Warming Hut
Volunteers work on a new warming shelter at Big Creek Baldy Mountain. Photo by Kootenai Valley Record.
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Snowmobilers building Big Creek Baldy shelter
by Kootenai Valley Record
October 21, 2010
A new warming hut on Big Creek Baldy Mountain north of Libby is under construction with help from volunteer labor, donated furnishings and a $57,850 grant to the Lincoln County Sno-Kats snowmobile club approved by the local Resource Advisory Committee.
The log structure is located near the gate below Big Creek Baldy’s lookout tower and will be open to the public year-round, said the Sno-Kats’ Donna O’Neil.
"We hope to have it ready before snowmobile season," O’Neil said.
The shelter will be spotlighted by the snowmobile club’s annual fundraising run in February, O’Neil said.
The RAC grant makes use of funds provided to Lincoln County under the federal Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act. A 15-member committee reviews proposals for projects on federal land and makes recommendations for funding.
A similar warming shelter was built in the Keeler Creek area with a RAC grant to the Troy Snowmobile Club. The Libby and Troy clubs are currently looking into construction of a third shelter as a combined project, O’Neil said.
"We’ve had tremendous support from the community," O’Neil said.
In addition to donated labor, the project has received donations of log benches, picnic tables and a custom-built woodstove, she said. Anyone who would like to volunteer to help bring the project to completion is welcome.
"We could use all the help we can get on work days," O’Neil said.
For more information or to volunteer, call O’Neil at 406-293-7590 or 406-293-8585.
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Editor's Note: See the October 19, 2010 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Tuesdays, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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