Named for Fred Braun – the German-born namesake of the Braun Hut system – Opa's Taylor Hut is built in the style of a fashionable mountain home and located just south of Taylor Pass.
The Opa's Taylor Hut can be accessed via Express Creek and is also equidistant from the Goodwin Greene, Lindley and Friends huts. Routes are not marked or maintained. The route into Opa's Hut in particular presents serious route finding and terrain challenges and should only be attempted by experienced backcountry travelers.
The Alfred Braun Hut System was designed to be a back-country SKI system. As such the Alfred Braun Hut System strongly discourages the use of snowmobiles for access to the huts. The hut system was created for non-motorized travel. As such, snowmobile use can often detract from this unique experience. Our huts are located on U.S. Forest Service land, and each hut has unique travel management restrictions as governed by Forest Service Travel Management Plans. Around the immediate environs of each Alfred Braun Hut is a USFS developed recreation site envelope with snowmobile restrictions. Access to and from each hut is managed within the Developed Recreation Site Boundary. Snowmobiles should not drive to the front door of any hut. There are no snowmobile play areas within the Developed Recreation Site boundaries. Snowmobiles are not allowed in Wilderness Areas, or on private land without permission. In the winter of 2010-2011, the fines for snowmobiling in the Wilderness Areas were $550 per snowmobile. You must know where you are if you expect to remain legal and safe.
Snowmobile Restrictions:
Express Creek Road is crossed by numerous active avalanche paths from Ashcroft Mountain, often resulting in steep, hard side hills which make snowmobile travel extremely tenuous. Consequently, the area is not a popular snowmobile destination or route. The Opa's Taylor hut is surrounded by a developed hut site boundary envelope which extends approximately a quarter mile from the hut.
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Hut Tripper aims to be the go-to hub for backcountry hut exploration, crowd-sourced beta, and trip planning resources geared toward winter backcountry travelers. We're backcountry enthusiasts, ourselves, combining our love for alpine skiing, the wilderness, and adventure.
We exist to empower new & existing backcountry travelers to explore the mountains in a responsible and informed way, consolidating winter backcountry accommodations as far east as the Rockies and detailing each with an ever-evolving list of hut details and beta.
