester F. C. Koziol stated early in 1937. "Heretofore considered as limited to the summer seasons, it is now apparent that its place as a winter activity is also important." 10 Ten months later he detailed the Forest Service's role in winter recreation:
"We have discussed opportunities for building shelters along several of the more popular ski trails," Wasatch National Forest Supervisor James E. Gurr stated in 1937. "Such buildings would serve to good advantage on the trail from Brighton to Alta and on the run down American Fork Canyon." 12 But over the next few years construction of the large central shelters such as Alta's Snow Pine Lodge and the clearing of ski runs and slalom courses took precedence over the simple huts on touring routes.
The concept of small trailside cabins for overnight use was not new. Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France, and Germany had nearly 200 huts located throughout their alpine regions. Many were situated a day's travel apart, making weeklong hut-to-hut ski tours possible. Most were provisioned with food and blankets, and some had a resident caretaker and/or cook. Several similar huts were also located in the Canadian Rockies. At that time only a few huts existed in the United States: a couple near Sun Valley, several in the Pacific Northwest, one in Yosemite National Park, and some in eastern mountains and the woodlands of Minnesota.
Having skied in Europe, James Laughlin, who would soon purchase the Alta Lodge and later become a major owner of Alta's ski lift operation, was familiar with its system of alpine shelters. "We must have huts in America for high mountain touring," he pleaded in a national ski publication. "Not just occasional isolated huts here and there, but groups of two and three (and later more) related huts in our principal mountain areas." He suggested that the program of hut development should become a serious objective of the National Ski Association (NSA) and that the Forest Service, U.S. Army, or large ski clubs should sponsor construction. "So here's to our chain of American huts!" Laughlin ended his article. "Soon may they come! 13
World War II came instead, and with it came a freeze on non-war-related construction. Strict wartime rationing of gasoline and tires, along with governmental admonitions against unnecessary travel, kept some American skiers from participating in their favorite pastime—but not those who frequented Alta, Brighton, or Snow Basin. Proximity to military depots and bases permitted the three Wasatch Front ski areas to remain busy throughout the war.
During the winter of 1941-42, managers of the Alta Lodge promoted "real Alpine touring in high-mountain huts." An advertisement for the 1943-44 season stated that over the summer "much work has been done on the Lodge, the lifts and on touring cabins in the high country."14 In autumn 1944 Wasatch Mountain Club president William Kamp praised the Forest Service for providing backcountry enthusiasts with accurate maps showing the locations of cabins and shelters along popular Wasatch touring routes. Most of these structures had been associated with mining. Dismayed by the post-war overcrowding anticipated at established ski areas, Kamp renewed the plea for huts dedicated specifically for skiing:
The mountain club's president had attracted several influential allies. Alta's James Laughlin had become chairman of the NSA's Hut and Trails Committee, and one of his objectives was establishment of a "chain of mountain huts in this country comparable to those in the European Alps." 16 As president of the Intermountain Amateur Ski Association (known as "Intermountain"), Ogden ski proponent F. L. Montmorency organized a committee to help raise funds for Wasatch ski huts. 17 Kamp noted that F. C.
Koziol, who had become supervisor of the Wasatch National Forest, had expressed personal interest in the venture, "and "with a booster like that the prospects are encouraging in the post-war period." Kamp also mentioned that long-time Wasatch Mountain Club skier/mountaineer Harold Goodro "has been studying desirable locations." 18
Long-range site planning and short-term labor commenced during early summer 1947. The efforts were supervised by Intermountain's hut committee leaders Steve MacDonald (who would soon become president of the association) and Ogden ski proponent Jack Major. A large map titled "Master Plan of Touring & Shelter Huts" was prepared showing proposed locations for fourteen structures in the canyons east of Salt Lake City. Some shelters were to be erected from scratch; others would consist of buildings standing at nearby mines. Sites were prioritized on the basis of proximity to ski-touring and hiking trails, the average skier's endurance, and the hut's potential usefulness in emergencies. The first three huts were to be located on Scott's Pass, on Albion Pass near Sunset Peak, and high up in Red Pine Gulch.
