After having such a blast skiing on our last trip to the Sawtooths, we rounded up our friend Dave from Seattle
and went back for another round of camping and shredding. This time,
the weather cooperated enough for us to bag the summit above camp, and
ski some fantastic shots off the north and west sides.
Skiing in the Sawtooths.
Since there were three of us this time, we decided to try out our Megamid tent in the snow, and discovered that it works GREAT for a crowd....but you have to make sure that that foot of snow that dumps during the night doesn't keep it from venting, or you'll wake up drenched in condensation and smelling like a pigsty. (If you vent it, you just keep from getting drenched...the pigsty smell, well, we never really solved that.)
How many hippies can you fit in a Megamid?
Since we had six days to explore this time, we made the most of it and checked out some long shots and some steep slopes that we'd had to forego on the last trip. Once again, the snowpack was super-stable, so we got to tear it up and leave tracks everywhere except on the south slopes, which featured tricky, ankle-destroying, whiplash-inducing suncrusts.
Diggin a pit, checkin out the snow pack, and it is deep!
Once again, we loaded up the packs with food and whiskey, and got to enjoy some serious eating and drinking after every long, blissful day of seeking out fresh tracks.
Dana shredding it up!
Forget farm-skiing - we had whole new drainages for every run, and left zillions of shots unexplored, just because we could afford to be picky. The tree-skiing through an old burned area on the north side of the mountain was exceptionally cool - not terribly steep, but the powder was deep and the trees were super-fun to negotiate.
Chillin'
Because we were relatively close to a small town, we joked the entire time about causing consternation amongst the locals, who could probably see our headlamps at night, and if it was clear and cold, might even be able to hear our "whoo-hoos!" all the way down the hill.
Tent Explosion.
Surely, we figured, they must be tossing and turning, wondering what the HELL those DIRTY DAMN HIPPIES were doing up there, dang it! I gotta say, we might be dirty, and we might be tree-hugging, dirt-worshipping hippies, and we might be tele-skiing, megamid-camping, whoo-hooin' throwbacks, but....shoot, what was I saying again? Who cares- the skiing was GREAT!
Ken and Dana.
Our only mishap came when Ken, the self-appointed camp cook, completely lost his mind and dumped boiling water on his wool glove while making coffee. The wool glove took long enough to whip off that it made a potentially minor oowie into a serious second-degree burn....draining the blister was a major source of entertainment later that day. It was HUGE-!
Bad burn on Ken's Hand.
Aside from the burn, and having to sleep with our boot liners in our sleeping bags to dry them out (did I mention that pigsty smell? Dear god-!), the entire trip was one long, euphoric, laugh-until-you-shoot-coffee-out-your-nose experience.
Whiskey anyone?
Thanks for coming along, Dave! If we can just quit wasting time on things like jobs and responsibilities, we figure we can squeeze a few more trips in before the snow melts and we have to drag the boats out again. More to come....!
Bearded men roam these parts.
Dana stoked to be alive and living it up in the backcountry!
Next: 
One Hell of a First Tour
Previous:
How to Ice Axe Self Arrest
Check out this cool local business:
Green Houses and Furniture specializes in environmentally friendly construction and furniture in and around the Boise area.
Give them a call at: 208-871-7258.