People from all over the world visit Jasper National Park  every year. They come to our little town in the mountains to get away from the hustle and bustle of their own home-town or city.

But where do the people of Jasper go when the hustle and bustle of Patricia and Connaught Dr. prove to be too much?

For many of us, we find refuge in the back country.

This past week, I was lucky enough to do just that: disappear from town for a few days on a ski-touring trip back into the Fryatt Valley. Backcountry travel is something that has always seemed more manageable in the summer than in the winter – I own a pair of hiking boots, but I do not own ski-touring gear – and my heart was beginning to ache for the wilderness.

The Fryatt Valley is definitely one of my favourite backcountry trips. It offers stunning views, and multiple days spent in a valley that feels far more extreme than others in the area. It is also a valley that, depending on your mountain sport of choice, offers an array of activities. It is no surprise that for decades, the Alpine Club of Canada has owned and maintained a hut deep in the valley.

During the summer season, this hut allows easy access for multiple mountaineering trips, such as Mount Fryatt, Mount Lowel, Mount Olympus, and the north face of Mount Belanger. The winter offers excellent ski touring, ranging from gentle, powder turns through blue-green level, tree spotted meadows, to much more advanced terrain. There is also a small amount of ice climbing close by. Whether you are looking for adventure, or simply a fire-chopping, snow-melting, relaxing time away from noise and light pollution, the Fryatt Valley offers it, both summer and winter.

The Valley lays south of the Jasper Townsite. The official trailhead in the summer is off of the Geraldine Lake Road, accessible from Highway 93A. The trail runs seven kilometres along an old fire road, flat and forested, until opening up alongside the Athabasca River. At this point it turns away from the river and begins to climb up towards the valley. If you have a canoe and it‘s summertime, this is the spot that can be used to connect to the trail from highway 93, saving yourself seven kilometres. During the winter months, this crossing is the official trailhead, as the river’s top freezes over and an oh-so-convenient bridge is formed.

Directing away from the river, the trail goes through the forest, slowly gaining elevation. Cross the Fryatt Creek at the Lower Fryatt Campground, 11.6 kilometres in. Backpackers often choose to bike to this point as this takes a lot less time. From here the trail continues to climb up through the forest along the side of the valley. After a long trek through the trees, the trail emerges into the tight valley, and beside Fryatt Creek. A nice little Parks Canada bridge crosses the water and gives an incredible place from which to sit and enjoy the view in your direction of travel. One can see the remaining six kilometre journey that lays ahead.

First, follow the creek, passing Brussels campground, then go up and over the giant rock slide, spotted with trees. Disappear back down to the hidden Fryatt Lake, and make your way through the forest on the far side to the base of the 220 metre headwall. Of course, things change from season to season.

In the summer you stick to the sides of the creek and the lake, while in the winter, meander on and off of the frozen creek, then directly across the frozen lake. The headwall itself changes drastically too; from spilling water fall in the summer, to turquoise waterfall ice in the winter; from easy scramble up in hiking boots, to challenging ski  deep snow.

At the base of the headwall sits the Headwall Campground. Only a couple hundred metres from the top sits the A.C.C.’s Sydney Vallance hut, temporary home-base for many adventure seekers. From the hut the trail continues further through the meadows to the Upper Fryatt Lake, or you can backtrack for a mere two minutes to the top of the waterfall, and look back on an incredible view of the valley - an ideal place for an evening goblet of wine or a morning cup of tea. The viewpoint is surrounded by mountains, even from within the hut, Mount Brussels, Lowel, Exerxes, and Olympus are visible.

The A.C.C. has many huts, all scattered in the Canadian Rockies. They have been established to aid backcountry users in their adventures, bringing mountain peaks a little closer, and giving a new point from where to make day excursions. The Fryatt hut was constructed by the A.C.C. in 1968 when the Vallance family made a donation to the club specifically for this purpose. The Fryatt Valley was chosen as it was already considered an ideal place from which to do mountaineering trips. In 1970, ownership was handed over to Parks Canada. In 1991 ownership was given back over to the A.C.C., upgrades were made, and it became the hut that you pass by, peer into the windows of, or stay in today. It’s named after Sydney R. Vallance, who was president of the A.C.C. from 1947-1950.

The hut itself is basic in construction, but luxurious in location and convenience. For seasoned backcountry campers, huts and hostel stays feel sinfully easy. One only needs to bring sleeping bags, food and fire-starter - the rest is provided. The hut has an open-concept design: sleeping bunks on one side, table, benches, fireplace and kitchen on the other. Large windows open up the wooden walls, and clothes/drying racks hang from the ceiling. The wood storage is behind the hut, with outside access only, and the outhouse is a two-second walk away. Last week, we arrived to find the whole hut almost completely buried under snow, except for the side windows and the front door which had been dug out. This added to the desired ‘disappearing’ into the backcountry for a few days.

As workers and residents of Jasper National Park we need not buy cottages in exotic places, or spend thousands of dollars to run away on vacation. We need only return to the basics, and head into our own backyard. These huts remain ours to use, and these mountains ours to explore and discover.