Getting ready to open it up
It’s a tradition, a physical ordeal and a right of passage. We call it the “woodcut” but it is much more than just a wood-cut. Every spring, we take advantage of the solid snow pack to fell trees and skid/carry them over the snow to the huts in preparation for the following winter. Like a squirrel, collecting nuts for the winter ahead, we cache the life giving fuel for the Bench and Fishhook Huts, deep in the Sawtooth. While there is a very practical purpose to what we are doing (prepping firewood for ski huts) at heart we are skiers and the woodcut typically occurs when the ski conditions are prime. So we work especially hard felling, bucking, hauling and stacking to finish the job, so we can get to the skiing. This year we accomplished all the objectives, putting up over 6 cord of wood at each hut and skiing many big, steep and authentic lines.
Thanks to the stellar SVT crew: Chris Marshall, Andrew Kieffer, Niels Meyer, Chris Cullaz, Jess Simon, Alex Gemme, Everett Coba, and the veteran of many woodcuts: Joe St.Onge
Over 6 cords, felled, carried, bucked and stacked at the Bench Hut. now its time to go ski!
The Sawtooth in all their spring glory
Kieffer psyched for a day of steep couloir skiing above Bench Hut
heading into the upper basins
Jess, working his way up the lower slopes of the Hunk
Climbing mid way on the Hunk, a classic spring steep corn descent above Bench hut
Cranking warm-up turns before the steeps on the Hunk
Jess, working his way through the surface sluffs on the Hunk
The lower rolls of the hunk are pure beauty
Loving the final roll on the Hunk
Yahoo!
Heading toward the Heyburner
Lunch break in the 5th lake basin
Chris, cranking turns on the upper north couloir of Heyburn
Snowboard carving out of the Orbit Couloir
Everett climbing to the darkside on the Bat Cave
Jess working his way toward the light in the Bat Cave
Chris, climbing out of the cave and into the light
Climbing out of the Bat Cave
Alex, loving the steep exit of the Bat Cave
Alex riding toward the light
Crouching tiger
Dawn Patrol out of the Fishhook yurt
Our days objective: the Sickle Couloir. One of the many splitter couloirs in the Sawtooth
Everett and Chris loving the steep climb
nearing the top of the Sickle
Chris, opening his wings while making a jump turn on the 50+ degree couloir
Using an ice axe for security on the firm entrance
Everett laying them down mid couloir
stoked after a stellar couloir
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