Its Been over ten years since I have taken a formal Avalanche course and it was ten too many.
This is Part 1 of 3:
Last week I took an AIARE Level 1 Avalanche course with
Sawtooth Mountain Guides at their remote location in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. The Williams Peak Yurt is located about 5-6 miles outside of Stanley, ID at the Base of Williams Peak. It was a 3 day course with a great crew of individuals that all brought something different to offer. I can't thank our Guides Chris, Sara and Kirk enough for such an amazing course and learning environment.
Before I get too deep into the course, let me back up to our day and night in Stanley. I had about a 3.5 plus hour drive from Mountain Home, ID to Stanley which was pretty boring until I approached Galena Summit and worked my way towards Smiley Creek and Stanley. My buddy Collin and I spent a short night in Stanley at Jerry's Motel/ Country Store...great location right on the river. We had a quick bite for dinner at the Mountain Village lodge and planned/ packed our gear for following day skin to Williams Peak Yurt with our class.
The approach is a 5-6 mile skin(Hike) with about 2000ft in elevation gain. Overall pretty mellow, but its still a 3-4 hour hike with a full load on your back. Once at the hut we went over some companion rescue skills in the field before dinner followed by a nightly presentation. Full day!
Coming up in Part 2.....NEW Snow observations, Snow profiles, snowpits, a short tour and real world companion rescue situations.
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| Coming down the north side of Galena Summit |
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| Jerry's Motel View |
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| Dinner |
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| Our friend at dinner |
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| Checking out the area. |
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| Early morning from Jerry's |
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| Skin to the Yurt |
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| Day 1 at the Williams Peak Yurt |
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| Night Class at the Yurt |
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