Johnston's Hut is located on the Eastern edge of the Bogong High Plains, about a 10km ski from Falls Creek. It has a small public shelter section.  The main part of the hut is locked to the general public, but can be booked through the Ski Club of East Gippsland (SCEG), who maintain the hut. In recent years, Melbourne Nordic has been making an annual visit to the hut, usually in Spring. There is a wide range of terrain in the area, including some excellent backcountry downhill runs, but also plenty of gentle touring areas and delightful scenery.

Basing ourselves at the hut, we usually do day tours exploring the Eastern end of the High Plains (Mount Nelse, Spion Kopje, Ropers Lookout, etc.) and enjoying the excellent backcountry downhill runs. As the hut has a gas stove with an oven, tradition dictates that we have a roast dinner on one of the nights.

As the hut has a range of facilities not usually found in mountain huts, this trip is at the glamping end of the backcountry spectrum. The hut has a gas stove, cooking and eating utensils, solar powered lighting and phone recharging (but reception is poor to non-existent at the hut itself), mattresses, a composting toilet (outdoors) and even a rudimentary shower (also outdoors). Like all mountain huts, it has a fireplace and a reliable supply of firewood is maintained by SCEG.

This means you only need to bring food, a sleeping bag , clothes and your personal needs. As such it is a relatively gentle introduction to backcountry skiing because you don't have to carry such a heavy pack. There is no need to bring a tent, sleeping mat or any cooking gear. Nonetheless, you do need to carry a pack and for this reason, we insist that participants should be intermediate level skiers. We also recommend reasonably solid touring skis, as light track skis can break under the weight of a pack (and have done so on previous trips).  

Based on the sleeping arrangements in the hut, we usually limit this trip to no more than 6 people. For this reason as well as the need to transport packs, we generally share car rides. Note also that due to the somewhat isolated nature of the area, it is preferable that participants ski to the hut together.