Brian Waddington Hut
Winter access: 6 hrs
Hut fee: $15 per person per night
About Brian Waddington Hut
About Brian Waddington Hut
Built in 1998, this spacious hut sits in a subalpine basin at 1715 m beside Long Lake. It sleeps more than 25 people. The hut is open to non-motorized, non-commercial users. The VOC discourages visits to the area between August 15th and October 15th, when it is sensitive habitat for grizzly bears.
Backcountry skiers visit the hut for dry snow and challenging runs. In summer, Mt. Gandalf, Mt. Aragorn, and Mt. Shadowfax are fun scrambling destinations.
The hut has a wood stove (winter use only) and an outhouse. Firewood should be used sparingly, because it is carried in by volunteers. A creek south of the hut is open year-round for drinking water. For more information, see the VOC Wiki.
How to get there
Blackwater Creek FSR is ploughed in winter up to the start of Phelix Creek FSR near km 13 (2WD accessible with low clearance). This is the winter parking lot. In summer (outside of provincial wildlife closure, read more below), drive 4.4 km up Phelix Creek FSR to the barricades at the second bridge and park (2WD accessible with moderate clearance; keep left at the fork before the bridge). Walk up the road through a few cutblocks until the road becomes a trail and climbs through mature forest to Long Lake. If the lake is not frozen, walk around the north side to the hut. The total distance is 5.5 km and 600 m elevation gain (9.9 km and 1090 m in winter). In winter and especially in spring, there is overhead hazard along Phelix Creek FSR from large avalanche paths.
The Phelix Creek FSR is closed to motorized traffic under the provincial Wildlife Act from April 1st to June 15th; during this time users must park at the winter lot and walk to the trailhead.
2021 Phelix GPS track
Conditions reports
New reportDefinitely Spring Vanessa Y
Snow on the trail is melting fast/gone in parts, skiing by hut is ok. Not a lot of wood left but should be enough used sparingly for a few more nights.
April 1, 2025
Enjoyable trip to Waddington Hut. Hut and trail were in good condition, thanks to the group before us who broke trail through deep snow.
41 people were registered for Saturday night, but only 15 of us were there in reality. I'd encourage groups to update registrations if their plans change!
March 15, 2025
Hut is in great condition. Lots of fire wood left underneath the floor, should definitely be enough for the rest of winter. The FSR has a few land slides about 500 m up that are blocking the road from any vehicle, best to just park by the gate to Birkenhead lake. As for the trail the condition it is quite icy near the top, the lake is still very frozen and was ok to walk on (be careful still). For avalanche conditions there was a stable melt freeze crust, there is a big storm right now so that has definitely changed. Stay safe up there!
March 6, 2025
Spent feb 28-march 2 in the hut mostly just admiring the surroundings and a bit of exploring extremely conservative terrain given the current avalanche conditions. Evidence of natural release slabs on all aspects in steep terrain and heard one whump on a slope <15 degrees. Approach is quite icy in the trees. Was able to skin up at the end of a warm day but walked out with crampons on the way out which was very helpful. Hut is in good condition and clean. Tidied up a bit on the way out as we were the last ones to leave on Sunday. One note on hut etiquette is that people were getting quite … liberal .. with their pee spots including right in the middle of the skin track just to the side but at the front of the hut as well as all along the side of the skin track beside the hut on the way to washroom. Not nice to look at or skin over and it is noted to use the “golden spruce” at the back so hoping people can continue to set a good example and use it.
March 2, 2025
It took us about 7 hours to snowshoe up on March 1. The last few kilometers were steep and icy. Along the way, we noticed a few holes in the ice and saw that parts of the lake had started to thaw in the late afternoon. However, by the next morning, these sections had refrozen. As the weather warms up, it’s best to be cautious when crossing the lake.
The hut itself is great, and the people we met were friendly. However, as mentioned in a previous comment, please avoid peeing or pooing near the hut. Unfortunately, my friend and I encountered people doing just that right outside, which was not a pleasant sight. The outhouse is only a two-minute walk from the hut, so please use it.
The wood supply seemed low, with only a few pieces left by the fireplace.
