Coyote Yurts Claimed by Fire and Rising from the Ashes

 Coyote - Summer, Coyote Yurts, Huts and Yurts, Uncategorized  Comments Off on Coyote Yurts Claimed by Fire and Rising from the Ashes
Sep 202013
 

On August 20th, the Beaver Creek wild fire consumed the Coyote Yurts. This massive wild fire began as a lightening strike on August 7th in a remote drainage on the south west corner of the Smokey Mountains. Over a period of a couple weeks, the Beaver Creek Fire grew and spread to cover over 100,000 acres and directly threatened the town of Hailey on the southern boundary and burned much of Baker Creek on it’s northern edge. The fire basically ringed the outer boundary of the Castle Rock Fire of 2007.

When the fire spread into the East Fork of Baker Creek there was a valiant fire fighting effort to protect both Coyote and Tornak Huts, but despite these efforts Coyote Yurts were completely destroyed. While the fire came relatively close to Tornak Hut, this beloved hut was fortunately spared. In fact, much of the area around Tornak show no sign of fire and is generally as beautiful as it always is. Passing Tornak and entering the top of the East Fork drainage, there is significant signs of fire and much of the north facing timber in this drainage burned hot. The good news is that these burned timber slopes have opened up some amazing new ski lines, some of which are long (1500’+), due north and fall line. For those planning on skiing here this winter, start thinking of run names, because we will have a lot of great new lines to ski and name!

We are rebuilding the Coyote Yurts! We have been working non-stop since we got news of the loss of the yurts to plan, gather materials and start the rebuild. Our goal is to have the new yurts up and ready for the 1st winter snows. Typically, these snow can begin in late October in this zone, so we have limited time to do a lot of work. We have already been on site to clean up the burned debris, take away dangerous trees and recut the 5 cords of winter fire wood (and build a new wood shed). We have built beautiful new bunks, couches and are working on a custom kitchen and large dining table made of rough sawn pine boards. We will build a sauna in town and transport it on site. We have received one slightly used Yurt and have another new one arriving next week. We will be building the decks and yurts the 1st couple weeks of October on site. The end result should be a beautiful array of two yurts connected by a covered deck. We are moving the yurt site a little bit to get it off of the burned ground and let it come back. The views will be stunning from the new yurts and the area in front of the yurts and on the point is unaffected by the fire and is as phenomenally beautiful as it always was.

This is a fairly monumental effort that we are engaged in. We are dedicated to have this well-loved hut back in the hands of the backcountry community for this upcoming winter and future years. But we could use some help! We have set up an “Indiegogo Campaign” to facilitate those that are interested in helping financially. Please check it out and pass this link along to those that may be interested. We are also looking for help in the field with the building. We are planning on building on site October 3-8th and could use some extra hands, especially those with carpentry experience. Please email us if you are interested: info@svtrek.com  And you can also help by booking some nights at the new Coyote Yurts for this upcoming winter or summer and enjoying a awesome new hut with superb skiing and biking!

Thanks to you all for being such a supportive backcountry community!

Joe surveying the damage....

Joe surveying the damage….

What used to be Coyote Yurts

What used to be Coyote Yurts

the old yurts

the old yurts

The Point in front of the Yurts is basically untouched by the fire and will be the focal point of the new Yurts

The Point in front of the Yurts is basically untouched by the fire and will be the focal point of the new Yurts

looking back at the yurts from the fire pit on the point

looking back at the yurts from the fire pit on the point

looking up to the headwaters of Baker Creek

looking up to the headwaters of Baker Creek

The new burn skiing on Little Round Top, next to Coyote Yurts!

The new burn skiing on Little Round Top, next to Coyote Yurts!

untitled-8

What was left of the kitchen yurt

What was left of the kitchen yurt

New growth beginning!

New growth beginning!

Building the new wood shed, Job # 1

Building the new wood shed, Job # 1

.Looking forward.

.Looking forward.

5 cords cut and a new wood shed done (again...)

5 cords cut and a new wood shed done (again…)

Taking out problem trees.

Taking out problem trees.