Difficulties arose almost immediately. Since each hut included a pit toilet, Salt Lake City's water department objected to several locations on the basis of possible watershed contamination. The Red Pine site was ruled out; the ridge between Brighton and Snake Creek was ruled in.
Steve MacDonald, an architect, "worked with Jim Shane to design two types of cabins. One type would be a prefabricated Quonset structure made of eighteen-inch steel tunnel liner sections bolted together. It would be twenty-four feet long, heavily insulated, and able to accommodate eighteen persons. The other type of cabin would be built of logs. Each of the shelters would have a high entrance for deep snows and one at ground level. 19
During the autumn of 1947 hut proponents acquired a very important ally. In an article titled "Winter Sports Administration," Assistant Regional Forester A. G. Nord discussed "principal developments needed on a well developed winter sports area." His wish list included "overnight cabins for ski touring." Touring, he noted, "has great possibilities here and can grow as trails and cabins are built." 20
On December 10, 1947, Kamp, Koziol, and MacDonald (representing Intermountain's Ski Hut and Shelter Committee) appeared before the Salt Lake County Commission to ask for inclusion of $3,900 in the next year's budget for the erection of three shelters. The commissioners listened politely then unanimously voted "aye" on Chairman Robert Cranmer's motion "that the sum of $5,000 be considered for this purpose." A few days later Commissioner Cranmer revealed his reason for support to reporter Tom Mathews: the huts would provide safe shelter for a growing population of skiers who liked to "see what they could see on the other side of the mountain." 21
Ski touring routes and ski shelters as proposed by the Intermountain Ski Association's hut committee in 1947. Huts are numbered approximately in the planned order of dedication. Due to changes in plans, hut 3 (Albion Hut) was erected first. Hut A (Germania Hut) was built to make two-day tours into American Fork Canyon possible. With the use of today's modern equipment all tours marked on the map can be easily completed in a single day.
CARTOGRAPHY BY ALEXIS KELNER
Steve MacDonald reported on progress in the mountain club's 1948 annual. The biggest hurdles, approvals from the Forest Service, state and city boards of health, and the city water department, had been overcome. Contractors Royal and Hershel Metcalf, who were "willing to erect the huts at a very nominal fee," had been selected, temporary roads to the sites had been bulldozed by the county, and materials had been purchased and delivered to the sites. The yet-to-be-accomplished list included "Erect the huts" and "Set up managing organization "within the WMC." The moral in MacDonald's report? "Never attempt to erect 3 huts on $5,000." 22
TABLE 1
Summary of touring and shelter huts for the Brighton, Alta, and Park City areas as depicted on 1947 map titled: "Master Plan of Touring & Shelter Huts"(Map was prepared by the Hut Committee of the Intermountain Amateur Ski Association).
