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14 Montuckeans descend on the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho for 4 days of glorious backcountry skiing. With a mixture of powder and corn our tribe was able to get into some juicy couloirs. Based out of the Williams Peak Yurt, our group toured the dramatically rugged terrain of Thompson and Williams Peaks located in the Sawtooth Wilderness just south of Stanley, Idaho. Montucky Represent! Our tribe of 14 South West Montanans charged into Ketchum, Idaho on 4-20. For the next 4 days we would be based out of the Williams Yurt in the Sawtooth Mountain Range, just south of Stanley, Idaho. This was the last day of my 34th year and we rallied hard at Whiskey Jacques, celebrating our arrival and the anticipation of what the Sawtooths had in store for us. Our group was made up of Moonlight Basin and Big Sky patrollers as well as Big Sky and Bozeman locals. I celebrated my 32nd birthday with a number of the same people climbing and skiing Mt. Whitney. The entire group are ambitious, wide eyed skiers who really enjoy getting into the nooks and cranies of the mountains. Nursing a tequilla hangover and 3 hours of sleep we gathered at the Alpine Way Trailhead just north of Red Fish Lake. The 6 mile approach to the yurt is gradual, but a high snowline meant lugging the skis on the back for a longer period of time. The trail curves along a high bench offering fantastic views of the peaks we would be skiing and eventually winds through a narnia forest and to the base of skiers summit and our home for the next 3 nights. We all branched off and got after our own lines, scoping out the terrain for the following days and becoming orientated with approaches and exits. The fourteen of us celebrated my 35th that evening, passing around the Easter Island statue bottle of Pisco, chowing gumbo, and hooting and hollering under the Idaho moon. The next morning after plenty of bacon we branched off into our pods and began to assault the North Wall of Thompson Peak. Lined with numerous finger couloirs the North Wall begged to be skied. Its north facing aspect preserved the recent powder and sluff management was a welcome obstacle. The gem on the wall is the Cleaver Couloir. This 2000 vertical foot couloir is a continuous 48 degree pitch, snaking through granite walls and exiting into a large fan and finishing through a short chute to the lake. The boot up the couloir takes approximately an hour and 15 minutes. Luckily for us the snow was soft enough to punch in hand holds and we did not need axes or crampons, although had the snow been firm without this equipment it would be very, very scary. Watching all my friends climb up into different couloirs while my group was making its way to our own destination was incredible. I was able to capture some magnificent angles of Chelan, Luke and Taylor skiing the Cleaver Couloir and put in perspective how small they were and how steep the couloir was. My pod of Jacobi, Catarina, Ellie, Starr and Piper skinned further up the cirque and into another series of couloirs on this north facing wall. Thompson towers above the ridgeline and these couloirs were the ones closest to the peak. Jacobi and Catarina branched off into a splicer of a chute while myself and the others grabbed the less technical mainline. The pitch was consistently in the high 40s and the sluff was enough to pile you down as I found out later. I dropped into this couloir first and half way down my sluff knocked me down and pushed me down the hill. I was able to self arrest before anything dramatic happened like plunging off a large cliffband. It was definately surprising and good to know that managing your sluff would be necessary. Jacobi and Catarina scooted through a pinner of a pinch and into another delicious finger couloir and apron. Our day continued climbing up the South face of Williams, where some billygoated to the summit. The South Face of Williams offers long wide open chutes pierced with granite spires. Well over 2000 feet of vertical was easily accessed via bootpack in these spring conditions. Snow was continuously falling throughout the day and covered the frozen corn with some cream. Although a little chattering, we were able to link smooth turns throughout. Our pods would interchange with skiers and throughout the day we were skiing new and exciting lines with different partners. You would think a group of 14 would be a clusterf!ck but we managed well to keep in small parties and ski whereever we individually desired. Ellie and I met up with Simon and Mark and