sawtooth skiing – Page 3 – Sun Valley Trekking

Going Deep into the Sawtooth

Bench Hut, Sawtooth Monolith 1 Response »

Jan 292015

Welcome the heart of the Sawtooth

We have just returned back to the village after a few days exploring deep into the Sawtooth. When local skier/mountaineer (Chris) invited an old childhood friend (Matt) out from New York City to Idaho for a backcountry ski trip, Matt pictured fields of mellow powder and easy hikes. The journey Matt embarked on was something a bit different. Good thing Matt had years of experience in the inner city punk scene…

Beach break at Redfish Lake on the way to Bench Hut

Approaching the Bench Hut

Arriving at the Bench Hut

Early starts mean beautiful sunrises

approaching the land of the Grendel

Climbing above the 5th Bench Lake

atop the 1st pass of the day (a couple more to go!)

beneath the west summit of Heyburn

The first descent of the day into the Monolith Basin

ripping turns down into the Monolith Basin

welcome to the deep Sawtooth

Joe, happy to be back

climbing

gap toothed buddy

granite backdrop

the sneak onto Braxon Peak

now where are we going?

Chris, at home in the mountains

There is a lot of trust here…

rappel into the Bird Cage

Just a couple more steps and then skis on…

and now we are skiers

and now the skiing

Upper Bowl#2

The upper bowl of the Bird Cage

Stoked to be off a rope and on skis!

Chris ripping the Bird Cage

the lower bowl of the Bird Cage

Matt ripping under the Monolith

Niels dropping

Chris keeping strong form

Matt, skiing out under the Monolith after a descent of the Bird Cage

the final traverse back toward home

after 10 hours on the go

Chris in space

beauty

Stretching the legs as the clouds break

Enjoying a sunny beer with a view of our ski tour from Stanley

The mighty Sawtooth rising above the clouds

Powder tours continue!

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Jan 232015

Fun

And the beautiful January ski days continue in the backcountry of Sun Valley! We are finding excellent conditions out there. Enjoy these pics from SVT Guide, Joe St.Onge, over the past couple of days.

Ridge skiing in the Salmon River headwaters

Climbing above the Salmon River

Sun and Shadow

Powder #1

Powder#2

BC Skiing is a team sport

The first direct sun of the winter hitting this slope

Pow!

mmmm

Ancient trees

Stoked

Great Week in the Sun Valley Backcountry

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Jan 182015

Jack and Elizabeth on the peak

What a week it has been in the backcountry! Its been a couple weeks since our last big storm, but we were able to take advantage of good stability and great weather to ski some big alpine lines with the Jewels Group. When the storms began on Friday, we shifted to the below tree-line terrain to find untracked powder and experience a beautiful frontal passage. Conditions are rapidly changing with the current storm, giving us a welcomed fresh coat of powder, but some serious stability issues. Enjoy the images of the recent adventures in the backcountry!

Storm skiing

Climbing through the frontal passage

Spires and Powder

Dropping in 1

Dropping in 2

Finishing in the sun

Climbing high in the sun

Stoked for the 1st big line

perfect powder, weeks after the last storm

nice…

climbing among the ancient White Barks

The climb back toward home

Smiles in the storm 1

Yurtika 2014

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Jan 012015

Phoebe

It’s become a holiday tradition. Gather the friends from near and far for an annual hut trip deep in the Idaho backcountry. Everyone was obviously good little boys and girls, as Santa delivered the treats with epic powder conditions at the Tornak Hut in the Smoky Mountains.

yahoooo

Mike, feeling the float

fieds of untracked powder

smiling happy people

arriving at the Tornak hut

Stoked for the next line

Tornak at night

what happens at the hut….?

the facility

happy hour

spoonin fun

hard not to smile

freeride

yeah, that’s how it goes!

getting ready for the 1st run

the team

pretty tracks

tea-time

Mike

Ben2

Ben

Hilary

getting ready for the next drop

Barebreasted basin

What goes up

stoked after a nice warm up run

Ben, dropping

The boys, looking for trouble

Phoebes and the warm-up run

the girls on the Mighty Tornak Peak

what a crew

End of day 2, skiing back to the Tornak hut

post Ben.

Hilary and fields of pow

Joe, dropping in

beats a lunch date in the city!

photo bomb

Chris Powder Trail

Fun day on Durrance

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Jan 012015

Its been a couple of years since this Iconic Sun Valley ski feature has been in condition. A beautiful ridge with long runs and lots of diversity makes Durrance a favorite. Fun times skiing beautiful lines in the Sun Valley Backcountry. What a way to end the Year!

beautiful light on the ridge

climbing the ridge

skiing powder on the east bowls

pulling into the 1st break after a lot of turns

skiing the lower slopes

fun vadels

The Sawtooth Huts are Open and the Skiing is Fantastic!