1. SCOTTS PASS - Between Brighton and Park City
2. SNAKE CREEK PASS - Between Brighton and Midway
3. ALBION PASS - Between Brighton and Alta above Catherine Pass (near top terminal of Alta's Supreme Lift)
4. MT.WOLVERINE - Near base of Mt. Wolverine (above Brighton)
5. ALTA PASS - Between Alta and Brighton (today called Twin Lakes Pass)
6. CARDIFF FORK - At old Cardiff Mine boardinghouse about midway up Cardiff Fork
7. WINTER PALACE - Between Alta and American Fork Canyon (on American Fork Canyon side of Mt Baldy and Sugarloaf Peak)
8. PITTSBURG LAKE - Old miner's cabin beneath Sugarloaf Peak on American Fork Canyon side
9. DUTCHMAN'S FLAT - In upper American Fork Canyon.
10. YANKEE MINE - In upper Mary Ellen Gulch, in the vicinity of Yankee Mine
11. PERUVIAN GULCH - Old miner's cabin about midway up the gulch.
12. GADVALLEY or RED PINE GULCH - In upper Gad Valley Gulch or Near lower end of Red Pine Gulch
13. RED PINE GULCH - On gently-sloped ridge above Red Pine Lake.
14. DRY CREEK CANYON - Upper basin of Dry Creek drainage leading into Alpine
15. FLAGSTAFF MINE - Near Bonanza Flats
Construction commenced early in the summer of 1948. "Their optimistic building schedule was shattered by one delay after another," Bonnie Johnson "wrote, "until it became apparent that they "would have to push to get even one hut built. They selected the one at Albion for a maiden venture." Many volunteers participated in the assembly. "They put in mighty licks, in wind, rain, mud and cold as well as sunshine." 23
This first hut, a Quonset located on Naked Ridge (aka Nudist Flat) above Albion Pass (today known as Catherine Pass) was completed in autumn 1948. Working ceaselessly through the next summer, Harold Goodro and Jim Shane finished the log hut on Snake Creek Pass a year later. The third hut, originally to have been sited on Scott's Pass, was instead erected on Germania Pass (between Sugarloaf Peak and Mt. Baldy) in November 1949. 24 The huts were to be named after their geographical locations, Steve MacDonald's wife Norma recalled. But Naked Ridge Hut or Nudist Flat Hut did not seem appropriate for a public facility, so the shelters became known as the Albion Hut, Snake Creek Hut, and Germania Hut. 25
"Operation Mattress" possessed the trappings of a military mission. On Sunday, November 13, 1949, Air National Guard pilot Lt. Col. Alma G. Winn banked his C-47 cargo plane over the snow-covered Albion Basin. His targets: Germania and Snake Creek ski huts. His bomb load: twentytwo large mattresses and two large garbage cans. Turbulence deterred the pilot from making a low pass over the Germania Hut, so he dropped the eight mattresses destined for the shelter's bunks from a less-than-ideal altitude. The mattresses sailed over the hut and descended into the valley below. By nighttime all but one had been located; some were wrestled to the hut, and others "were cached for later pickup. Of the fourteen mattresses designated for Snake Creek, one "bundle" had not been located by nightfall. 26
Cabin furnishings were spartan—and politically correct. Just beyond the entrance of the Quonset's tower were two doors at right angles to each other. One door opened into the main chamber; the other led to a small, unisex pit toilet with a wooden seat. A Forest Service-approved wood-burning stove, used for cooking and heating, stood in an alcove of the main room. There was a table with benches. Small windows at each end of the Quonset provided minimum daylight. Each Quonset contained eight double-decker bunks equipped with mattresses. "We had a big red/orange canvas drape that would separate the men and the women," Norma MacDonald reminisced. "And mostly it never got used." 27
The huts were the property of the Intermountain Ski Association; their use was managed by its affiliate, the Wasatch Mountain Club. County officials insisted that use of the tax-funded facilities would be free. The only condition was pre-registration (on a first-come, first-served basis) with the club. Skiers using the cabins were required to bring their own sleeping bags and cooking utensils. Firewood was to be stocked by summer work parties.
Bonnie Johnson described a Wasatch tourer's expectations:
But the romanticized expectations were rarely fulfilled. "We used the huts," Norma MacDonald recalled, "but not as much as we thought we would." Building them had been more fun than using them. Ski touring "was also losing popularity in the post-war era. Robert Woody witnessed the decline: "America "was more into self-indulgence than into sweating," he reminisced in 1991. "Skiing, having become an 'industry' had degenerated. The fix was on the downhill. Groomed downhill. Disneyland. The soul was gone. Camaraderie was gone." 29
Several volunteer builders complained that some skiers "who used the huts were far from tidy. A shelter littered -with stale containers, spent tissues—-and worse—was hardly conducive to an evening of passing a steaming mug among companions. During the summer of 1954 the Germania hut was severely vandalized. A rare occurrence in the early '50's, vandalism became common as new ski lifts approached then reached the ski hut ridges. Sometime during the early 1960s—no one has been able to provide a date—a pile of ashes was discovered at the site where the wooden Snake Creek ski hut had once stood. Use of the Germania Hut for apres-ski drug activities helped seal its fate. At the urging of the Forest Service and ski lift owners, Jim Shane's brother Bob and Bob's son Mike disassembled the shelter, hauled it to Bountiful, and reassembled it as the roof of their garage. The highly deteriorated Albion Hut still stands at this writing.
