Backcountry telemark skiing in Idaho's Sawtooth mountains
- March 4, 2001
- Trip start 6:15am
- Summit: 9,200'
- Team: Harry, Carl, Tom, and John
Note: click images to see a larger version in a new window
Copper sits at the northern end of Idaho's Sawtooth range. Its summit is quite close to the highway, making for easy access. However, the sno-mos have not figured out how to get over the high embankment, so it's a great place to ski-tour and tele. Copper faces the Stanley valley, so it is almost always very cold. As a result the powder is usually fantastic. On this day, the south facing slopes had a little sun crust, making skiing those aspects quite challenging. Instead, we went for the summit. |
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Carl is an old hand at skiing Copper. He steered us to a great set of tree shots with uncut powder. |
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Tom is still trying to figure out this tele thing after a lifetime of keeping his feet unnaturally close together. But he's a gamer. |
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Harry doesn't have Tom's alpine skiing background, but is equally up to a challenge. They picked a less intimidating run while Carl and John hiked up the ridge for a longer, steeper shot. Everyone found success in the 'hero snow'- about 10" of very light, fluffy powder. |
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John makes it look easy. The snow was so good, even his ski pole is making a rooster tail. |
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