Hut of the Month – North London Mill Mining Office

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Here at 10th Mountain Huts, a big part of our mission is to “promote understanding and appreciation of the natural environment, while developing individual self-reliance.” In other words, we’re all about helping people get out into nature to take in the many unique sights and experiences it has to offer, all while expanding their own horizons – and comfort zones! – along the way. 

And while we love getting people out into the huts within our own system, we also want to help hut users discover new places where they can continue to further that self-expansion.

In that effort, we’re excited to share a new ‘Hut of the Month’ series with you all, where we will take a deep-dive into a different Colorado hut each month, to showcase the many incredible backcountry hut options available across the state. 

First up is Colorado’s Newest (and oldest!) backcountry hut: The North London Mill Mining Office (aka “The NoLo Office”), located at the historic North London Mill. 

 

What is the North London Mill?

North London Mill is a historic Colorado gold mining site situated on Mosquito Pass outside of Alma, CO. One of the state’s richest gold strike areas from 1892 to 1942, the North London Mill is now being rehabilitated for a unique backcountry experience that combines historic preservation, outdoor recreation and education, and the arts and sciences, by 501(c)(3) non-profit organization NoLo. Since its incorporation in 2017, NoLo has raised over $1M in grant funding and private donations to rehabilitate the site, with shared stewardship at the core of its work. 

NoLo offers a variety of winter backcountry programs, as well as summer arts, recreation and education, including various exhibits, programs and events. 

It also offers year-round lodging at the 1883 North London Mining Office, now better known as “The NoLo Office.” 

 

Immerse Yourself in History at The NoLo Office

The 1883 North London Mining Office is technically Colorado’s newest backcountry hut – but it’s also its oldest! Originally built for investors and mine managers, complete with two chimneys, plaster-on-lath walls and tongue-in-groove floors, today the NoLo Office has been restored to its original 1883 form, but with a range of modern amenities to provide for a supremely comfortable and exceptionally unique backcountry stay. The hut offers both hot and cold running water, a shower, flush toilet, a fully equipped kitchen with propane oven and stove, wood and propane stoves for heat, solar electricity, and even Starlink WiFi so visitors can stay connected. It sleeps 6-8 people comfortably. 

The NoLo Office officially (re)opened just one year ago, in November 2023, for hut visitors and is available for year-round overnight accommodation for NoLo Members only, for $400 per night. It is also available for the day, dawn-to-dusk, for $200. A NoLo membership is just $20/year, and includes a guest and kids!

Situated at 11,400’, the NoLo site is accessible by car in the summer. In winter, hut visitors can travel in on snow via Mosquito Pass Road, with skis, snowshoes, split board, or snowmobile.

The North London Mill site is located at 6632 County Road 12, 7-miles west of Alma from CO 9.

Visit here full information on booking the NoLo Office for your next hut trip.

 

   

 

“Why NoLo?” – An Interview with NoLo Co-Executive Director, Jeff Crane

• What inspired you to establish NoLo as a non-profit, and rehabilitate the site into what it is today?

Rehabilitating an historic mining site like North London, in the condition it was in, is simply not a profitable proposition. The return on the investment necessary was not promising, Kate [McCoy, Co-Executive Director] and I had no money, and we didn’t like the idea of finding investors who would want control. However, Colorado has exceptionally good funding for historic preservation through the State Historical Fund (with funding derived from the casinos), and we saw very quickly that incorporating as a 501(c)(3) was the way to go. I first visited the site in July 2016, and in February 2017, NoLo was incorporated. 

• What types of guests typically come to visit/stay at NoLo?

The summer crowd is a bit different from the winter crowd. In summer, lots of folks drive over Mosquito Pass to and from Leadville. In winter, it’s a more typical backcountry ski demographic. One cool thing about the NoLo Office is that, with an easy 2-mile approach with only 400′ of gain, hot-and-cold running water, flush toilet, shower, and WiFi, we’re very accessible for families. My son first skied here 6 years ago when he was 8.

• With the amazing work that has been done to restore the 1883 North London Mining Office and turn it into such a unique backcountry accommodation, we understand the next project is to stabilize and rehabilitate the monumental Park County landmark. What all will that project entail, and what will the end result look like?

Yes, we’re actually working on the Mill already. Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety did a $200K stabilization 2 years ago. We did some cleanup, site work, and repair to the masonry foundation this past summer, and we have an application in to SHF for another $200K budget for next summer. When people ask, “when will it be finished,” I always say, “it’s always finished.” In other words, what remains is still there; the process of decay and collapse are part of the interest. I have a background in fine art and teach college art history, so I’m interested in the Mill AS art, as a kind of monumental sculpture, and as an index of the processes of time, decay, erosion, neglect, and entropy. All that said, the intent is to make it usable for events such as concerts, art installations, performances, weddings, etc. The front section will be fully enclosed space; the large back section on the stone foundation will be stabilized, but not too much beyond how it appears now in terms of ‘renovation.’

• Why is the concept of shared stewardship so important to the NoLo organization, and how does that concept come to life as part of your mission, and among NoLo visitors?

We’ve worked really hard to do what we’ve done, and mostly for no pay. People always call it a ‘labor of love.’ I kind of hate that, because I think all labor is love – or should be, anyway. So part of our educational mission is to encourage people to be stewards of the land and the historic site, to leave-no-trace, and to leave things better than they found them. We think this is a good model for how to be a good citizen in our society. We’re so focused on private ownership in our culture. We want people to have a sense of ownership of NoLo as a community. 

• Can you tell us more about the art exhibits, programs and events at NoLo? What was the motivation behind establishing these?

Well, again, I have an art and music background. I used to paint, I wrote art criticism for many years, and I teach art history. Kate and I play music, and I built banjos for many years. As I said, I think of NoLo and everything that happens here as art. So it was sort of natural to want to get other artists and musicians involved – again, in the spirit of collaboration and community. When I was doing some work up here at The Office last summer, before we had any furniture but with the gorgeous plaster walls and the floors finished, I thought, “this place would be an amazing art gallery!” So that’s what we’re doing. NoLo is a kind of living museum – where you can also spend the night and ski right out the door!

• Any other particular activities, features or interesting tidbits you’d like to make sure to note about what makes NoLo such a special and unique place?

Hmm, well, there’s also really fun fly fishing – the population of greenback cutthroat has been doing really well. The beavers have built some really beautiful ponds, and we’re learning how to work with them (they’re always right!). We’re just so thrilled to have the 1883 NoLo Mining Office open! We got our Certificate of Occupancy in November of 2023, and we kind of beta tested over the past year. We had a few bugs to work out. So we’re really excited for this coming ski season and, of course, we’re thinking snow!