The concept of locating groups of related huts in Utah's mountain areas "was resurrected during the early 1980s by Steve Erickson, one of the founders of Park City's White Pine Touring Center. Principals of the center had been offering guided ski tours into the Uinta Mountains since the early to mid-1970s and were looking for a cabin-like facility that could be used as a shelter for day tours and overnight outings. The Forest Service's response to Erickson's first (May 1984) informal suggestion of erecting a shelter in the Uintas was not encouraging. "Based on the present District workload and the Proposed Forest Plan in its draft status," Kamas district ranger Wayne Anderson responded, "we will not be able to pursue development of the concept until the 1984—85 winter season, at the earliest." 30
In mid-summer Erickson submitted a formal proposal. The touring center's plans for a ski shelter abandoned the concept of a conventional hut and instead proposed a yurt, a style of movable shelter that for centuries has been used by nomadic mountain people of Mongolia, Afghanistan, and northern Tibet. Portability addressed contemporary concerns over resource damage and sanitation; after a few years' use at a site, the shelter could be disassembled and moved to a new location, allowing the former site to recover. 31
The Wasatch-Cache National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan, published in 1985, included possible authorizations for winter recreational hut systems in the Wasatch and in the Lakes Region of the Uintas. According to the plan, the hut systems would be located "to minimize conflicts between permittees and other users" and would be operated so that "non-commercial use will have priority over commercial hut use." 32
Three years after adoption of the forest plan, the Forest Service authorized a yurt—ski operation in the Uintas. Erickson, representing the nonprofit Nordic Ski Club of Park City (later to be renamed The Utah Nordic Alliance—TUNA), and its director, Ken McCarthy, celebrated when their application resulted in a permit. 33
The initial cost of establishing the Nordic club's yurt program was estimated at $5,000 plus one hundred manhours for erection. The project would be funded by fees charged for private use of the facility, guided tours offered by the club, and tax-deductible contributions. The remainder, if any, would be borrowed, preferably from members; lenders would receive 8 percent interest. According to Christopher Erickson, the club's yurt was to be the first of three huts making up a "new ski Trans-Uinta- Route." 34
The structure was assembled in autumn, 1988, along the North Fork of the Provo River about three miles from the Mirror Lake highway. The facility was totally selfcontained. Water, light, heat, cooking stove and gear, toilet paper, and first aid equipment were provided. Visitors had only to bring sleeping bags and food. Padded bunks accommodated six individuals; several others could sleep on the floor. Use fees were based on the renter's level of participation in the yurt program. The facility was available to anyone, but one person of each visiting group had to be a TUNA member who was certified in the hut's proper use. 35
Midway into its second season, TUNA's yurt committee reported growth in use "by leaps and bounds." The end-of-season tally sent to the Forest Service indicated 121 days of use, with guests paying an average of $8.46 per user day. The successful second season prompted Steve Erickson to propose siting another yurt higher in the area. "Much to our surprise," TUNA's Jon Manwaring reported, the Forest Service concurred, "thus establishing the start of a much-asked-for yurt system." 36
According to the terms of their special use permit, the yurt had to be disassembled at the end of each season, stored nearby, and reassembled at the beginning of the following season. The storage location along a frequently used forest road left the yurt vulnerable to vandalism. On arrival at the site in autumn 1991, the assembly crew was shocked to discover the facility had been looted. Everything of value—including the kitchen sink—had been stolen. "The sight brought the men to anger," Bob Woody and Jon Manwaring reported. "The TUNA women grieved and keened mightily." 37
With the lost furnishings replaced, TUNA's yurt entered its fourth season of operation. A small, boxed advertisement in the club's monthly newsletter urged members and their friends to patronize the facility:
