After years of anticipation, high-elevation Tukga Hut has delivered a roaring first winter season, and a slightly slower projected summer season, says Haines Huts and Trails spokesperson Nate Arrants.
The hut, which opened in November of last year, can be booked by the public for overnight stays 3,200 feet up on the face of Tukgahgo Mountain. The hut has been snow-bound for the past few months, but as it turns out, that’s a major attraction for backcountry skiers and splitboarders. Arrants told the CVN in February that winter bookings had filled soon after they were opened.
However, it has been a different story recently, as summer bookings have been released but not filled. The hut had initially been a destination for locals and Canadian tourists alike, but according to Arrants, there’s been a significant drop-off specifically in Canadian bookings, particularly from Whitehorse.
Though Arrants believes national-level discord is a major cause, he said it was impossible to say for certain, noting other complicating factors, including competition in the summer with normal tent camping. There is currently a Canadian flag flying at the hut, placed by a recent visitor, which Haines Huts and Trails will be leaving up for the time being and are “very much in support of,” according to Arrants.
Outside of the possible slowdown going forward, Arrants said there have been no major hiccups to speak of, and the reviews from the hut have been overwhelmingly positive.
Arrants personally makes the trip up on a regular basis and said it’s his favorite place in the world. “You see the glow from Juneau on the clouds at night, and the ferry – just a little speck – running down below,” said Arrants.
Even if positive reviews keep rolling in and demand for the hut returns to winter levels, Tukga Hut will likely remain the lone public-use hut in the area; the deliberation and building process for this current structure took 10 years, and any future huts would go through the same rigorous process.