If you don’t like your backcountry ski trips to feel like glamping, the Harrison Hut is your perfect barebones base with supreme access to some of the best ski powder in the world. Up in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia at the north end of the famed Pemberton Icefield, you’ll swoop into this hard-to-reach gothic arch hut via a heli. Then the fun begins. Sitting at treeline (1725m), you have your choice between alpine ski touring on clear days and tree skiing when it’s storming so you’ll never have a lost day to the weather. And with four peaks over 2,300m right above the hut, there are epic ski descents and endless glacier runs. Taste the wilderness of the Coast Range and chase the powder!
Hard to find a ski base as remote as the Harrison Hut
Four peaks over 2,300m accessible right above the hut
Sitting at treeline means plenty of skiing options
Meet your guide and fellow skiers at 7:30 am at the heliport in Whistler. You’ll go through the briefing and logistics of the trip. Take a heli rade above trackless white expanse and arrive at your base—the Harrison Hut at 5,659 ft (1,725 m). Resting in a subalpine meadow at the northernmost part of the Pemberton Icefield, the A-Frame hut accommodates 15 people. It is quite simple with respect to amenities—it has a large loft for sleeping over a kitchen and dining area, but no running water, toilets or electricity. Along with your guide, you’ll bring in some lights, a generator, firewood, and food. After you’ve had something to eat, head out touring for the afternoon!
Wake up at 7:30 am and head out the door to ski—rinse and repeat! Located at the north end of Pemberton Icefield, your base is ideally positioned for both alpine ski tours and tree skiing. The area is home to numerous glaciers and several peaks with incredible ski descents: Earth Peak, Three Stooges, Zygo Peak, and Frozen Boot Peak, all of them above right above the hut at 8,202 ft (2500 m). Your guides are there to assist you, whether you want to go for some new challenges or you want to polish up on your technique. The remote area around the Harrison Hut is the perfect backcountry ski location—you’ll be above the clouds, overseeing snowy mountain tops, shredding powder, and laying first lines in it. Nights are spent at the hut, when you’ll recharge your batteries.
Have breakfast at 7:30 and take in scenic views from the hut for the last time. After cleaning up the hut, pack up all your gear. A helicopter will pick you up and take you back to the Whistler heliport.
57hours is committed to providing safe outdoor adventure experiences. We require all guides using our platform to have a COVID-19 safety plan and to make the details of that plan accessible to travelers. In most cases, group sizes will be reduced, guides will avoid overcrowded locations, and other safety measures will be met depending on the location and activity.
We also expect clients to respect local regulations and take measures to protect themselves, guides and the communities they’re traveling to. For more information on COVID-19 measures in Canada, please refer to British Columbia Centre for Disease Control.
Please contact us if you have any questions or require further information. We are happy to provide you with the most up-to-date information!
What you get in this adventure:
What’s not included:
To enjoy the backcountry skiing tour at the Harrison Hut, you need to have at least a moderate fitness level. The Harrison Hut adventure offers intermediate to expert levels of difficulty, which means that some previous backcountry skiing experience is required. There will be two guides on the trip and each one can team up with skiers on different levels. If you’re intermediate, your expert guide will help you improve your skills and coach you when things get a bit more difficult. Don’t worry if you’re on an advanced to expert level, the terrain is challenging so you’ll still have lots of objectives to tackle! For the latter level, you’ll need to be in excellent physical shape.
To participate in the Harrison Hut backcountry skiing trip, you need to have at least some previous backcountry skiing experience. The levels for which this trip is tailored are intermediate to expert. Your guides will take care of the planning, oversee your technique and teach you how to manage the terrain. Whether on an intermediate or an expert level, you can be excited about some new challenges and polishing up your technique.
For technical backcountry ski and safety equipment, you will need to bring:
For the Harrison Hut, you will need to bring:
For personal items, we recommend bringing:
Keep in mind that no extra skis or baggage will be allowed over and above the ski level pack and 50L duffel weighing no more than 35 lbs (16 kg). Extra equipment may result in additional charges or exclusion from the trip.
All mandatory gear can be rented if you don’t have your own. You can rent an avalanche safety pack (transceiver, probe, and shovel) with your guide for $30 a day or $100 a week.
Other mandatory gear is available to rent from the Escape Route in Whistler. Make sure to make plans on time.
Group sizes and pricing:
Ski touring at the Harrison Hut can be arranged for larger groups. Contact us to make arrangements.
Min. age requirements:
If your group has skiers under the age of 18, contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.
A $500 deposit is due upon Booking. Final payments are due sixty (60) days prior to the departure date unless otherwise specified. Failure to make this final payment by the deadline will result in forfeiture of the trip and deposit. If booking a trip within 60 days of the departure date, full payment is due upon booking.
Deposits are non-refundable, but transferable at the discretion of your guiding company as long as the cancellation is made more than sixty (60) days prior to the trip or is initiated by your guiding company.
Cancellations to trips made less than thirty (30) calendar days prior to the departure date for any reason are non-refundable, but potentially transferable to another trip or date at the discretion of your guides. Any such transfers are subject to a 25% administrative fee and recovery of any sunk costs. No more than one transfer will be offered. Your guiding company will accept a substitute guest should you not be able to attend, provided they meet the skill level requirements for the trip. Your guiding company reserves the right to determine if the substitute guest meets these requirements. Any such substitutions are subject to a 10% administrative fee.
Your guides reserve the right to modify or cancel a trip at any time due to unfavorable weather conditions, injury/illness, or other reason without penalty. Clients will be notified as soon as possible and refunded less any sunk costs. If the weather doesn’t permit flying into the hut/ lodge, the client would not be refunded for the day. However, the guides would still take clients skiing somewhere. On the other hand, if the weather doesn’t permit leaving the lodge on schedule, the client would not be charged for the extra lodge day.
To get to Whistler, which is the starting point of your adventure, most people fly into Vancouver International Airport. From there, it’s a two-hour drive to Whistler by car or with a shuttle service.
Once you meet your guide at the Whistler heliport, you can rent a car or other transportation to get to the staging area, where you will meet your guide.