In December of 1998 Bill White announced TUNA's possible entry into a partnership with the Forest Service, the Norwegian School of Nature Life, and Exum Utah Mountain Adventures "to determine the feasibility of a system [of huts] in an area that could possibly have four to five huts in the future." The partnership was finalized under the umbrella name of Yurts of the Uintas Association (YOUA). Three yurts became part of the alliance. All were to remain standing year-round. Summer use would consist primarily of day classes for schools and for "at risk" youth programs. To be effective for hut-to-hut ski tours, TUNA's original North Fork structure had to relocate to a more fitting site. 39
In the spring of 1999 members of TUNA gathered for the final disassembly of their facility. "It has been a labor of love for many," long-time yurt proponents Bob Myers and Charlie Coltrain stated, "and through the years has provided a great deal of joy and work for many of us." 40
"Lady of the Canyon" was the name affectionately bestowed on an old cabin located near the Little—Big Cottonwood canyons divide above Alta.The Lady was unique among Utah's few remaining mountain shelters. Also known as the Silver Fork Cabin or Davenport Cabin, this facility came closest to fulfilling ski tourers' expectations romanticized by Bonnie Johnson in 1948.
No one has researched the origin of theflat-roofed, dirt-floored, 180-square-foot log structure perched precariously on Davenport Ridge. It was probably built in the late 1800s and abandoned near the end of the mining era. "Unsalvageable" described best its late- 1960s condition. The roof had a terminal sag; one of the intricately dovetailed walls had come apart, with only four layers of logs still standing. The Dutch door was off its hinges, and both windows were nowhere to be found. 41
Then sometime during the late 1970s and early 1980s someone undertook its restoration. The wall of interlocking logs was reassembled. A half-century's accumulation of dust and debris disappeared from the walls and ceiling. A floor of two-by-six planks covered the earthen floor, and a wood-burning stove topped a small pyramid of rocks. A compact makeshift table was pressed tight against the wall beneath the cabin's west window.
On the table lay the "Silver Fork (Davenport) Cabin Journal," a notebook containing entries made by hikers, tourers, and snowboarders from throughout the U.S. and several foreign countries. Included were poetry, sketches, drug-induced ramblings, testaments to Jesus, epiphanies, quotations ranging from Hemingway to Proverbs, lamentations over the recently deceased, and dialogues between visitors separated by time. 42
"Seen this cabin many years ago, one of the few remaining in the canyons," an unsigned June 20, 1992, entry stated, then continued, "finally made it. You have done a nice job of restoring it. Found it to be clean and ready. Do you use it in the -winter?"
"Yes, we do," an unsigned insert followed. "This cabin probably has more overnight guests during the Winter than any other time. We all keep it stocked with food and fuel and keep it shoveled out."
On August 11,1993,Ellie Ienatsch penned the following impressions:
The Waldo of the Shallow Shaft was in reality Lyle Waldron, who owned and operated Alta's Shallow Shaft Saloon (later turned restaurant) between 1969 and 1985. Around the early '70s, Lyle had purchased a five-acre mining claim in the upper region of Silver Fork. Two years later, while locating his claim on the ground, he stumbled onto the cabin. Most of its restoration was undertaken by A. Murphy, Jerry Larson, John Bernard, and several Shallow Shaft and Alta employees known as "the brothers" and "the roofers."
"I never locked it. Ever!" Lyle Waldron stated recently. "It was always open for whoever and whenever they felt the need to go up and tour there. It was always open for that reason." Over the years of his association with the cabin, Lyle developed profound respect for the cabin's unknown builder: "The miner was a very, very clever man. He had several story poles at different places around the cabin so he could measure snow depths." The miner had also dug a seven-foot-deep well to intercept and store snowmelt for his culinary uses; the well still functions today. 43
"We cut our way through the thunder and clouds to find this haven," Wes Keller fed the journal on August 7, 1993. "Sitting on the ridge watching the sun melt into darkness, I can't help but imagine the old, hunched over prospector that was lucky enough to have this life of peaceful existence. Our one day of this incredible cabin was his life. The incredible condition this cabin is in just reflects the respect of all who have been here."
