The winter switch has been turned back "on". New snow over the weekend and more in the forecast for tonight and Tuesday. SVT guides Joe St.Onge and Patrick Graham went for ski tour today off Galena Summit and found some fun powder turns and wintry weather. It's still thin, but is getting better with each flake!

This spring Francie led two wolf education programs in the mountains around Sun Valley. Both programs were a big success and had more people signed up than we could accomodate. The first program had the great fortune of seeing a wolf a relatively close range and were able to observe him for over a 1/2 hour! Please check out the link below to hear a radio piece produced by Boise State Radio that describes the experience and some of the issues. http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/idaho/news.newsmain/article/0/1/1664651/Local.News/Off.the.Trail.-.Wolf.Tourism

Happy Spring! Its that magical time of year, big peaks, perfect corn, steep powder, rushing rivers and afternoon barbques in flip flops. We've been skiing some great peaks lately and enjoying the rapidly changing conditions of spring. It looks like the annual "dirty flow" has set up with numerous spring showers bringing new snow to the high country. For the latest pictures and conditions reports, please check us out on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hailey-Idaho/Sun-Valley-Trekking/117394101610314?v=wall&ref=ts and we'll keep you in the loop. Until then, ENJOY!

http://picasaweb.google.com/SunValleyTrekking/MenOfTheNorthCoyoteYurt#

While it has been a generally lean snow year the backcountry skiing here in the northern mountains of the Smokey and Sawtooth ranges remains some of the best in the west. We are finding fresh tracks on our powder day tours and good skiing at the huts. Stability is slowly improving, but remains a concern and is keeping us to slopes in the lower 30 degree range. The ski conditions on north to east aspects remains great on these lower angled slopes providing fast and dynamic snow. For more recent updates and photos please check out our Facebook page which is being added to daily: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sun-Valley-Trekking/117394101610314#!/pages/Sun-Valley-Trekking/117394101610314

While it has been a generally lean snow year the backcountry skiing here in the northern mountains of the Smokey and Sawtooth ranges remains some of the best in the west. We are finding fresh tracks on our powder day tours and good skiing at the huts. Stability is slowly improving, but remains a concern and is keeping us to slopes in the lower 30 degree range. The ski conditions on north to east aspects remains great on these lower angled slopes providing fast and dynamic snow. For more recent updates and photos please check out our Facebook page which is being added to daily: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sun-Valley-Trekking/117394101610314#!/pages/Sun-Valley-Trekking/117394101610314

While it has been a generally lean snow year the backcountry skiing here in the northern mountains of the Smokey and Sawtooth ranges remains some of the best in the west. We are finding fresh tracks on our powder day tours and good skiing at the huts. Stability is slowly improving, but remains a concern and is keeping us to slopes in the lower 30 degree range. The ski conditions on north to east aspects remains great on these lower angled slopes providing fast and dynamic snow.

For more recent updates and photos please check out our Facebook page which is being added to daily: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sun-Valley-Trekking/117394101610314#!/pages/Sun-Valley-Trekking/117394101610314

I heard it referred to as "strangulation by snowflake" by former SVT owner and operator Bob Jonas recently. It made me laugh, especially with the imagery it produced of snow hungry mountain folk gasping for deep snow and finding only light snowflakes falling from the sky. That being the case, it is still very much winter here and we are skiing, having fun and exploring mountains. Below 8000', snow coverage is limited but the nordic skiing is excellent. Above 8000' there is just enough snow (50-100cm) to go ski touring and make powder turns in the beautiful mountains here. Seek out the colder aspects (NE-N-NW)and beware of thinly buried obstacles out there. Stability is currently an issue as we have a weak and faceted base that the last 30cm of storm snow is sitting on top of. This next week looks promising for snow and we are on our best behavior with hopes that St.Nick will come through as he did last year (with 2-3 feet of Christmas-eve snow)!

Other news to report is the huts are all in prime condition for the winter. Of special note is the beautiful new Pioneer Yurt which showcases the love, hard work and creativity of the many hands that helped create it. Coyote now has two yurts with an outstanding view from the additional yurt that will surely be a hit with the Coyote regulars.

The longest night of the year is almost here which signals the true beginning of the most magical time of year, winter. Enjoy!

Happy holidays,
Joe and Francie

We're back, with skis on! The snow came early this year with over a foot falling in the high country in early October. Since that first real snow of the winter, we have had cool to cold temps and small storms dropping 4-10 inches at a time. Much of the snow has settled significantly on the cooler aspects in the high country forming a bit of a base. Its still a early to be making turns in the backcountry without a significant risk or expectation of hitting rocks. That being said, there are reports of decent skiing. We've been focusing on early season training up on Baldy, where the wonders of modern technology have provided a solid base on the "River Run Glacier" with a bit of fresh on top. There are 3000' vertical foot runs out there!

It's official, we have hung up the skis for the winter. I must say it has been with reluctance as the snow continues to fall in the high country and the skiing has been superb. Patrick Graham has just returned today from the Pioneer Yurt where they skied over 14,000' of powder off the big peaks in just two days. But the aspen trees are budding here in the valleys and Francie, Joe and Neve are heading to the Hawaiian Islands to visit family and ride some waves. Thank you to all our awesome guests for great winter! We look forward to more adventures soon... Joe and Francie St.Onge