Guy Hut Update - August 26
Guy Hut Coming Together
As the sixth week of construction on the new Louise and Richard Guy Hut continues, the hut structure continues to grow. Progress has been steady, with teams of ACC staff, professional contractors and volunteers working in all conditions.
Harsh Mountain Weather
Mont des Poilus has seen all kinds of weather this summer, including rain storms, cold conditions, big summer snow and now heavy smoke.
The harsh weather slows things down but the team continues to work through the storms. The largest delay from the weather comes from how it limits the helicopter flying time. All of the building supplies for the hut, as well as the crews, their equipment and food are flown into the site by helicopters. Helicopters are also used for lifting the heaviest materials around the job site - in the backcountry there are no cranes.
Current Status
Construction of the hut walls and floors continues as the crews piece together the structurally insulated panels (SIPs) from Titan Wall. The second floor is now mostly complete with roofing infrastructure to follow next week.
The outhouse building (seen in the pictures as wood framing rather than SIP construction) is progressing as well. The area below the outhouse framing will be the barrel room.
The interior of the SIP walls will be painted with a sealant, which is also in happening this week.
Challenges Flying
Recent flying days have been cancelled because of rain and snow in the mountains. And then this week, despite perfectly “sunny” days, flying was shut down due to visibility issues as helicopter long-lining was not possible due to smoke from forest fires burning in Washington State.
Next Steps
As soon as the smoke clears, the windows and doors will be flown into the site and installed by the crews. The steel infrastructure of the roof will be put into place as well as the roof beams and panels. The window and rafter work each requires a professional inspection, which should take place in the next week or two. A crew from Hilstad Roofing in Canmore will fly in as soon as the roof SIPs are in place.
The hut should be at full lock-up well before the real snow flies this fall, with interior cabinetry, mechanical, electrical and monitoring systems work continuing through the fall.
What Do You Love?
We think building a hut at 8,450 feet in the Rockies is pretty darned cool. We love the stunning mountain views and that our crane is a helicopter and that Will Schmidt and Roger Vernon are filming the build. There's lots of things we love about this project but this week, with the all the harsh weather we've been having, we're thinking about the amazing ACC volunteers who spend weeks of their summers pitching in to make this hut come together. What do you love about this project? Leave us your thoughts in the comments below.