March 2, 2025
Travel: Skin track into on the 18th was icy and technical as a VOC event had been hosted over the weekend prior and many had skied out before we arrived. The ascent near the lake required areas of boot packing. Ski out was wet due to warming.
Hut: Was in great condition, we did not notice anything broken. The wood supply was holding strong and still lots left for the remaining season. Everyone at the hut was very respectful and did a great job in cleaning and keeping everything in order.
Skiing: Light snow conditions and stronger NW winds throughout our stay. South facing slopes had about 10-15cm of soft snow on top of a consolidated layer in most areas, with wind slabs forming in wind effected areas. Only instabilities our group noted were shooting cracks across this 10-15cm wind slap on ridge lines, but other groups in the hut noticed some cracking and propagation of deeper consolidated layers. We generally avoided skiing south facing slopes. North facing slopes were great!
Feb. 26, 2025
7 hour trip up for a bunch of new backcountry skiers. Trail in good condition although a decent amount of rockslide about 1.3 km above the winter lot on the fsr. Otherwise skiable the entire way, both up and down. Hut in great condition
Feb. 22, 2025
Went up as a team of three- skied north and north east facing slopes. Sub-alpine skied really heavy on the bench beneath peregrine but able to get in some good laps on cabin hill.
Dug a NE facing pit and got propagation off a column on 4th arm tap on the January 30th freeze/thaw at about 40cm. Would be curious if others are also getting movement on that layer!
Creek broken through.
The golden spruce is in an abysmal state
Feb. 21, 2025
Good snow coverage on the trail. You can skin all the way up. On the way down, I found it fastest to bootpack with microspikes, but expert skiers will likely prefer to ski all the way down.
Skiing around the hut was awesome powder but some areas were starting to get a bit tracked out by the end of our trip. Fresh snow will probably make it nice again.
Feb. 18, 2025
Access trails - road from the winter trailhead is reasonably well covered, although there are some rocks to be hit on the lowest part where the coverage is a bit shallow.
Trail is certainly overgrown in a lot of places, and will likely get harder to pass as the snowpack builds up, especially the first ~2 km of single track. There is one large tree down in the middle of the single track section that is difficult to duck under with a large bag and will need a chainsaw to clear. Still lots of exposed rocks and roots on the single track as of early February.
Access from the trailhead to the hut took ~5 hours for some of our party and ~11 hours for the others, accounting for different fitness levels.
Hut was in good condition. No mouse droppings on the counter or table surfaces, but lots in the drawers and less used areas, as well as a dead one in the slop bucket when we arrived.
Lots of wood still in the cellar. Lots of space for more waste in the outhouse.
Skiing was great.
Feb. 11, 2025
Took us around 5.5 hours of skinning to reach the hut from the winter parking lot. Some others in our group took 7.5 hours. Crampons were super helpful when skinning through the steep forest. Hut has lots of firewood and our group carried up 6 more logs. Awesome snow conditions in the alpine on north face aspects. Peregrine to Frodo skiing was amazing. Still a bit shallow in some sections.
Feb. 10, 2025
The road approach is clear as always.
Once on the trail it becomes quite icy and technical skinning. Getting creative and choosing the non traveled snow on the way up is very beneficial.
Making the skin track wider will also help you on your way down.
The hut firewood stock is still good.
We skied north aspects. Snow was very stable. not many new wind slabs were big enough or reactive enough to cause concern.
In the valley and trealine in the shade mid to large hoar frost was forming in the shade.
Jan. 13, 2025
No problems at the hut for our 3 night stay Jan 7-9 2025. We sledded and carried 40 kg firewood in for our 4 person group. That was more than enough and none of the stored wood was used.
Lights working, outhouse fine.
Skin track in was fine with only a very few rocks to be aware of on the ski out . The underfloor wood cellar looked to be 2/3 full. Parked at Blackwater Crk road. A couple of small creek crossings still open.
Jan. 11, 2025
Everyone parked at winter (lower) lot just off Blackwater FSR. Phelix Creek FSR was well covered with snow, except for a few small creeks to step over just before before start of the forest trail. Hut was in good condition and had firewood. Still a bit thin at the start of the forest but improved higher up. Enough snow to skin, but ski out was sporty.
