Stay updated with the latest news and events from San Juan Huts. Discover upcoming adventures, special events, and important announcements about our backcountry hut system in the San Juan Mountains
When looking to ride our Tour of the Canyons route, one should most definitely consider starting the journey with a great cup of coffee and breakfast from Bestslope Coffee in Fruita, CO. From there, you’ll be feeling the buzz as you ascend an ideal bike gradient into the Colorado National Monument for stunning scenery and…
Monday, February 25th So my family and I drove about 4 hours to get to a hot springs. When we were in the car, my dad drove about 3 hours and 30 minutes. My mom drove the rest of the way. After that my dad and I went swimming. My mom took…
Riding your bike is one of the best ways to immerse yourself in a new place. Planning on riding with us, San Juan Huts, you’ll likely be asking the question: Should I fly with my bike, ship it, or should I go cross country to my destination? Which bike case should I use? Box or case? What are the pros and cons to my options? Taking a road trip would be my choice, but not everyone can get a week off of work plus time it takes to get to your destination.
When you’re preparing for your first bike tour, it’s important to start slow. Ease yourself into training so you’ll stick with the routine and build your fitness levels steadily.
The Sneffels Traverse Race is a wild backcountry ski race on mountain ski trails. It is not for the faint of lung or faint of heart. The race will start at the eastern terminus of the Dallas Trail near the town of Ouray, traverse the along the Northern side of the San Juan Mountains, and end on County Road 9 west of Ridgway. The exact course may vary depending on conditions…
The wild and remote Sneffels Traverse Ski Race is back this year and the date is set for March 5, 2016! It should be a great course with all the snow we have gotten. This one-of-a kind, low key, wild mountain race is such a good time that you really should check it out.
I just finished the Telluride to Moab trip with six friends. I feel like we nailed our gear: we used everything we brought and did not really need anything we didn’t bring. We had everything we needed and our total kits weighed about 10lbs each. This list should vary depending on the weather and your mechanical skill set as a group. We rode in August with a good weather forecast.
What a great group of people, thanks for coming out everyone! Hope to see you all next year!
Another great day of skiing is coming to the Dallas Trail. Remember the Sneffels Half Loop Event? As most of you know, that is no more. Come join us for the Sneffels Traverse. This WILL BE A RACE! The start will be on County Rd 9/West Dallas Creek . Racers will ski south up to the Dallas Trail at Box Factory Park. Once on the Dallas Trail at Box Factory Park, skiers will head east on the trail (familiar terrain for Sneffels Half Loopers).
It is not even Thanksgiving and we have a 40 inch, relatively dense, base in the mountains! These past few storms have come in with a lot of moisture and relatively warm temps. To be sure, we still have weak layers of old snow at the base of the pack and we have seen multiple slides, but these warm early season storms are definitely something to be grateful for here in the San Juans.
As a proud new sponsor of 25 Hours in Frog Hollow Race, San Juan Hut Systems just got two Free Solo Entries to raffle off! These are no longer available for sale as they sold out within minutes! The venue rests in the shadow of Gooseberry Mesa and Zion National Park just outside the town of Hurricane, Utah. The staging area is known as Frog Town, and it is the hub where all the excitement takes place. The race is on November 2-3rd and is the “Longest 1 Day Race.”
How much do you know about shifting? To make riding more fun and bike repair less frequent, check out these tips from seven-time Canadian national cross-country champion Andreas Hestler from Bicycling magazine for a better ride and a longer drivetrain life.
As part of its Summer Weekend Planner and latest issue, Backpacker Magazine rated America’s 12 best campsites and our neck of the woods made the cut. Blue Lakes located on the northern flanks of the Mount Sneffels Range was named one the country’s best place to lay your head outdoors. We agree and have our Blue Lakes Hut perfectly placed. So if camping in a tent doesn’t appeal, try a summer hut trip to Blue Lakes.
It’s true that your glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves take a toll after big rides, especially those first big rides. But it comes down to the core when it comes down to post-riding pain and particullary back and neck. Here are a few exercises that align the spine, encourage upper body flexibility and relieve pain…
Mesa Arch in Canyonlands You’ve made the trek to the mountain biking mecca and a well-deserved stop following 215 miles in the saddle. Now what’s next…stay a night or two and explore Moab. Moab never ceases to amaze with its geographic wonder spanning slick rock domes, bowls and fins to high mesas and the La…
Both our local Peak to Peak Bicycles and Moab’s Porcupine Shuttle pick up our riders in Moab and shuttle them to regional airports in Grand Junction, Montrose, Durango and Telluride, and also to Durango Mountain Resort and the town of Ridgway.
f you don’t ride year-round, you know the outcome of those first rides in the saddle as summer approaches. Ouch: lower back and glute pain, hamstring, hip flexors and quad aches. How do you lesson the strain in these first rides? There are some simple answers that require a stability ball, some floor space and, most importantly, your motivation.
