sun valley trekking – Page 4 – Sun Valley Trekking

Great Week in the Sun Valley Backcountry

Daily Powder Tours Comments Off

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

Huts and Yurts, Tornak Hut Comments Off

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

Daily Powder Tours Comments Off

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

Deep Powder at Tornak Hut

SVT Scene, Tornak Hut Comments Off

Dec 242014

SVT Intern, Alisa checking the how the deep the powder skis.

Tornak Blog 12/21/2104

Tornak hut is alive and well and buried deep in snow! At least it was before we had to shovel it off the afternoon we got there, the next morning, and in the afternoon before we left. After giving the hut some love our first day we summited the Mighty Tornak Peak and relaxed with some Group Therapy skiing. Beacon practice in the early evening and then a nice cozy night in the hut ensued. We awoke to almost a foot and a half of new snow and after breakfast started shoveling off the roof. The problem was that by the time we shoveled one end to the other, there was already new snow accumulated on the side of the roof where we started! To say the least, that days skiing was DEEP! Tornak is looking top notch and ready to be enjoyed, relaxed in, and powder skied out of!

Enjoy!-The SVT Intern Crew

Digging deep at Tornak hut to asses stability

Ahh, the mighty Tornak Peak

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!

Daily Powder Tours Comments Off

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

Daily Powder Tours Comments Off

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!

Autumn Climbing in the Pioneers

Guides Day Off, Pioneer Yurts, SVT Scene Comments Off

Sep 172014

A beautiful ridge walk toward Old Hyndman

We have just returned from a couple of days in the Pioneers. The goal of the trip was to get the yurt ready for the oncoming winter season and to climb a new route on Old Hyndman. For years, SVT guide Joe St.Onge, has been dreaming on climbing a route along the skyline of Old Hyndman Peak. Old Hyndman rises like the Matterhorn with steep rock walls guarding the summit. There are a couple standard routes to the summit, but we were unaware of anyone having climbed the steep NW ridge. Having spied this part of the mountain on many ski tours over the years, the time seemed right when local ER doc, Terry, called Joe with the goal of climbing Old Hyndman. A great adventure climb was had and success in exploring a new line to the summit of this iconic peak. Terry suggested calling the route “Old Goat” or “OG” to honor the bearded old goat we wandered by on the approach. Enjoy the pics and the mountains!

approaching the Pioneer Yurt

Cobb Peak and the upper Hyndman Basin

The line on Old Hyndman roughly follows the left skyline

ah, alpine views!

Peering down the big drop toward Wildhorse

Beginning the rock section with some 4th class climbing

Approaching the business

transitioning to 5th class climbing and belays

snack break mid route on spacious ledges

Mid-route looking toward the summit

solid climbing on somewhat solid rock

Terri and Joe, stoked.

Wow, the view from the summit of Old Hyndman!

Joe on the summit

Beginning the descent, the Triple Crown connects the ridgeline with Cobb in the distance

After extensive down climbing, we made 3 rappels to get back to the basin

Enjoying the view back up toward a beautiful mountain skyline

The Pioneer Yurt ready to opened for the approaching winter

Rambling back toward the village in autumn beauty

Men of the North Storm the Coyote Yurts on Bikes

Coyote - Summer, Huts and Yurts, Mountain Biking Comments Off

Jul 212014

With an insatiable thirst for single track, beer and good-times, the Men of the North descended upon the Smokey Mountains of Idaho last week. The Coyote Yurts survived the onslaught, but many miles of trail were sacrificed to these brutes form the north country.