Jan. 2, 2025
The last 2km took us 5.5 hours by snowshoe. Snow at ~1550m and higher at least a meter deep. Ran into a duo with skis who turned back because snow was too deep. Snowshoes required, and if there are no fresh tracks, be very careful to avoid getting stuck. Trail markers were a literal lifesaver, although some were hidden by branches or snow. In stretches with few trees, the lack of markers caused great anxiety. FSR between summer and winter parking areas was still drive-able with a 4x4 and all-terrain tires. Hut and outhouse were in good shape. Firewood stash was smaller than expected. We used some of the scrap boards for tinder and one piece of wood. There are only ~4 large pieces left, plus an additional ~4 branches that need to be split.
Dec. 1, 2024
We parked at the intersection of Blackwater-creek and Phelix creek road so we had the extra bit on the FSR. The trail itself is in decent condition and easy to follow. Some mud in certain sections but nothing crazy. Water sources along the way. Bugs and Flies keep you moving along.
Most of us camped outside. The hut loft was full on Saturday night but had space on Sunday. Hang your food or the mice will get it
Aug. 6, 2024
High vehicle clearance can get right to trailhead over water bars. FSR is dry and in good condition.
Trail mainly dry. Couple small muddy spots but nothing major or unusual. Trail has a lot of bush growth amd narrow at start but easy to follow. Was a hot day (30°C ish in Pemberton) so we took our time getting to the hut. Maybe 3.5 hours. There are a lot of black flies, deer/horse flies at the start and later on mosquitos and midges at hut in evening. So bring bug spray and also head nets might be desired. As well as long sleeves and bottoms. (I was short and tshirt). No real respite. Rained briefly overnight on the Sunday/Monday. Otherwise clear and sunny.
Aug. 4, 2024
Trail from end of logging road overgrown until reaching forest. Good conditions to hut, muddy between hut and the second lake. Mice in hut.
July 29, 2024
Road: Water bars are pretty deep and high clearance is required. Third bridge has been replaced with a metal deck, contrary to VOC report.
Trail: I believe from our smart watches that the hut is more like 9 kms from the parking area than the 5.5 kms listed. Trail becoming overgrown in avalanche shoots, but otherwise easy to follow and well-maintained.
Hut: No idea. We did not stay in the hut, as it was very crowded. There were 7 tents outside (including our two), as well as a full hut. I estimate 35-40 people were in the area, not including the day hikers we encountered. We passed 9-10 vehicles on the road.
July 22, 2024
There’s a decent bit of trash from construction around the hut. Sections of trail range from a little to very muddy near some of the streams, but it’s generally not too bad. A little overgrown at the beginning. Road has lots of large-ish water bars that make it a little difficult to get up (done in a Subaru Outback with a trailer hitch that scraped a bit) but is in otherwise good condition. New (in the last two years) bridges are appreciated. Very little snow left on any of the trails, only some patches in the mountains. Hut seems to be in good condition. In a word, the whole place is lovely.
July 17, 2024
FSR has pretty deep water bars, so make sure you have high clearance vehicle. If so, you can take this all the way to the trailhead. Phelix Creek trail is in great condition. Just a few overgrown areas with bushes, but trail is never hard to see. Once up to the lake, the trail is quite muddy, and you need to go higher into the bushes to get past some parts of the trail that are completely underwater. Hut is in great condition, and was much cooler inside even with the hot temps outside. Bugs were pretty bad at the lake shore early morning and towards end of the day.
July 7, 2024
Brought up wood with a VOC and Duke of Ed. crew. There is a lot of wood left over at the trailhead. Please take a few logs up with you if you can! It will help immensely in the winter.
The trailhead is currently reachable with any reasonable 4x4 HC SUV. The lower trail is currently a bit overgrown. The trail near the upper lake is flooded and may require some minimal bushwacking to get around the flooded section. Hut is in good condition. The outhouse is nearly full.
June 22, 2024
As we had a low clearance vehicle, we started from the lower parking. It took us 4 hours from the lower parking lot to the hut. The snow starts just before the top of the tree line.