booted up the NorthWestern most couloir in the Thompson Peak cirque for a 7:45pm ski. Gotta love the light of spring!!!! Snow continued to fall throughout our exit and kept the snow very creamy. We arrived at the yurt howling joy and ready for another fiesta to celebrate the buena onda we all experienced. Watching all your friends get after it, be stoked for themselves and the people around them is such an infectious energy. Laughing, smiling, sharing the power the mountains gave us all we partied the night away, praising the snow gods throughout. The following morning we staggered out of our bunks and fueled up. Again we divided into groups and split out from the yurt when ready. My group's intention was to go back to the Thompson Peak cirque, summit Thompson Peak, check out Goat Lake, and get back into some of the couloirs we did not explore the day before. We skinned to the top of skiers summit, a 1500 foot skin from the yurt and dropped into the lower south face of the Williams Peak ridgeline. We received about 5 inches overnight which blanketed our tracks from the day before nicely. We traveled up the basin between Williams and Thompson and snuck around the East side of Thompson Peak. Dropping our skis at the saddle, a group ascended the peak via a mini couloir and some scrambling. After bagging the peak, the group rejoined on the adjacent peak and skied a beautiful face in the mid day sun. We curled around and split again. One group bootpacked up the South Face of Williams and were treated to a beautiful 2000+ foot corn descent where one could totally let it out. I got to make my 500 foot Gomi Nobis turns down the apron. Meanwhile Jacobi and Taylor were tackling the "Bad Idea Couloir". An 1800 foot couloir consistently above 55 degrees and a rockline running down the middle of the line makes it festive to say the least. But then again this is Jacobi and Taylor, 2 very determined skiers who like the gripping exploratory missions. We watched them pick their way down the couloir, cringing at times with anxiety. We did not suffer from chute envy watching them and both agreed it was one of the more sketchy lines they've ever skied. The 6 pm sun glowed on the South Face of Williams lighting up our tracks and beamed onto the North West wall of Thompson tempting us for yet another run. Jacobi and I really wanted to get into the Cleaver Couloir. We definitely experienced chute envy the day before watching the boys ski that line. Its aesthetics could not be passed up, so at 6:10 we put the skis on our back and trucked up the 1800 feet of high 40's low 50's degree pitch and arrived at the notch at 7:15. The early evening springtime sun lit the jagged Sawtooth peaks with a radiant glow. Although my mind was definitely occupied with how I would descend this couloir, loosing myself in this light and place calmed any anxieties. It really capped how fortunate we all were, to be following our passion with good friends in beautiful places. The descent was technical and more of a don't tumble mindset. We leap frogged throughout the couloir, hiding from each others sluff behind rock walls. The couloir turned and dropped away in various sections, had dramatic doglegs and a fun exit into a large fan before dropping into the final chute to the lake. Although the conditions down low had glazed over the apron was still soft and the snow throughout the couloir was a heavy powder. Just to be in that place was an experience in itself and will last with me for a long time. Jacobi and I reuntied with the group at the yurt at 9 ish, a heap of pasta waiting and smiling faces enticed by our escapades. Another great day had by all and a night spent recounting our adventures and enjoying the warmth of the yurt. Our final morning we climbed up to Skiers Summit and skied it Canadian style (all at once) slopping up the morning corn before heading out the trail. The exit was a reasonable 2 hours and much lighter without the full bottle of Pisco and grubbings. We all send much appreciation to the Sawtooth Mountain Guides especially Sarah and Chris for getting us situated. A big thanks goes out to mis amigos: Alex Jacobi, Chelan BabinoeauZ, Luke Rice, Ellie Thompson, Chris Catarina, Clarkie, Benji, Starr, Piper Platte, Mark Schaffer, Simon Troutman, Matt K, and Taylor for making my 35th Birthday Kick Ass. Global Powder To The People!!! Dave Johnson AKA Gomez Dave Johnson is the owner and president of CASA Tours. CASA Tours runs 8-15 day guided ski and snowboard adventures throughout Chile and Argentina.

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