Tagert ’26
— days Sync
Tagert Hut at dusk, windows lit, deep snow and peaks behind
Alfred A. Braun Hut System · Elk Mountains, Colorado

Tagert Hut

Two nights at 11,280 feet, reached by a 5½-mile climb from Ashcroft up the Castle Creek valley.

20–22December 2026
—days to go
5.5miles in
+1,915feet of climbing
Explore the map ↓
LAT/LON—
UTM 13S—
ELEV—
VIEW—
Slope angle
273035404550°+
Elevation profile · exposure Drag across the profile or hover the route
Aerial view up the Castle Creek valley
Part I

The approach

Five and a half miles and 1,915 feet from the Ashcroft ghost town, up a valley walled by 13,000-foot peaks.

01

The route

ASHCROFT TH → TAGERT · 9,430 → 11,276 FT

The first mile and a half is a groomed Nordic valley. Everything after the Pine Creek Cookhouse is avalanche terrain.

Park in the Braun overnight lot on the east side of Castle Creek Road at Ashcroft. The Toklat lot on the west side tows. Ski south on the snow-covered Castle Creek Road through the Ashcroft Ski Touring center. Hut users may use the Hunley Nordic trail on the east side of the valley; stay off the other Nordic trails.

Past the Cookhouse the road and the Hunley trail rejoin at the fork of the Cooper Basin and Pearl Pass roads. Follow Pearl Pass Road up the Castle Creek valley. About ½ mile before the hut you pass the Mace cabin on the right, then climb steep switchbacks to the huts on the east side of the creek. Tagert and Green-Wilson sit 50 yards apart; Tagert is the older cabin, originally a dam-keeper's shack from the 1880s silver boom.

Aerial view up the Castle Creek valley from Ashcroft in autumn
The Castle Creek valley above Ashcroft, in autumn. The route runs straight up it. Photo · Ron Raffety

Snowmobiles may be encountered on the Castle Creek / Montezuma Basin section. The Pearl Pass Road is closed to motors above the Montezuma junction, ¼ mi below the huts. The Maroon Bells–Snowmass Wilderness boundary runs within 10 ft of the road.

IDWaypointMileElev ftΔ ft
Distances follow the OSM road line (5.49 mi); huts.org lists the route at 5.3 mi. Elevations from USGS 3DEP via Terrarium tiles at ~7 m.
02

Timing

WINTER SOLSTICE WEEK · SHORTEST DAYS OF THE YEAR
Departure planner · Sun 20 Dec
DayCivil dawnSunriseSunsetDuskDaylight
  • 11:00 AM checkout Tue 22 Dec. The ski out drops 1,900 ft and usually takes about half as long.
  • The valley floor loses direct sun early behind Hayden and Cathedral ridges. Expect cold shade well before sunset.
Hayden Peak in winter
Part II

Conditions

Where avalanches can reach the trail, what the snowpack is doing, and what the sky is forecast to do.

03

Avalanche terrain

WHERE A SLIDE COULD REACH THE TRAIL
1
The red areas on the map are slopes steep enough to avalanche (30–50°, the angle where slabs release) that sit high enough above the trail for a slide to run all the way down onto it.
2
You don't ski these slopes. You travel underneath them. The risk is a slide coming down onto the group, so spread out, move through quickly, and don't stop to regroup in these stretches.
3
This shows where, not how dangerous. Whether these slopes are likely to slide on Dec 20 depends on that week's snow and wind. That's what the CAIC forecast tells you.
Trail under slide paths
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of the trail
Avalanche slopes above the trail
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slopes that could slide onto it
Highest slope that can reach you
—
the trail itself stays below treeline
SlopesOver trail, mileAcresSteepestFaces
Tap a row to see it on the map. How this was made: from 7-meter terrain data, a slope counts if it is 30–50° and the line from the trail up to it is steeper than 22°, a standard rule of thumb for how far avalanches run. It's a map of where slides can reach, not a forecast.
Which way the slopes above the trail face

Avalanche forecasts name the directions that are most dangerous that day, like "east and southeast slopes near treeline". Most of what hangs over this trail faces east and southeast (the West Wall). If the forecast flags those directions, that's this trail.

CAIC · Aspen zone
Check the forecast →
Issued daily from late autumn. Read the whole discussion, not just the color.
Avalanche cancellation
Same-day credit
Braun huts let you cancel on the trip day (or next business day) if danger is above your comfort. Full hut credit, no refund.
Every skier carries
Beacon · shovel · probe
Plus the training to use them. Run a beacon check at the Ashcroft lot before leaving.
04

Snowpack

NRCS SNOTEL · LIVE DAILY · —
SNOTEL #1326 · CASTLE PEAK · 11,510 FT · 0.3 KM FROM THE HUT
—in snow depth
SWE—
Air temp—
7-day Δ depth—
Reading—

Installed Sept 2024, uphill of the hut. It measures the snow you will be sleeping on. Its record is only two winters, so long-term context comes from the older stations below.