Certain crossings (few) are touchy as the snow is very thin there.
The hut is very clean, and washroom are easily accessible .
June 16, 2024
Post holed 75% of the way, trail was a mix of snow and ice. Slightly overgrown at the beginning.
Hut was in good shape, firewood was low. Only about 3-4 logs left.
May 18, 2024
We spent 4/27 to 4/29 at the Brian Waddington Hut. We drove until Phelix Creek FSR forks into Phelix Creek East (parked right before the 2nd bridge over Phelix Creek). The approach was a mix of bootpacking and skinning. Ski crampons are recommended as trail is icy. We had the hut to ourselves. Lake was frozen and coverage at the hut was amazing.
It snowed consistently 4/27-4/28. This snow fell on a supportive crust. We skied all aspects and noticed wind slab on N slopes around ridgecrest. We triggered a 0.5 wind slab on a N aspect - it was about 10cm deep and ran on the underlying crust. On 4/29, the clouds cleared and we had 25cm of dry snow on the supportive crust. We triggered multiple loose dry (sluffs). These were slow moving and did not pose danger to riders as we were not near any terrain traps. We suspect the snow will continue to form wind slabs on ridgecrest.
For the ski back down to the car, we recommend boot crampons due to icy trail conditions.
Enjoy the snow!
April 29, 2024
Was safe yesterday to walk across the lake. Conditions are warming up however, so take caution if you choose to do so. Very little firewood at the hut was left when my group arrived. We didn't use any but don't count on their being any.
Trail up to the cabin was a mix of compact snow and ice on our trip up and slush on the way down. Crampons just in case advised.
We didn't drive up the forest service road but others did up to where the snow started.
March 31, 2024
…but The icy trail up was difficult with the boot / snow shoe tracks killing the ski tracks. The road is melting out.
Beware: propane fumes upstairs causes headaches and nausea if a window is not left open overnight.
March 28, 2024
March 23/24, 2024
We parked at the lower parking lot as there was still snow on the road. We noticed large trucks and suvs with chains made it part way up the road. Snowshoes were needed once you hit the trail. Snow was heavy and wet. We didn’t have any problems crossing the lake.
On the way out, most of us used microspike to walk down. The snow was harder in the morning. We shared the hut with a group of 10. There was room in the hut for our group of 7. 2 of us tented and there were 3 backcountry skiers that were also snow camping. The skiers said the snow condition wasn’t ideal. We all loved the cabin. Overall hut and outhouse was in good condition. The solar lights only lasted one turn, maybe the battery needs upgrading. It didn’t bother us. The money container is very full. Money was sticking out, I would recommend someone empty it out soon. And we brought our own firewood. So we don't know don't know how full the woodshed was. Sawry! We'll def be back again.
March 25, 2024
Good trail in now. Went half way up road before putting on snowshoes. I carried in 6 pieces of wood. If used sparingly there is enough wood for 4-5 nights, if everyone carries in 1 or two pieces that’s a bonus. Above the hut there’s a thick crust, I stayed on top with small msr snowshoes, went up Frodo, ridge is nice spring/winter walk. Gandalf looks good.
March 21, 2024
Hut is in great shape, trail is still a bit bony but skinnable now, 4:45 in, 2:15 out. Good coverage in ski terrain. Wood is nearly out, we were very sparing with our use. Only maybe 4 nights worth left (we came out 3/7). One of the big water pots leaks so a new one would be helpful.
March 7, 2024
I lost two MSR snow pickets up at the hut the weeked of Feb 17th. If you find them please message 778229o232. Thanks, -T
Feb. 17, 2024
brought snowshoes but would have been accessible with micro spikes and gaiters (so long as you stay on the trail). Ice found in some areas where snowfall did not reach but otherwise a tough snow crust exists below fresh snow most other places.
A small tree and some large stones have fallen onto the road ~1km from the winter parking lot leading to the summer parking lot (bring a wood saw and long crowbar or shovel if venturing up to the summer parking).
Took ~6.5hrs to get up and ~4.5hr down.
