Our Organization

Who Are We?

Official name: Alaska Mountain and Wilderness Huts Association, Inc.
Status: State of Alaska non-profit corporation, IRS 501(c)(3) status.
Board members: See Board of Directors link at left.
Who we serve: When huts are up and running, they are intended to serve principally hikers and skiers with a broad range of ages and abilities, both Alaskans and visitors.

What?

Our aim is to establish a hut-to-hut trail system in Alaska based loosely on the Scandinavian and European huts tradition. See our concept summary for more.

Where?

The organization is based in Anchorage, Alaska (address on home page). There are no huts yet, nor is there a specific location chosen. The intention is that the hut system be built within a reasonable drive of the state's major populations center (Kenai Peninsula, Anchorage, Matanuska-Susitna Valley).

When?

The organization began to form in February 1998 and officially incorporated August 29, 1998. Selecting a site, raising funds, acquiring necessary permits, and building the first huts is expected to take some time. We are actively working with a number of different agencies to nail down our first site.

Why?

For fun in the backcountry--why else? There are other reasons; see our mission statement on the home page. We also strive to show, in a small way, how tourism, recreation, and education can combine for sustainable economic development in a state where resource extraction and boom and bust economies have ruled. In short, we're motivated to establish a new recreation and education option not available anywhere in Alaska.

How?

We are currently an all-volunteer organization. Huts are intended to be built with grant funds and likely a combination of volunteer and professional efforts, ideally in partnership with a land managing agency. Contact us if you believe a hut to hut system would be great in Alaska, and let us know if you have time or money to offer!