Snow water equivalent · Oct → Jun
—
What Dec 20 usually looks like
Snow depth on December 20, every year on record
Each dot is one year. The bar marks the median. Thin early-season snowpacks are when persistent weak layers form in Colorado.
05

Weather

NWS GRAND JUNCTION · GRID GJT 155,94 · —
Forecast snowfall · next 7 days
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at the hut grid cell
Late-Dec temps at the hut
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Castle Peak SNOTEL, Dec 15–25
Late-Dec temps · Upper Taylor
—
10,710 ft, 17 winters

Live point forecast for the hut. It won't mean much until about a week out. Watch the snowfall total and wind in the 72 hours before Dec 20.

Inside Green-Wilson hut: wood stove and long table
Part III

At the hut

A 140-year-old cabin at 11,280 feet: wood stove, snowmelt, short days and long, bright nights.

06

The hut

TAGERT · BUILT 1880s · RENOVATED 1960 & 1999 · SLEEPS 7
What's there, what isn't
Bunks · 7 people, 6 beds

One double and five singles; the singles can be pushed together into doubles. Mattresses and pillows are provided; bring a sleeping bag. Green-Wilson, 50 yards away, is booked separately. Expect another group next door.

07

Sky & light

SUN, MOON AND STARS FROM THE HUT · COMPUTED AGAINST THE REAL SKYLINE
Direct sun at the hut
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Sun reaches the trailhead
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Darkness at the hut
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Skyline from the hut door · looking east → south → west
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Sun, in direct viewSun, behind the ridgeMoon, that nightTerrain (7 m DEM)
Hover or drag across the chart. Standard sunrise and sunset assume a flat horizon; here the mountains decide. The skyline is traced 22 km out in every direction from the hut's position.
NIGHT OF SUN 20 DEC
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    08

    Altitude & water

    WHAT 11,280 FEET DOES TO BODIES AND COOKING
    Air per breath
    65% of sea level
    About two-thirds of a sea-level breath. Everyone will be slower on the skin in; plan the pace for the slowest person.
    Water boils at
    191°F
    Not 212. Pasta and rice take noticeably longer; freeze-dried meals need the full soak time.
    Acclimatizing from sea level
    • Sleep a night up high first. A night in Aspen (7,900 ft) before the climb makes the hut night much easier than flying in and skinning the same day.
    • Headache, nausea, bad sleep are normal mild altitude sickness. Drink water, eat, rest. Go easy on alcohol the first night.
    • Confusion, stumbling, or breathlessness at rest are serious. The fix is going down, even at night.
    Snowmelt: all water comes from the stove
    Scenes

    The hut, the valley and the peaks around it

    Maroon Bells–Snowmass Wilderness in winter
    Part IV

    Before you go

    Deadlines, the pack list, parking, and what to do if something goes wrong.

    09

    Logistics

    RES #•••••• · 2 NIGHTS · WHOLE HUT · PAID
    Drive & park

    From Aspen take the Hwy 82 roundabout, follow signs for Castle Creek Road, then drive about 11 miles to the winter closure at Ashcroft.

    Park in the east-side overnight lot, head-in. Don't park at Toklat. There's a Forest Service toilet at the ghost-town lot just south. Leave no valuables in the car.

    Directions to the lot →
    The hut provides

    Wood stove, firewood, propane burners, pots, pans, dishware and utensils. Also a cooler, snow-melt buckets, solar lights, mattresses and pillows, TP, cleaning supplies, and hut Crocs.

    No oven, no fridge, no charging, no water source. Everything is snowmelt, so bring a filter. Sleeps 7: one double and five singles.

    Deadlines
    • NowEveryone submits the online waiver, one per person
    • Nov 20Last day for changes / 80% credit
    • Dec 20Same-day avalanche cancellation window
    • Dec 22Out by 11:00 AM

    The door combination is in the confirmation email the trip lead forwarded. It's deliberately not on this page.

    Pack list · 0 ticked (saved on this device)
    Emergency
    911 call or text
    Pitkin Co. non-emergency dispatch
    (970) 920-5310
    10th Mtn / Braun reservations
    (970) 925-5775
    Hut position (WGS84)
    39.00329, −106.83915
    UTM 13S WGS84
    340758E 4318755N
    UTM 13S NAD27
    340807E 4318548N

    One page: waypoints with coordinates, avalanche stretches, light times, emergency numbers, parking. Print one per person.

    Cell coverage along the Castle Creek valley is unreliable. Carry a satellite messenger (inReach or similar). Help is slow to arrive here.

    huts.org · Tagert Hut Braun winter info (PDF) CalTopo · Braun huts map Equipment lists Waivers braunhuts.org