Hut is looking good, very thankful to be able to stay the night
Feb. 11, 2024
Ascent and descent of forest trail section very challenging due to low snow cover and icy conditions. Bare and rocky sections of trail. Most efficient and safe to carry skis on pack and wear boot crampons or microspikes on boots.
Hut itself in great shape. Roof replacement work very impressive. We had good skiing conditions above 1950 meters with enough fluff on the crust for pleasant skiing. Below that elevation you could feel/hear the crust underneath. Kicked off some sluffs on slopes above 35 degrees. Shallow enough to not cause trouble while skiing down. Did not attempt to skin up slopes that steep.
Feb. 9, 2024
The road is bare or patchy below about 900m; another group drove to nearly 1000m (the snow never gets deep, so you could go further if you're courageous). The trail has a few trees down and is skinnable through the flat section and very icy and patchy in the steeps. Bring microspikes. We hiked up from 1350m to the lake and it was MUCH faster than skinning. On the way down, the trail is arguably skiable to 1450m for very good skiers, but most people should plan on hiking both ways.
Long Lake is frozen. Everything in the alpine is about 5cm of dust on crust. Pray for snow...
The hut's in good condition and it looks like there'll be enough wood for the rest of the season.
Feb. 6, 2024
Road is drivable to the second bridge with chains and 4wd. Would recommend chains even on the flat section of the fsr. As the previous report mentioned, the forest is not very skinnable and is extremely icy. Conditions are best suited for microspikes below the hut. Lake seemed frozen. Snow was powder above the hut with good coverage in many of the bowls, but not the larger boulder fields.
Dec. 31, 2023
We were at the hut the 25th-28th. If you have chains, you can make it a good distance up the road but we didn't have them so we parked at the bottom. The clearcut section of trail is skinnable but once you're in the trees there's not enough snow coverage and it's pretty icy in sections, so we hiked for a while on the way up and down. Upper section of trail has enough snow to ski/skin, and the lake was crossable.
Please use the firewood sparingly--you don't need much to make the hut a comfortable temperature, especially if it is crowded.
Dec. 28, 2023
Parked at the bottom of Phelix FSR. Others had driven to around the 1st or 2nd bridge on the FSR, some using chains. Straightforward navigation. No issues with the trail but the steep climbing section in the trees had patchy snow coverage and some compacted icy sections making it more challenging than if it was fully snow covered. Fresh snow on the 25th of December improved the top 20% or so of the trail but the lower section in the trees was still the same on the way down on the 26th as it was on the way up on the 24th. Good depth of snow around the lake and above. Edge of lake slushy in places.
Hut was in good condition with no issues. Same for the outhouse. There is firewood, but it isn't abundant so it was used sparingly.
Dec. 25, 2023
A looooooot of snow around the hut area, there’s no way to do it without a proper equipment, either snowshoes or the ski..
we were not able to get so high with our 4x4. We have to bring chain next time!
The trail is NOT MARKED AT ALL before the entrance to the forrest. We would really struggle without an offline map…
Other than that, the hut it’s in a perfect condition, there was just not enough wood, however we managed to keep us warm but it would be great to have more wood there especially if more people will visit!
Amazing adventure we just have to prepare ourselves better next time.
Dec. 3, 2023
Road: able to drive to TH in Ford escape (mod clearance, AWD) with chains and occasional slippy moments and scrapey moments.
Trail: Broken the entire way. Dust on top in the open. Hard packed in the trees. We were happy in just boots + spikes. One fellow in skis enjoyed some suffering before deciding to mostly carry the skis.
Lake: Looks mostly frozen but still open in a few places. Heard some cracking with weight on the edges.
Hut: Good condition.
Snow: We booted up to and around the lake under Shadowfax. I'd estimate snow depth ranges from ~5-60cm, but in general it is thick and crusty, boulders are still visible everywhere, and low trees are still uncovered. It didn't look like there was anything skiable.
Nov. 26, 2023
Lower parking is snow free, but we had to walk all the way up the road to reach the single track. High clearance 4wd can probably reach the end of the road for a couple weeks more. Hut in good condition.
Nov. 19, 2023