On June 24, 2000, with a lump in his throat and resisting tears, Martin McGregor, a frequent cabin visitor who had meticulously transcribed its 1992—93 journal, worked his way down the incline to confirm the rumor that the Lady of the Canyon had burned:
Some eight to ten years earlier, in a previous volume of the journal, McGregor recalls composing the following:
During summer 2000, in the preface of his transcription, he added an epitaph:
NOTES
Alexis Kelner is the author of Skiing in Utah -A History (1980) and Utah's Olympics Circus (1989) and coauthor of several Wasatch ski touring guidebooks He is currently completing a comprehensive history of skiing.
1 Salt Lake Tribune,January 17 and 30,1916; Herald Republican, January 2,1917.
2 Salt Lake Tribune, December, 30, 1921, January 15, 1922 Wasatch Rambler 1 (1923):7; Salt Lake Tribune, Jan 6, 1924 The Wasatch Mountain Club was organized informally in about 1912 and was incorporated in 1920 The club is still active in hiking, river-running, mountaineering, sailing, biking, and backcountry touring
3 Some 1920s-1950s skiers used a canvas "ski sock" to prevent slipping; "climbing skins" made of seal skin were also popular for cross-country skiing Modern tourers use climbers made of long strips of synthetic mohair or special ski waxes that help keep the ski from sliding backwards.
4 Wasatch Rambler 1 (1923): 8; Wasatch Rambler 1 (1923); Salt Lake Tribune, February 20, 1923; Park Record, February 23,1923
5 Wasatch Rambler 1929 Yearbook, 5; National Register files, N366, State Historic Preservation Office, Utah Division of State History, Salt Lake City
Raymond R Stewart,Journal, courtesy of Barbara (Stewart) Anderson, Stewart Family Archives After World War II Ray Stewart and his wife Ava developed and operated theTimp Haven ski area
7 Stewart,Journal
8 Kent C.Thompson, interview by author, October 1, 2000; tape in author's possession. :
9 R Lynn Nielson, interview by author, September 6, 2000, tape in author's possession; R Lynn Nielson, Who Moved My Mountain? (Manti, UT: Sun-Up Publishing, 1998), 197-98
10 Felix C Koziol, "Forest Service Takes Lead in Regional Winter Sports," Salt Lake Tribune, February 7, 1937.
11 Felix C Koziol, "Skiers Answer Alpine Call from Mountains," Salt LakeTribune, December 12, 1937
12 James E Gurr, "Wasatch Front Pushes Winter Sports Area Development," Salt Lake Tribune, December 12,1937
13 James Laughlin,"A Plea for Huts in America." American Ski Annual, 1941—42, 60—65.
14 American Ski Annual 1941—42, 34; American Ski Annual 1944, 8
15 American Ski Annual 1945, 94, 214
16 American Ski Annual 1946, 82 The 1949 ski annual's committee issue details immediate and longterm objectives of the eight-member hut committee chaired by James Laughlin
17 Intermountain's hut committee was organized mostly from among members of the Wasatch Mountain Club: Jack and Mary Major, Jim Shane, Cutler Miller, Lucy Brossard, Doug Elkins, Hap Kimball, Tom Matthews, Steve MacDonald, Dick Saville, Leo Fox, Jack Sugden, Stu Gardner, Wally Wyman, O'dell Peterson, Bill Kamp, LeRoy Peterson, Gene Moench, Leonard Skold, Norma Sugden, Lee Irvine, James Laughlin, and Orson Spencer; see The Rambler 1948, 9.
