Guy Hut Update - September 9
Extreme Weather Continues
Twelve days of blizzard have left the Louise and Richard Guy Hut buried under four feet of late summer snow. Crews of staff, volunteers and contractors worked furiously, and often in zero visibility, to get the hut's roof on in the extreme weather of the past couple weeks.
Roof Going On
The majority of the hut's structure is now complete, with the majority of the heavy work in the past couple weeks revolving around getting the roof beams and panels in place.
Roof Beams Milled Onsite
The laminated wood beams that support the roof panels were milled on site by Mike Vultier of Timberworks to ensure a perfect fit. The panels for the roof are the same SIP construction as the walls, which will increase insulation and reduce condensation in the hut when finished.
The roof work was begun in a short spell of good weather that proceeded the almost two weeks of storms that have hit the Wapta and des Poilus area hard this August/September. The snow and limited visibility have slowed down construction progress and made helicopter flying impossible for long stretches, but the crews continue to plug away.
Taking it to Lockup
Hilstad Roofing from Canmore will be on site this coming week to finish the exterior of the building. The interior mechanical work will begin around the same time and will continue after the hut is locked up and through the fall.
Filming in Progress
Filmmakers Will Schmidt and Roger Vernon have been on the hut site on and off this summer recording the build with still photography and movie cameras. All of the images in this story and the previous six updates are from their cameras. On a trip to the site in June before the major construction began, they set up a rostrum with a time-lapse camera to record the build (and, as it turns out, the snow and rain and wind and smoke). We'll be letting you know about the film when it's available — we're looking forward to this.
This Week's Big Thanks
There have been, and continue to be, many, many people who've pulled together on this project through the best and the worst the Wapta can dish out. None have been more instrumental, or worked harder than Aaron and Paul Simister from Mag Pro Construction of Cochrane - these guys have been work horses over the past few weeks professionally installing the SIP panels and we thank them for their efforts.