If renting a bike will take the load off of your upcoming Telluride to Moab or Durango to Moab trip, well we’ve got you covered. San Juan Hut Systems is working with bike shops in Durango, Moab and Montrose to set you up with the perfect ride.
The logistics of putting together a bike trip from across the state to across the country are not always easy. There’s the bike debate: to rent or to ship? The lodging debate amongst Southwest Colorado’s unique small towns: Telluride or Ridgway or Ouray or Durango? Where to eat, shop, walk, drive and simply rest up before taking on the 215-mile bike route from the high mountain terrain to lower lying red rock country. Acclimating is also a concern especially for those traveling from low elevation or sea level.
For many, beginning a bike adventure with San Juan Huts finds you first at one of our regional airports. Whether you’re flying into Montrose, Grand Junction, Durango or Telluride, we’ve got you covered. As part of summer 2012′s travel packages, we’re offering all of the info you need to connect up with a shuttle wherever you find yourself.
Outside Magazine rated San Juan Hut Systems #1 for the traditionalist hut-to-hut mountain bike trips. We also garnered the esteemed title as “the original hut-to-hut bike trip.” And, well, it’s true.
All you Repeat Offenders with San Juan Huts mileage under your belt, we heard ya! What is absolutely crucial for a rider to take on the 215 -mile Durango to Moab or Telluride to Moab hut to hut trip, and what can you ditch?
The best way to know what’s ready to ride is to just get out there and ride it. Snow can linger on north facing terrain and mud can last in the shadier zones, but hike-a-bike is just part of riding in spring in Southwest Colorado. And when it’s dry, fast single track is ready, you’re ready to ride it.
Here in Southwest Colorado in spring it’s flip-flop weather one day, Sorels the next. With iffy spring conditions, summer sounds real appealing and perhaps far off. But it’s time to book your bike trip. Do you know when the huts are available?
March wasn’t exactly abundant in precip like it can be. But rather wind and sun defined Southwest Colorado’s weather last month with all-time record high temps recorded across the state. Today, however, winter makes a comeback with some moisture in the air and snow on the ground. Winds are accompanying this storm still with gusts…
Congratulations to all! Thank you for racing with us! Join us this summer on the same course, without skis and with trail runners! Race details to be announced, stay tuned.
NOAA 7-Day Forecast: Sunny. March has been what the Colorado Avalanche Information Center calls just plainly “unusual.” Ridgway’s high temperatures this week should reach the upper 50s and near the same in our neighboring mountain towns. Spring has sprung. The snow is still holding on the trails and “now’s the time to go high,” says…
Racer Marcel Medued kept an accurate account of race stats–or rather his Garmin did. Photo courtesy of Summer Ruckman
The return of the Sneffels Half Loop backcountry ski race was a welcome one. Forty-one racers took the starting line and forty-one finished at the Ridgway Hut access road and the Blue Lakes trailhead, respectively, the long and short courses.
Mmmm…..pizza…..What could be better than a deliciously hot pizza after skiing in the backcountry all day? Nothing, no ifs, ands, or buts, gourmet pizza is definitely my favorite dinner to eat at a hut….hands down. If your mouth is salivating, but your mind is filling with doubt about the feasibility of pulling off a gourmet pizza in a hut, rest assured Gentlemen and Ladies, YOU can do it. It’s actually quite simple and the ingredients can be lightweight too.
As we enter the modern navigation era of GPS tracks, Google Earth files, and Spot devices, we also want to help our more modern guests with some of the tried and true navigation practices of days gone by. What would you do if your GPS fails? Here is a synopsis, from most to least obvious, of how we have found our way around the mountains for many years.
With a winter like this, you’ve got to get creative. While snowfall sits at below average across Colorado and the country, mountain biking may be calling. But at San Juan Huts we’re thinking ski mountaineering. Because snowpack is so low, summiting some of the Mount Sneffels Range peaks might just be more attainable.