18 American Ski Annual 1945, 214
19 Bonnie Johnson, "Alpine Touring Huts," The Utah, November 1948, 18 ff; Salt Lake Telegram, December 19, 1947. James Shane and his wife Elfriede were active members of the Wasatch Mountain Club. They built and for many years operated Alta's Goldminer's Daughter Lodge.
20 The Utah, November 1947
21 Salt Lake County Commission Minutes, Series 3790, December 10, 1947, 599, Salt Lake County Commission Records Management and Archives; Salt Lake Tribune, December 11, 1947; Salt Lake Telegram, December 19, 1947
22 Steve MacDonald, "Touring Huts in the Wasatch Range," The Rambler 1948, 9
23 Johnson, "Alpine Touring Huts ."Volunteers listed in her article included Mr. and Mrs. Pony Vorse, Jack and Mary Major, Cutler Miller, Leo Fox, Orson Spencer, Bob Goodwin, Dick Saville, Aline Jones, Jim and Elfriede Shane, Suzy Harris, Bill Rytting, Don Watkins, Colleen Cox, Hap Kimball, and Jack, Norma, and Betsy Sugden
24 Salt Lake Telegram, November 17, 1949
25 Norma MacDonald, interview by author, May 9, 2001; tape in author's possession
26 Salt Lake Telegram, November 14, 1949
27 MacDonald interview
28 Johnson, "Alpine Touring Huts."
29 Robert H. Woody, "The Way It Was," TUNA News, March 1991. Bob Woody learned to ski before the war then fought in Italy with the renowned Tenth Mountain Division He participated in many Wasatch Mountain Club ski tours during the late '50s and throughout the '60s and '70s At this writing, Bob, who is retired as the Salt Lake Tribune's business editor, continues to participate in TUNA-sponsored cross-country races, and he teaches skiing for several institutions
30 Wayne Anderson to White Pine Touring, June 18, 1984;letter in Kamas Ranger District office
31 Steve Erickson to U.S Forest Service (Kamas), July 21, 1984; copy of letter in author's possession
32 Wasatch—Cache National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan, Wasatch-Cache National Forest, (1985), IV-170 and IV-234
33 News for Nords, September 1988
u Ibid., September 1988, October 1988
35 Ibid., February 1992, September 1997 Rent was $60-80 per day in 1992 and $60-105 in 1997
36 News for Nords, January 1990; Steve Erickson to Calvin Baker, U.S. Forest Service, September 5, 1990; Special Use Permit file, USFS-Kamas; TUNA News, September 1990
37 TUNA News, November 1991
38 ibid., February 1992.
39 Ibid., December 1998, September 1999.
40 Ibid., September 1999 Over the last decade the popularity of yurt skiing has grown throughout the West Today most of the national forests in Utah have one or two yurts in their backcountry
41 The cabin was sufficiently detached from popular travel routes to make it virtually invisible. Only a few hikers, tourers, and mining history enthusiasts knew of its existence, and they guarded the location jealously Most people stumbled onto it while off-route The author was "invited" for a visit by the sun's reflection shimmering; from the cabin's window
42 Silver Fork (Davenport) Cabin Journal (May 25, 1992 to September 25, 1993), Martin McGregor transcription The "fear of the cabin being destroyed" prompted McGregor to borrow the journal to copy it; then he returned it to the cabin Journal quotations are from this transcription; copy in author's possession
43 Lyle Waldron, interview with author, June 25, 2001; tape in author's possession.
44 McGregor transcription (Jan 31, 2000—reactions after hearing that the cabin had burned) Several journals, representing various periods of the cabin's recent history, were stored in the shelter, available for anyone who cared to peruse or 'write in them The pages of one journal had been carefully disassembled and laminated to protect the entries All of the journals perished in the fire. At first, the circumstances of the fire were unknown About a year after the fire, Lyle Waldron relates, an employee at Alta "finally got brave enough to tell me that what caused the place to burn down was a couple of fellows had left a fire in the stove";Waldron interview
