Summit Huts Association

A nonprofit organization

100% complete

$5,000 Goal

Welcome to Summit Huts

Summit Huts Association manages five backcountry huts, including the most visited hut in Colorado - Francie's Cabin. We are dedicated to developing and maintaining a system of backcountry cabins that are accessed by non-motorized trails in Summit County, Colorado. 

Our goal is to raise $5,000 to go towards our annual operating budget so that backcountry enthusiasts can stay warm, dry, and happy.

Mission

Summit Huts Association provides a backcountry refuge for self-propelled mountain recreational users and provides a unique venue in spectacular natural settings for community, charitable and educational programs.

Testimonials

Submitted by Devon O'Neil, Free lance journalist and writer.

"The Summit Huts Association is like an unsung hero. Everyone knows the huts are there, but only when you experience the peace and grounding that happens at these cabins do you appreciate their transformative value to thousands of users. People visit the huts from across the country and throughout the world to take refuge from the bustle and stress of society. This includes everyone from children to grandparents; from groups of 20 to solo adventurers. The huts are particularly valuable as an educational resource to local school children who are just starting to learn about backcountry recreation and safety. It's one thing to hear about that stuff in a classroom, it's another entirely to live in a hut at 11,400 feet and experience the wilderness for oneself. More than anything, the huts are sanctuaries of enlightenment, often in ways and to extents we don't realize until we've returned (usually reluctantly) to the real-world swirl far below"

Mission

Summit Huts Association provides a backcountry refuge for self-propelled mountain recreational users and provides unique venues in spectacular mountain settings. The Summit Huts Association also provides donated support and lodging opportunities for community, charitable and educational programs.

Background Statement

Founded in 1987, Summit Huts Association is a Colorado 501(c)-3 non-profit organization dedicated to developing and maintaining a system of backcountry cabins accessed by non-motorized trails in Summit County, Colorado.

Summit Huts currently owns and/or operates five backcountry huts under special use permits from the Forest Service and United States Department of Agriculture in the White River and Pike-San Isabel National Forests. The Summit Huts Association is a separate organization from 10th Mountain Division Hut Association and is responsible for the construction, maintenance, and supply of our hut system.

The first hut in the Summit Huts system was Janet's Cabin, which opened to backcountry enthusiasts in 1991. Four years later, in 1995, Francie's Cabin welcomed it's first guests. Ken's Cabin and Section House joined the Summit Huts system in 1997.

In 2015, Summit Huts Association received approvals to begin construction on the fifth hut, Sisters Cabin. Construction on Sisters Cabin took place in 2018 and it opened for its inaugural winter season on January 12, 2019 in Weber Gulch on the Northeast side of Bald Mountain, just outside of Breckenridge.

Organization Data

Summary

Organization name

Summit Huts Association

other names

SHA

Year Established

1987

Tax id (EIN)

84-1072451

Category

Recreation & Sports

Organization Size

Medium Organization

Address

524 Wellington Road
Breckenridge, CO 80424

Mailing

PO Box 2830
Breckenridge, CO 80424

Service areas

Summit County, CO, US

Phone

970-453-8583

Social Media