Alpine Club to begin hut construction in the Robson Pass

By Rachel Fraser

After nearly 20 years in the making, the Alpine Club of Canada will break ground on the Robson Pass/Byron Caldwell Hut this spring. Their proposal was awarded the go-ahead in 2006, and environmental assessments, Indigenous and public consultations began in earnest at that time. However, obstacles and delays, including Covid-19 and a four-year-long closure of the Berg Lake trail to repair flood damage, prevented construction from going ahead until now.

The site, located just past Berg Lake, has a long history of use dating back to the early 1900s, according to an email statement from the Ministry of Environment and Parks. Though no structures currently exist, the area was originally part of the Robson Ranch, hosted several CN Cabins, and became the site of the Berg Lake Chalet, a tourist facility that offered meals and accommodation for over 50 years. The Ministry said that the Alpine Club of Canada has also historically used the area as a basecamp for mountaineering expeditions.

The Ministry also said that because there is no designated campsite currently in the Robson Pass, mountaineers camp informally in the area, leading to environmental degradation. The new infrastructure, including an outhouse, aims to alleviate that pressure.

Keith Haberl, Directing of Marketing and Communications for the Alpine Club of Canada, said that they are going ahead with building the hut despite so far only having raised about a third of the $1.2 million project budget.

“We’re going on a little bit of faith because we don’t have all the money raised. We’re building, but we are definitely in a fund-raising position here.”

BC Parks requested proposals for a roofed accommodation in the Robson Pass under their Lodge Strategy, which they said was part of “a broader strategy developed in the early 2000s to enhance public access to BC’s backcountry through low-impact, fixed-roof accommodations such as huts and lodges,” according to the email statement. 

“The strategy remains aligned with BC Parks’ goals of promoting safe, inclusive, and year-round access to nature-based experiences.”

Ennadai Woodworks, based out of Golden, B.C., has been contracted to complete construction. The company did not respond to questions regarding whether any work will be awarded to local subcontractors.

According to the Alpine Club, Valemount Community Forest has made a gift of large timbers to the project, worth approximately $4000, to be used for the exposed post and beam. The Alpine Club is hoping this will be an example for local involvement in the project, inviting local businesses or organizations to partner on what Haberl calls “a legacy piece” that is expected to last a hundred years.

The hut will sleep 12, to which Haberl says people usually ask, “Why not more?” Haberl says they’ve gone back and forth with different designs, and priced it out with 16, 18 or 20 beds, and 12 seems to be the sweet spot between what they think they can fill and cost of building.

It will have propane cooking and heat, but the final design doesn’t have a wood burning fireplace. 

“As charming as [wood heat] is and cozy as it is, it’s not the most cost-effective way to heat a hut because of the distance that we have to fly the firewood in.” Propane takes fewer loads by helicopter – two or three 500 lbs tanks in a load which would be the equivalent to 20 loads of firewood.

Lighting and ventilation will be solar powered electric and the hut will feature USB ports for personal device charging such as satellite and GPS devices, phones and cameras.

Haberl says the Alpine Club are retrofitting all their huts for solar and LED lighting as they’d previously used propane lanterns.

The hut is designed with the sleeping area on the ground floor, with the common area on a second. Haberl says it’s designed this way because the sleeping areas often get too hot if they are above the cooking area, but also to give the common areas the best of the surrounding views.

There has been some local pushback to further developing an already well-used natural area, with one Valemount local taking to Facebook to voice his concerns.

Michael Peters, station manager for Valemount Community Television (VCTV), is an avid hiker that has lived in the Robson Valley since 2013. When he heard that a hut was set to be built this summer, he was concerned that not enough due diligence had been done.

He said that VCTV did an episode on the Berg Lake trail as part of its Discover Valemount series, which gave him a more intimate understanding of the area. The crew stayed in the Robson pass campsite and Berg Lake campsite.

“It’s one of Canada’s jewels… a UNESCO world heritage site,” Peters said. “It’s a very sensitive ecosystem because it’s subalpine, and in some parts it’s alpine. It already has tremendous visitation – I’m betting 15-20 thousand people go up there – so it’s already pretty crowded.”

He doesn’t see a need for roofed accommodation and feels that 12 beds won’t go very far in addressing any need that is there. He would feel more supportive of the project if it was to provide access by helicopter to seniors or people with limited mobility but expects it will be primarily used by able-bodied climbers.

Though the Ministry completed public consultations earlier in the planning process, which Peters agrees was thorough, enough time has passed that Peters thinks it would be worth revisiting. According to the Ministry, open houses were held in 2006 and 2016. Indigenous consultation is ongoing.

“I just don’t think the need is there, I think it’s too sensitive of an area, it has a lot of history and First Nations history.”

A concern Peters raised in his Facebook post was whether the hut’s name ought to reflect the area’s Indigenous history. Haberl offered some insight into how the name was chosen.

Haberl says the naming tradition the Alpine Club uses for their huts gives them two names: a descriptive name – in this case, the Robson Pass Hut – and when appropriate, they also have an honorary name- in this case, the Byron Caldwell Hut.

Byron Caldwell summited Mount Robson from an Alpine Club camp in 1988, with an ACC guide, and died in 2018 in a climbing accident in Kananaskis. Haberl describes him as an “everyman” Alpine club member.

“He’s not a superstar, not someone you would read about in magazines. But Byron’s journey was forged by his time at Mount Robson. It was one of the best, most important, defining experiences of his life. So it was important to him.”

The Caldwell family gave a leadership gift of money, that he stipulated in his will and that his wife carried out after he died.  Haberl said that isn’t the only reason the Alpine Club is naming the hut after him, but it was pivotal.

“The project would not have gotten off the ground without that gift.”

The booking rate for the hut is $60 per person per overnight stay, with a discounted rate and advanced booking available for ACC members. The hut is accessed via a 24 km hiking trail, passing Kinney Lake and Berg Lake to the Robson Pass. It will be accessible by helicopter year-round, with the option to fly in and hike out during the summer.

“The most important role that huts play is in helping Canadians experience the backcountry,” Haberl says. “They provide these opportunities for people for personal growth through adventure, and these people who have these adventures, and these often profoundly life changing experiences, they’re the ones who become the next generation of stewards and activists and advocates for the mountains and the areas. A hut is a good starting point; I think of them as a way for people to get introduced to their mountains.”