The Backcountry Hut – Part 2: Alpenglow
Travel & Outdoors·EN·2 min read·Published 2026-11-07, updated 2026-11-07·Part 2 of 2
The storm cleared in the night.
Sasha woke before dawn in the single bunk. She had slept more soundly than she had in months. A shaft of cold blue light fell through the window. Marcus lay curled on the floor in his sleeping bag, one arm over his face, snoring gently.
She slipped out of the bag, pulled on her boots and tiptoed out onto the porch.
The sky was unbelievable. The sun was not yet up, but the peaks across the valley were already blazing, one by one, a deep glowing rose that crept down the snowy faces like a slow tide. The sky above them was pale green-gold. Not a breath of wind. The silence rang.
She sat on the step, wrapped in a blanket, drinking in the light.
A moment later the door creaked. Marcus stepped out, hair tousled, sleeping bag trailing round his shoulders. He sat beside her without speaking, and tucked an edge of the bag over her knees.
"Alpenglow," he murmured.
"It's the best I've ever seen."
"It's rare. Clear, cold, new snow."
"I'm glad I got the bunk."
"I'm glad I got the floor."
She smiled. Their shoulders pressed together. A raven croaked somewhere in the pines. The rose light spread slowly down the mountain.
"Can I ask you something?" said Sasha.
"Yes."
"Are you going down today?"
"I have two more days on the course."
"Two more days of floor?"
"If you're offering the bunk."
"I'm offering the bunk." She turned to him, heart racing. "May I kiss you, Marcus?"
"Yes," he said, very softly. "And if you say stop, you must teach me the rock layers of this entire valley."
"That would take a week."
"I'm free."
She kissed him, cold nose, warm mouth, a mittened hand on his stubbled cheek. He kissed her back, slow and sweet, the sleeping bag sliding round them both. The mountains glowed rose and gold.
When they parted, both of them were smiling.
"Green?" he asked.
"Green," said Sasha. "Very green."
They shared the bunk the next night. The booking system has never been fixed. They have never complained.
More travel romance stories: Snowfall in Nagano · Tapas Crawl in Seville · Whistler Bike Trails
You finished “The Backcountry Hut”
If you liked this one, these are the closest matches.
Travel & Outdoors · 2 parts
The Glacier Walk
Priya joins a glacier walk in Iceland and is roped to the guide, Björn, who tells her she is stepping too carefully. It is her first time on ice.
Travel & Outdoors · 2 parts
Whistler Bike Trails
A nervous rider books a mountain bike week in Whistler to prove she can ride the black diamond. Her guide, Eli, is calm on the descents and loud about the scenery.
Travel & Outdoors · 2 parts
Hammock Summer in Split
A traveller in Split takes a summer yacht job. The skipper, Luka, sleeps in a hammock between two pines and keeps offering her a place in the shade.
More stories you might like
Travel & Outdoors · 2 parts
The Glacier Walk
Priya joins a glacier walk in Iceland and is roped to the guide, Björn, who tells her she is stepping too carefully. It is her first time on ice.
Travel & Outdoors · 2 parts
Whistler Bike Trails
A nervous rider books a mountain bike week in Whistler to prove she can ride the black diamond. Her guide, Eli, is calm on the descents and loud about the scenery.
Travel & Outdoors · 2 parts
Hammock Summer in Split
A traveller in Split takes a summer yacht job. The skipper, Luka, sleeps in a hammock between two pines and keeps offering her a place in the shade.
Travel & Outdoors · 2 parts
The Cable Ferry
Claire misses a bus and rides a tiny ferry across a Norwegian fjord. The ferryman, Anders, says a crossing takes eleven minutes and the round trip all afternoon.
Travel & Outdoors · 2 parts
The Canal Houseboat
Tessa books a houseboat in Amsterdam and finds Bram already inside, unpacking. The app has double-booked it. Neither has anywhere else to go this week.
Travel & Outdoors · 2 parts
The Cooking Class
Maya books a Bangkok cooking class and is told to meet at dawn in a wet market. Somchai, the teacher, hands her a bag, a chilli and a challenge.