Although denounced by the guidebook as “not a truly back country hut,” the Wheeler Hut offers a wilderness experience a short ski or hike from the TransCanada Highway and is a great alternative to the busy Best Western located a few kilometres away at Rogers Pass. Tote all your necessities into the hut, either on your back or on a toboggan, and set up camp for day after day of delicious ski touring or hiking. Rogers Pass is renowned for its great conditions and unparalleled snowfall in winter. In summer, the hut is accessed by a five-minute hike starting from the Illecillewaet Campground a few kilometres west of the Rogers Pass Visitor’s Centre on the TransCanada. In winter, it is access from the Illecillewaet parking area with a 15-minute ski along an old railbed. Three sleeping areas upstairs accommodate 30 (24 in winter). The hut also has wood burning stoves, cooking utensils and a propane oven and stoves.

For the more adventurous, the Wheeler Hut can be used as a jumping off point from which to access the Asulkan Cabin, whose lights can be seen beckoning at night from high up the Asulkan Valley. Accessed by a three to five-hour ski or hike, the cabin is located seven kilometres (four miles) from the TransCanada. It sleeps 12, has propane heating and cooking facilities as well as cooking utensils and provides easy access to phenomenal ski touring and scrambles up the area’s many peaks.