Bench Hut, Fishhook Yurts, Huts and Yurts, SVT Scene 1 Response »

Dec 082014

We are just returning from the Sawtooth Huts: Bench and Fishhook where we were conducting the annual intern/apprentice training and orientation as well as opening the huts for the season. We found excellent early season coverage and snow depths in the Sawtooth, ranging form 50+cm in the valley bottom to over 190cm in the alpine. The snowpack itself is relatively dense providing a great early season base for both skiing and stability. Both the Sawtooth Huts are in excellent condition heading into the season and the skiing is great (see pics). Bench is booked pretty solid starting around the Christmas holiday, but there are still many free nights available in December and the skiing is on. So if you want to experience the awesome ski terrain and cozy accommodations at Bench, now is the time to sneak in before it is too late!

190cm at 88OO’-top of Surprise!

Winter beauty on the way to Fishhook Yurt

Fishhook Huts look great and are ready for your enjoyment

Heyburn looms above the approach to Bench Hut

Dumping above Bench Hut

Love it when it snows!

The crew above the Gun Barrel

mmmm…..

New intern, James, testing the powder above 3rd lake

Returning apprentice, Alisa, stoked to be back in the Sawtooth

Coverage into the alpine is good, on the way to Yo Yo Ma

A goat in his home

Returning apprentice, Niels, stoked to be high in the Sawtooth

New intern James, discovering the beauty of his new office.

Alisa squeezing the waning light out of the day.

hard to beat…

Full moon rising above the Bench Hut

November Finishes in a Blast of Powder!

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Dec 012014

not bad for November!

The change of seasons is a wonderful time. November is often that “odd” month here in the mountains of Central Idaho, where the foliage is gone, its too cold to hike and ride bikes and there is often only spotty snow that does not allow for “real” skiing. November 2014 has proved to be one of those fun Novembers that distinguished itself. Exceptionally cold and snowy weather has left the high country with periodic coats of powder and has provided a number of great ski days in the backcountry and on the Nordic trails. It seems that we are off to good start for the upcoming winter season!

Hansi Twins doing the vadel

Avalanche Peak and the evidence of many happy skiers

easy slider

The alpine has received some high winds and lots of snow transport over the past few weeks

A happy skier!

Powder!

Ahh, that’s what we like!

Keeping an eye on the persistent weak layers

November 14, 2014 faceshots

November Powder and Pre Season Ski Report

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Nov 142014

November 14, 2014 faceshots

It’s official, we have begun the ski season! The recent storms have brought over a foot of new snow to the high country here in the mountains of Central Idaho. Depending on the geographic area, aspect and elevation, this snow fell on either dry ground or older snow. The upper elevations in the mountains around the headwaters of the Salmon and Wood River Valleys had a preexisting snow pack made up of facets and crusts and there are stability concerns in many of these spots with the new load. Please check the latest Avalanche Report for a more detailed description.

SVT Guides, Joe and Francie St.Onge went out around Galena Summit for a short tour to check conditions and found some fun turns, even with the thin coverage. Careful out there! Some of these pics make it look like mid-winter, but generally the conditions are classic early season. So keep the snow dances going, burn a ski or two and praise ULLR to bring us more turns like these!

Fun powder skiing in thin snow (notice the sagebrush)

Happy Girl!

Thin early season conditions make meadow skipping a good choice

65 cm snowpack with 40cm of new snow sitting on a supportable crust.

Powder Cloud

Funneling faceshots will make you smile!

Prepping the Huts for a BIG Winter Season

Huts and Yurts, Mountain Biking, SVT Scene 1 Response »

Oct 202014

Francie riding up to the Pioneer Yurt

It’s the time of year when we cycle through the 6 huts in 3 different mountain ranges to get each hut ready for winter. We can remember many years when we were doing these annual chores in freezing temps and blizzards, but not this year. We have been blessed with one of the prettiest autumns we can remember here in Idaho. Perfect Indian Summer has persisted for over a month now with amazing foliage, crystal clear sunshine and generally stunning days. Much of the work we do this time of year requires access on bikes or foot. The current conditions have produced perfect melt/freeze conditions on the trails and some of the best biking of the year. Enjoy the pics from the various mountain ranges and huts and start getting stoked for the upcoming season!

Autumn tunnel

Crossing the meadow to the Pio Yurt

Pioneer Yurt enjoying the Indian Summer Sun

ah, the peaks of the Pioneer Range

The Bench Hut, waiting for a deep Sawtooth winter

Lakeview on the approach to Bench Hut

Toby, giving little love to the hand-hewn table at Fishhook Yurt

The new Fishhook hut looks beautiful

ah, the Sawtooth from Fishhook Meadows!

Getting the wood in at Boulder Yurts

Tornak Hut, ready for snow.

Coyote, still an awesome destination for mountain biking

Buff single track leaving the Coyote Yurts

The final descent back to the valley from Coyote Yurts

NOW LET IT SNOW!

Kent Peak Ski

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May 212014

We are just back from skiing another beautiful Idaho mountain, Kent Peak. Viewed frequently from the Valley of the Big Wood, Kent Peak requires a bit of an approach to reach the classic ski lines. As the snow lines march up the mountains with the rising temperatures, the dirt roads are opening up and allowing access deeper into the hills. Even with the open roads, Kent requires a bit of dirt walking to reach snow. But once on snow, a classic 3,000′ ski descent off the 2nd highest peak in the Boulder Mountains awaits. Good corn conditions were found. Enjoy!