3/14 to 3/15/2021 – There is nothing like great buddies, steep skiing, and a funky hut to get your head straight. Mike was gifted a hut reservation at the Bench Hut in the Sawtooth Moutnains of Idaho as a gift from his lovely wife Lindsey and he kindly invited a small crew out to enjoy it with him. This was going to be many of our first real ski trips since the onset of COVID-19 the previous spring so hopes were high for stable snow and good weather. We got real lucky and the stars aligned for both… setting us up for a couple of bright spring days, lots of burritos, and steep skiing in the Sawtooths.

Mike, Burket, George and I conveniently assembled at the boat box hot spring on the way into town (and found our good friend Gabby there too), where we drank some beer, discussed conditions, and caught up after months apart. We wandered into the hut the next morning and were able to snag some great afternoon laps up above Bench Lakes. The next morning we set our sites high and shimmied up and down the Petzoldt Couloir on Heyburn Mountain (steeeeep!), then afternoon turns in the Silver Saddle area and George and I added a bonus lap in the Orbit Couloir before calling it a day. Our last day, we grabbed the Gunbarrel Couloir before boogying back to clean the hut and ski out.

Although a quicky, this little trip provided the mental reprieve many of us needed. Eating essentially only burrito (or burrito adjacent) foods (plus George’s homemade chilli-mac), laughter filled evening sauna sessions and hot springs on both ends are all ingredients that help stress and anxiety roll away… unless you’ve got a sensitive stomach.