Opening Season: ACC's Maintenance Team
Editor's Note - Warm evening fires, cozy beds and convenient washrooms - a few of the creature comforts we've come to enjoy when staying at ACC backcountry huts. Many may not know, but these comforts are a result of the hard work from our maintenance team, the hidden backbone of our huts and the ACC.
We want to shed some light on the type work that our maintenance team undergoes throughout the season, so we tagged along for servicing trips to Elizabeth Parker & Conrad Kain.
The following photos essay represents a snippet of the type of work our team does, but we hope you get the jist of it!
Two quick notes from our maintenance team:
Wood needs to be flown in - while we want you to thoroughly enjoy your stay, we'd like you to be mindful of the cost that each log actually represents after fuel costs for the helicopter.
- Don't burn plastics or trash in the wood stoves - throwing anything other than wood in the stoves will clog up the chimneys with toxic junk. Bad for your lungs and especially bad on our chimney sweeper!
Elizabeth Parker
Morning greetings from the staging area.
Septic cleanout crew piles wood to be flown into EP.
Mark.
Ian.
The pilot: Responsible for transporting the crew and materials, in and out.
Prepping cargo nets to carry in anything from wood to barrels full of supplies.
The rig.
Servicing the Elizabeth Park Hut, a coveted hut for ski touring!
Full propane barrels come in, empty ones go out.
Our skilled pilot dropping a load of wood in tight quarters.
Air time is money - Steve and Nicole work quickly to unclip an empty waste barrel in exchange for a full one.
Quick quick quick!
Vital tool for early season hut dig-outs.
Long line hook.
Mark in full hand cast, but still getting 'er done.
A satisfying wood pile!
Installing the new sign!
A good day out!
Conrad Kain
Careful planning beforehand ensures all materials and tools are prepped and ready when hut service days arrive.
Large canvas bags are used when many small items need to be transported.
This truck is named "Sierra" - guess why!
Stoked for another day in the office.
Helicopters, shades and binders - ultra professional.
When canvas bags won't do: Cargo nets are wrapped around new sleeping mats for the Kain Hut.
Hard to ignore how special the Bugs really are.
High winds making supply drops particularly hard.
Maintenance team getting to work.
Nicole guiding the pilot for another load.
Carrying in joints for our new tables!
The crew
Bill putting in work for the new tables.
The top floor of the Kain Hut - that empty space has brand new mats now!
Mike deconstructs the old tables to be flown out.
Pretty good lookin' tables eh?
Bexx fitting the covers on the new mats.
The maintenance crew is a colourful bunch.
Dirty work, cleaning out the waste barrels...
... real messy.
Upper toilet at the Kain Hut is for urine only - poop goes to the lower outhouse!
That waste barrel scent really sticks in the nostrils for awhile.
Did you know that much of the Kain Hut is powered by hydro?
After some serious digging and excavation of the turbine and water hose, Tom checks to make sure the valves and belt are in working order.
Wutta beaut - come and visit!
Help support efforts to maintain our huts today!
ACC huts are used as bases for mountain recreation and as emergency refuges for all mountain travellers. They are an enduring symbol of the ACC and an enormous part of our club’s past, present and future. Operating and maintaining this hut system is a large undertaking physically, logistically and financially.
Your contribution to the Facilities Fund will help build new, and facilitate renovations and upkeep, to ACC huts across the country.