INSIDE THE INDUSTRY » SOUTHWEST IDAHO
An Idahoan adventure
Media reps sampled southwest Idaho’s fantastic sledding opportunities
by KIRSTEN ARMLEDER
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| SNOWY TRAILS: Here is the group on their way to the village of Yellow Pine. |
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AN UNUSUAL EXPERIENCE: Ride coordinator Jack Welch and Jim Tucker from the Snowmobile Association of Massachusetts prepare to ride down a ski slope at the Tamarack Ski Resort.
—photos by Kent Gardner |
In mid-March, 14 media and tourism representatives from the U.S. spent three days exploring the west-central mountains of Idaho aboard the industry’s latest snow machines. The affair was part of a media ride that is held annually at top snowmobiling destinations throughout the country.
Jack Welch, who is associated with the BlueRibbon Coalition—a national group that preserves recreational access to public lands—was the ride co-ordinator. Since the 2008 International Snowmobile Congress will be taking place in Boise this summer, Welch thought it would be appropriate to have this year’s media ride in the same region.
“(The event) started on the night of March 12 with a dinner and ended with a breakfast on Sunday, March 16,” said Welch. “There were three days of intense riding, travel and a lot of unique things.
“We had people from Vermont, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts and I represented Colorado and Wyoming,” he said.
On the first day, the participants went to Yellow Pine, a remote mining village north of Boise. It took the group three hours to reach the town on snowmobiles and another hour to get to the trailhead. From there, they followed a local ski and snowmobile guide to the Stibnite Mine—an old mine that provided materials for the manufacturing of steel during World War II. Welch said he was impressed with the reclamation of the site and oldstructures as well as the area’s open country and huge, snow-laden play spots surrounding it.
That night, the group stayed at a backcountry lodge and in the morning, they rode back to their vehicles, loaded up and went to the Tamarack Resort.
According to Welch, Tamarack is the newest and largest ski area in the U.S.; it provides unique outdoor experiences.
Upon arriving at the resort, the media group put on their gear and rode two ski lifts to the top of the mountain at approximately 8,000 feet. Then, they got on sleds and spent the afternoon touring a large snowmobiling area in the alpine. Welch said this is part of a package that the resort offers to their guests.
At the end of the day when the ski hill was closed, the resort operators allowed members of the media group to ride their machines down a few of the gentler ski runs.
“Normally, you can’t ride down the slope on your snowmobile but they did that as something special for us,” said Welch.
The following day, they unloaded at a staging area in the town of McCall and rode to Burgdorf Hot Springs; these hot pools were built in the 1800s in what is now a historic ghost town. After a soothing soak in the natural hot water, the gang went to a cabin and had lunch.
“That probably was the nicest day because later in the afternoon we finally got some really good sun,” said Welch. “We went on top of a ridgeline and got some pretty spectacular pictures.”
When they returned, the chamber of commerce in McCall hosted a farewell dinner and the riders swapped tales and talked about their adventure. The Idaho media ride wrapped up the next morning with a farewell breakfast.
Welch said the entire event was a success and everyone involved had a great time. He looks forward to returning to Idaho for the congress in June. |
