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Ostrander Ski Hut

PostPosted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 8:53 pm
by archive
Author: Dan Anderson
Date: 03-06-02 10:04

Last month I just got back from a backcountry ski trip to Ostrander Ski Hut, in Yosemite. To get there you start at Badger Pass Ski Area then ski in 10 miles on the Glacier Point Road and one of the ski trails to the backcountry hut. The hut is rustic. No running water (you bring it up from the lake), bunk beds (bring a sleeping bag) for 25 people. There's a hut keeper, Howard Weamer, who knows the area well. Get is book The Perfect Art: The Ostrander Hut & Ski Touring in Yosemite (cost about $25).

It took our group 6 hours to ski in and 4 to ski out. Not a record, but not slow. Some groups took 9 hours to ski in and arrived in the dark. It's best to start EARLY (we started 9am) and to travel LIGHT. Being in shape and knowing how to cross-country ski helps. See the link below for tips

Once you're there, you can tour around the backcountry. We toured around the top of Horse Ridge, just south of the hut and also skied another day to Buena Vista Peak, to the southeast. Buena Vista Peak has wonderful views of the isolated southern part of the park all the way to Yosemite Valley and the peaks to the north and northeast.

Reservations are required. There's a lottery held for them in the fall. Write the Yosemite Assocation to get on their mailing list. Saturdays are very popular, but if you start out Sunday or Monday you have a good chance of getting in (a good option for last-minute trips). You can always call or write to see if space is available (often the case mid-week). Cost is only $20 a night. Well worth it!

For more information, see the http://www.ostranderhut.com, maintained by Howard's relief, George Durkee.