Skiing the length of the Sawtooths has been on my ski trip list for 10 years. Back in the early 90's, I heard about a commercial outfitter in Idaho who ran multiday Sawtooth ski trips. I wrote requesting information hoping to score some route ideas, but all I got was a letter with an enormous price quote plus some words about how they almost never take anyone on a serious trip like this who has not done other trips with their company. But then, my friend Carl Hamke moved to Boise. He selected a potential ski route and we were all set to go in the spring of 1999. That was just before he got called for jury duty and was selected for a 6-week trial. So finally, a year later on 15 April 2000, we were ready to ski.

The distribution of skiers was geographically diverse: Carl from Boise, Craig Miller from Seattle, Hal Thompkins from Palo Alto, Armando Menocal from Jackson Hole, and myself from Redondo Beach. The route was from south to north beginning at the turnoff to Alturas Lake on scenic Hwy 75, which parallels the eastern side of the range. We had dropped a car at the North end near the small town of Stanley while driving to the trailhead. Our exit from the range would be at a trailhead called Iron Creek. We carried food for 7 nights although we thought the trip would be shorter. This extra time would give us a chance to ski a number of interesting peaks along the route and provided a buffer for the unsettled weather which was forecast for the entire trip.

Our pack weights at the start varied from Armando's 38 lb to Hal's 52 lb. Various people carried crampons, ice axes, self arrest poles, and camera gear. The snow was quite consolidated and we did not need transceivers. We had 3 people in a Stretch Dome using a hanging stove and 2 in a Bibler with an MSR Dragon Fly. Temperatures were mild enough that the snow didn't firm up enough at night to provide good corn for the following day. So the skiing was not outstanding. It was not neccessary to melt any snow on the entire trip. I managed to get 14 mandays from the first 16 oz propane canister in my hanging stove.

Carl had drawn out route on the "Sawtooth Wilderness Hiking Map and Guide". This map at 1:48,000 covers the entire range. We also used the relevant 15-min maps. Our first pass, just south of Snowyside Peak at 9600 feet was the highest one. We crossed 6 passes in the 7 days that we skied, and also skied 2 peaks. Decker Peak at 10,700 feet is the 3rd highest point in the Sawtooths.

I found the terrain to be relatively gentle compared to similar trips in the Sierra. Much of the skiing at the lower elevations in the valleys was through heavy forest - again different from the Sierra. Several times, finding the summer trail allowed us to make much better time than would have been possible in the heavy trees and brush. The weather was indeed unsettled. It consisted of snow showers, sunshine and warm conditions, and mostly good visibility. We had excellent downhill skiing on our 2 ski descents. Our basic route covered 48 miles and gained 10,164 vertical. Our 2 ski descents added a few more miles and 3,700 more vertical. It was certaintly not a killer trip. We camped early most days and had a very relaxed schedule. There was good snow cover everywhere except at our low point on day 6 when we dropped down to 5,600 feet. The low elevation forced us to carry our skis for several miles along a good trail before crossing the final pass at 8,500 feet.

On our last day, we awoke to a whiteout. I went back to sleep hoping it would clear later. This was the morning we planned to ski Alpine Peak. But then I heard Carl say something about a beautiful day. We were camped on Sawtooth Lake and our camp was covered with a dense but thin layer of fog. 50 feet above the lake, everything was in beautiful sunshine. The ski descent down Alpine peak with Sawtooth Lake below was probably the highpoint of the trip.

Our skis ranged from my Black Diamond Vectors (with a pattern) to Craig's new parabolic skis. Craig certainly "ate our lunch" on this trip. He was able to turn effortlessly in all types of snow, while the rest of us struggled. I think the time has come to upgrade my equipment!