{"id":1351,"date":"2015-05-23T16:37:42","date_gmt":"2015-05-23T22:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/?p=1351"},"modified":"2022-12-23T22:35:20","modified_gmt":"2022-12-23T22:35:20","slug":"backcountry-skiing-in-the-sawtooth-range","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/backcountry-skiing-in-the-sawtooth-range\/","title":{"rendered":"Backcountry Skiing in the Sawtooth Range"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Guided Hut to Hut\u00a0skiing in Idaho’s Sawtooth Range with Sun Valley Trekking<\/h1>\n

March 16-20, 2015<\/p>\n

For the past few seasons, I’ve done a multi-day backcountry ski trip with a group of friends. \u00a0 So far, we’ve done a traverse of the Teton Crest traverse<\/a>, a Sierra trip from Mammoth to Lee Vining Canyon<\/a>, and a trip to the Baldy Knoll Yurt<\/a> in the Teton Backcountry. \u00a0 \u00a0This year, we opted for a trip to Idaho’s Sawtooth Range. \u00a0Rather than staying in tents, we would be staying in backcountry huts. \u00a0Unlike past trips, we decided to hire a guide.<\/p>\n

We arranged the trip through Sun Valley Trekking<\/a>, which operates a number of yurts and huts in the Sawtooth range. \u00a0 It was an “all inclusive” trip that included our hut accommodations, food, and guiding for the week. \u00a0\u00a0Not having done a guided ski trip before, we weren’t quite sure what to expect. \u00a0As it turned out, it was the most decadently comfortable backcountry ski trip I’ve ever done.<\/p>\n

We split our time between two huts, the Bench Hut, and the Fishhook Hut. \u00a0The first day we spent skiing into the Bench Hut. \u00a0It was a pretty easy day, made even easier by the fact that the guide service had a couple of porters that brought in all of our food on a sled.<\/p>\n

The Bench Hut is a large structure made of fabric on a wooden frame that comfortably accommodated our large group of 8 people.<\/p>\n

\"sawtooth\"<\/a>
The Bench Hut, Sawtooth Range<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Conditions were not ideal. \u00a0When we had booked the trip back in November, we figured that mid March would be prime powder skiing season. \u00a0However, Idaho, like most of the Mountain West, had suffered through a warm, dry winter, so the snowpack was more like it would be in very late spring. \u00a0 On the trip in to the Bench Hut, we were getting rained on, which is never an auspicious way to start a ski trip.<\/p>\n

The good news was that the food that the Sun Valley Trekking folks provided for us was terrific. \u00a0We just lounged around in the hut, while the guides cooked us a great meal. \u00a0It didn’t feel much\u00a0like backcountry skiing at all. \u00a0It was way too cushy. \u00a0(But I wasn’t complaining about that.)<\/p>\n

\"sawtooth-3\"<\/a>
Wet weather and marginal snow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next day, we took off to see if we could find some decent snow.\u00a0 It was warm and wet, with low clouds and intermittent rain. \u00a0The snow was thick and not particularly fun or easy to ski. \u00a0We skinned up to the Bench Lakes high above the hut, and toured around a bit, but overall, it was something of a disappointment. \u00a0I could tell that our guides were worried that the trip was going to a bust, in spite of their best efforts to find us some skiable terrain. \u00a0Sadly, there was not much they could do about the weather and snow conditions.<\/p>\n

\"sawtooth-9\"<\/a>
Skiing Spring Snow in the Sawtooths<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That night, however, the temperatures dropped significantly, and there was some snow instead of rain. \u00a0 We awoke to clear skies and firm snow. \u00a0We took that opportunity to hit the trail early and get some skiing in before things got too warm and mushy. \u00a0We skinned up to a peak above the bench hut, and got some turns on the way down. \u00a0Then we slowly made our way back to the hut, yo-yo-ing some nice slopes olong the way. \u00a0It was a fun day, although by the afternoon, the snow was getting very thick and mushy again due to the warm temps.<\/p>\n

\"sawtooth-11\"<\/a>
Clear Skies at 4th Bench Lake<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next day, our goal was a traverse from the Bench Hut to the Fishhook Hut. \u00a0Again, it was sort of like cheating, because the Sun Valley Trekking porters took our sleeping bags and other non-skiing gear, along with our food, and sledded it to the Fishhook hut for us. \u00a0We were able to ski the entire day with lightweight day packs.<\/p>\n

\"sawtooth-32\"<\/a>
GPS Track from the Bench Hut to the Fishhook Hut.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"sawtooth-14\"<\/a>
Dropping down from the Heyburn Col<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The skiing was a lot of fun. \u00a0Snow conditions were excellent, with a dusting of powder over a nice, firm supportable base.<\/p>\n

\"sawtooth-27\"<\/a>
Beautiful ski terrain on the traverse from Bench Hut to Fishhook Hut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was an amazing day, with great snow conditions for skiing, eye-popping scenery, and perfect weather. \u00a0The fun sort of ran out near the bottom as we approached the Fishhook hut and had to navigate through the tight trees and brush of the area our guides referred to as “the Jungle.” \u00a0Still, it was an excellent and memorable day of backcountry skiing.<\/p>\n

The Fishhook hut was as comfortable as the Bench Hut had been, with an added bonus; \u00a0It has a hot tub!!! \u00a0 \u00a0I can’t think of how many times I’ve been in the mountains and thought about how nice it would be to have \u00a0a hot tub to relax in. \u00a0This trip, that fantasy came true. \u00a0It was so amazing to soak my tired body in hot water. \u00a0Again, it seemed like cheating.<\/p>\n

\"sawtooth-29\"<\/a>
Hot tub at the Fishook Hut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next day was not particularly memorable. \u00a0We woke up late, and skied out from the Fishhook hut to the trailhead. \u00a0The warm weather had taken its toll on the snowpack, and there were sections of dirt where the snow had all melted out. \u00a0Eventually, however, we made it back to the cars.<\/p>\n

Overall, it was a great trip in spite of the marginal weather and snow conditions. \u00a0The day we spent skiing from Bench Hut to Fishhook Hut really made the whole trip. \u00a0It was one of the better days I’ve spent backcountry skiing. \u00a0 The Sun Valley Trekking guides were terrific, especially J.P., our lead guide. \u00a0They took good care of our entire group, and helped make the experience a lot of fun.<\/p>\n

However, as fun as the trip was, I think that next year, we’re going to do something a bit less cushy and comfortable. \u00a0After two years in a row of yurt\/hut trips, I think we’re all ready for something a bit more primitive. \u00a0(although I will definitely miss that hot tub.)<\/p>\n

Some pictures from the trip:<\/p>\n

\"We<\/a>
We ate really really well on this trip.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Beautiful<\/a>
On the Bench Hut to Fishhook Hut Traverse, Mount Heyburn in the background<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Beautiful<\/a>
Beautiful skiing on the Bench Hut to Fishhook Hut Traverse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"On<\/a>
On the Bench Hut to Fishhook Hut Traverse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Skinning<\/a>
Skinning up to ski down<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Our<\/a>
Our splitboarder, having fun<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Guided Hut to Hut\u00a0skiing in Idaho’s Sawtooth Range with Sun Valley Trekking March 16-20, 2015 For the past few seasons, I’ve done a multi-day backcountry ski trip with a group of friends. \u00a0 So far, we’ve done a traverse of the Teton Crest traverse, a Sierra trip from Mammoth to Lee Vining Canyon, and a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[59],"tags":[22,351,352,354,207,353,350],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1351"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1351"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2020,"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1351\/revisions\/2020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}