The debris from the burned Yurts and sauna

The debris from the burned Yurts and sauna

An example of the top of the East Fork of Baker

An example of the top of the East Fork of Baker

Cleaning up the burnt yurts was Dirty Work

Cleaning up the burnt yurts was Dirty Work

Long dirty days make cold beer taste really good.

Long dirty days make cold beer taste really good.

Sep 062013
 

Ahhh, the new hut at Fishhook is closing in on completion. We are just returning from a few days in the Sawtooth, dodging thunder and lightning storms while working to complete the latest addition to backcountry lodging deep in the beautiful mountains of Central Idaho. Every piece of wood in the new hut (except the door) came from within a 100 yards of the site. Chainsaw carpentry at work. The new hut is a wall tent design, similar to the Bench Hut but 1/2 the size. This hut creates a spacious but cozy layout for gathering a large group to cook, eat and enjoy the views from the 20′ long window gazing up at the highest peaks in the Sawtooth. We kept the old yurt, changing the orientation, giving it some much needed love and turning it into a cozy sleeping hut. We look forward to many a stoked skier gliding into these huts in the coming season!

untitled

untitled-3

untitled-5

untitled-6

untitled-7

untitled-9

untitled-11

untitled-13

untitled-14

untitled-16

untitled-2-2

untitled-17

A New Hut at Fishhook!

 Fishhook Yurts, Huts and Yurts, SVT Scene  Comments Off on A New Hut at Fishhook!
Jun 242013
 

We are just back from completing the first phase of a Fishhook Hut renovation. The goal is to give the 33 year old hut a long awaited facelift and create a cozy new cooking, eating and gathering area with a view. The end result will be a new hut (based on the design of the recently built Bench Hut, but 1/2 the size) connected to the renovated old yurt that will become a sleeping hut with bunk space for 12. The old wall tent will be dismantled. As of the end of last week, we completed the framing of the new hut and it looks awesome! The new hut is built with 100% beetle killed lodge pole pine from within a 100 yards of the site. The entire project has been powered by human muscle, chainsaws and goal zero solar power: backcountry carpentry at its best! There was even a sighting of the Grendel…

IMG_5581

IMG_5538

IMG_5543

IMG_5551

IMG_5557

IMG_5559

IMG_5569

IMG_5579

IMG_5583

IMG_5590

Grendel

Ski Mountaineering Course in the Pioneer Mountains

 Expeditions, Pioneer Yurts  Comments Off on Ski Mountaineering Course in the Pioneer Mountains
Apr 242013
 

Joe St.Onge and Patrick Graham (with assistant guides Toby Citret and Sam Felch) just returned from 4 days in the Pioneer Mountains. The goal of the trip was to teach the skills and techniques used in ski mountaineering and to apply those skills climbing and skiing the spectacular peaks of the Pioneers. This area holds fanatstic opportunties for ski mountainnering, with big peaks (up to 12,000′), large vertical relief (3,000’+ runs), aesthetic mountain features and a cozy yurt in the middle of it all. While we found good to excellent conditions at the mid elevations, the highest peaks were still holding transitional snow that was good for climbing, but a bit challenging for skiing. Long days, great tours/climbs and lots of learning in a beautiful setting made for a fun trip!

Pio Mountaineer 10

Pio Mountaineer 16

Pio Mountaineer 17

Pio Mountaineer 18

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-2

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-4

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-6

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-7

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-8

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-11

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-12

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-13

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-14

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-15

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-16

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-17

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-18

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-19

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-20

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-21

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-22

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-23

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-24

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-25

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-28

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-29

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-31

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-32

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-33

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-34

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-35

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-36

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-37

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-38

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-39

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-40

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-41

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-42

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-43

Pioneer Mountains Ski Mountaineering-44Pio Mountaineer 1

Pio Mountaineer 2

Pio Mountaineer 3

Pio Mountaineer 4

Pio Mountaineer 5

Pio Mountaineer 6

Pio Mountaineer 7

Pio Mountaineer 8

Pio Mountaineer 9

Pio Mountaineer 11

Pio Mountaineer 12

Pio Mountaineer 13

Pio Mountaineer 14

Pio Mountaineer 15