A Full Life

Happy Friday & happy New Year! After how much fun I had writing my last newsletter, I decided to keep the theme of gratitude going. Last month, I was able to spend the weekend in a hut in the backcountry with so many of my favorite people in the world. My heart is full and my soul is happy.

I’m about to move out of my favorite house I’ve ever lived in (barring my childhood home, of course) and live in my own apartment without roommates for the first time ever. On top of that, coinciding with the New Year when goals and self-reflection are at the forefront of everyone’s focus, it’s been the perfect cocktail for reminiscing on things I love.

PS: I’d say sorry for the temporary hiatus, but I’m not really sorry. I was busy writing in my journal, being outside, and being human. Sue me!

Backcountry Chronicles

If the cabin above looks almost too good to be true, it’s because it is. Francie’s Cabin is one of the 10th Mountain Division Huts across Colorado and I was lucky enough to spend two nights and three days in it last month.

The 10th Mountain Division huts are the most extensive hut system across Colorado, managed by the 10th Mountain Division Hut Association. A nonprofit called “10th Mountain” was formed in the early 1980s by several Aspen skiers, including 10th Mountain Division veteran Fritz Benedict. Word on the street (see: the internet) is that Fritz cherished the perfect ski touring between Vail and Aspen and set his sights on creating a trail with closely spaced huts, all accessible via intermediate ski touring trails.

The first 10th Mountain Division Huts built were McNamara and Margy’s hut, both completed during the summer of 1982. The best part? As the 10th Mountain Association grew, it became the source for central Colorado hut reservations and now oversees the booking of 38 huts: 10th Mountain owned (14 huts), Alfred A. Braun Hut System (7 huts), the Friends’ Hut (1 hut), the Summit Huts Association (5 huts - Francie’s is included in this one), the Grand Huts Association (1 hut), as well as privately owned huts (10 huts).

I’ll write more about the history of the 10th Mountain Division in a future edition because it’s the coolest thing ever (and I just bought a book about it, so I’ll be better versed in approximately 240 pages). I also highly, highly recommend reading Powder Days by Heather Hansman to learn more. For now, I want to talk about how special Francie’s Cabin is.

Francie’s Cabin was built in 1994 in memory of Frances Lockwood Bailey, a former Breckenridge resident who died in a tragic plane crash in 1989. Her husband, Brownell, after reviewing the Summit Hut Assocation’s master plan, decided to sponsor the hut in Francie’s honor, and subsequently have it named “Francie’s Cabin”.

And lemme tell ya: you can feel the magic of the place. I had so many pinch-me moments looking around the hut on the first night of the trip and seeing so many of my best friends from Denver, best friends from home, and best friends from college all in the same room, all laughing and getting along as if they’d all known each other for life. It wasn’t lost on me that you typically don’t get all of those people in the same room until your wedding — and we got to do it in the backcountry, all sharing a hobby and a love for the outdoors that was palpable.

I’m also convinced that this hut is the Lamborghini of backcountry huts. The typical hut setup is a basement with anywhere from 10-20 cots built into the walls. As someone who’s been guilty of snoring a time or two (you mouth tape for a snatched jaw; I mouth tape to not make my walls shake. We are not the same.), this is my personal recipe for disaster and typically leads to anxiety-ridden sleep, or lack thereof — I wish I was kidding. Oh, also, you have to pee at 3AM? Enjoy the walk to the outhouse, constantly convinced that a pack of wolves or mountain lion are right out of view (just me? Ok).

Despite all of that, hut trips are still the absolute best. So you can imagine the straight-up nirvana I felt when I realized this hut not only had compostable toilets inside the hut but separate bedrooms too! This is luxury, baby!!!

My friend Mel and I spent a good chunk of time talking about how easy it is to feel worried about the future of humanity these days. Every time you open your computer, there’s a new think-piece about how phones are ruining our lives. It almost feels natural to think everyone and their mother is addicted to their phone. I mean, when’s the last time you walked around a city? Or your neighborhood? How many people were heads-down look at their phone or at least had AirPods in? My guess is the vast majority — unless you’ve found yourself in some phone-free, wellness retreat. In which case, I salute you and say to you: godspeed, girlboss.

Jokes aside, Mel and I talked about the almost effortless shift into phone-free existence that our entire group underwent. 60+ hours out of cell service and we all just felt… human. Our needs were met: we had a roof over our heads, food to be cooked, snow boiled into water, and a fire to keep us warm. Our goals were simple: keep the fire going, make food on time, filter the water, and ski as much as you can.

More than anything else, the most palpable emotion of the weekend was awe. Awe for a past version of myself for making the decision to move somewhere more in-line with an intrinsic truth about myself that I’m happier when I’m outside, that I found all of the people I shared the hut with, at how bright the stars were, and just to be alive and experience it all.

Like I said, heart is full and soul is happy.

Artiste Break

If 2024 taught me anything, it’s that I love making art, but I don’t love running a small business. I officially shut down my LLC at the end of 2024 to just enjoy the process without freaking out about the nitty-gritty (ie: constantly wondering “am I fucking up my taxes?”).

2025 is all about dialing it in and making as much large-scale art as possible. Once I’ve taken some time to create inventory and curate a collection I’m proud of, the business side will start up again. All of that to say: if you have any fun LLC names, shoot them my way.

To Go Snacks

🐶 More Epic news: the avalanche dogs from Park City Mountain Resort joined the picket lines for the strike on Monday and the strike was over by Tuesday night. Lawyers are helpful, sure, but never underestimate the power of the pups.

🎸 Been a minute since I gave a music rec. Also been a minute since I remembered how amazing this Rayland Baxter EP, Ashkelon, is.

🔥 Colorado is sending a special aircraft with infrared and color-sensing technology to help crews battle the wildfires in Los Angeles.

🎅 Massive news alert: NORAD announced that they did NOT use AI to track Santa this year.

A little reminder for the way out. Happy turns!

- McCall 🌻

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