Ski the Smokies, Save America’s Snowscapes
(March 2-5, 2026)
Join Winter Wildlands Alliance’s Executive Director, David Page, Policy Director, Ani Williams, Rich Meyer Alpine Guide and local legend Joe St. Onge, for an exclusive, guided and catered backcountry ski/splitboard powder tour in the remote Smoky Mountains of Idaho’s Sawtooth National Forest. This is a truly unique opportunity for a select group of WWA supporters to explore one of Sun Valley’s finest backcountry powder stashes—the birthplace of Winter Wildlands Alliance.
Get an insider’s view on the current challenges and opportunities in national public lands and climate policy, help us set strategy to defend prized roadless areas, improve climate resilience and protect America’s wild snowscapes—all while ski touring with friends in the beautiful Idaho backcountry.
This trip is limited to eight guests (plus 2-3 guides, Winter Wildlands Alliance leadership, and hut staff). All-inclusive cost covers airport transfers from SUN, snowmobile tow-in and luggage transfer, three nights at the Coyote Yurt, meals, and four days of guided backcountry skiing in primo moderate terrain. Guests need only bring a light sleeping bag, clothes, backcountry ski/splitboard equipment, adult beverages as desired, and an appetite for good conversation, good food, and four days of “feel good happy powder skiing.”
A portion of your contribution is tax deductible. Proceeds benefit Winter Wildlands Alliance in its mission to protect wild snowscapes.
Itinerary
Monday March 2: Transfer from town (Ketchum/Sun Valley) to Baker Creek trailhead for a 5.4-mile snowmobile tow and a 1.5-mile skin to the Coyote Yurt, our home base until Thursday. Ski tour as desired.
Tuesday March 3: Ski.
Wednesday March 4: Ski.
Thursday March 5: Ski all day (conditions and fitness depending), then head back to town.
Guides and Special Guests
Rich Meyer, long-serving Winter Wildlands Alliance board member and current Ambassador of Stoke, is an AMGA Certified Ski Guide with over 20 years’ experience guiding clients to mountain peaks around the world. Although regularly working and playing in his beloved Sierra Nevada, Rich can often be found leading ski trips in places like Alaska, the Antarctic Peninsula, the Alps, and the volcanoes of Chile & Ecuador.
Joe St Onge is a certified Ski Mountaineering Guide with the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA), holds a professional Level 3 Avalanche certification and is a professional member of the American Avalanche Association (AAA). He has guided in many of the world’s great mountain ranges. Joe and his wife Francie took over Sun Valley Trekking (now Sun Valley Mountain Huts) in 2000 and have supported Winter Wildlands Alliance for more than 20 years.
David Page is the Executive Director of Winter Wildlands Alliance. He is also a national award-winning journalist, a former senior correspondent for Powder magazine, and a finalist for a 2015 National Magazine Award. His work includes essays like “Rituals: The Last Run” (The New York Times), “If You Haven’t Driven Through a Snowstorm You Haven’t Lived” (SKI), and “The Human Factor” (Powder).
Ani Williams is Winter Wildlands Alliance’s Policy Director. She has pursued stories, ski lines, and environmental work in diverse communities across four continents. She holds a B.A. in Biology and Earth & Oceanographic Science from Bowdoin College and a Masters of Science in Climate Change from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. She has served as an External Affairs Fellow at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, and as a climate resilience specialist at ICF. Her writing has been featured in POWDER Magazine, Backcountry Magazine, Ski, Trail Runner, and The Dark Mountain Project, among other publications.
“Coyote Yurt is the probably the most reliable powder skiing hut in the region. There are endless slopes on all aspects in a region that receives consistently more snow than the surrounding areas. If I want to book a hut for reliable ‘feel good happy powder skiing’ a year in advance, this is the one.” — SnowBrains
About the Coyote Yurt
Idaho’s Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA) is home to the oldest backcountry hut system in the country. The Coyote Yurt, situated in the Smoky Mountains at 8,700 feet, is one of the highest and most remote in the system. It’s surrounded by a great variety of terrain, from mellow, long-holding powder bowls to steep corn descents and plentiful north-facing burns, making it a favorite among a loyal group of locals and regulars.
Coyote Yurt has all the necessary amenities for a comfortable stay including: wood stoves, solar-powered lanterns and speaker for mp3 players, books, magazines, board games, bunks with mattresses, two covered outhouses, and a classic wood-fired SAUNA! Views of the magnificent craggy Boulder Mountains and the pyramids of the Pioneer Mountains greet guests right outside the front door, making for a truly awesome setting.
The approach to the yurt is 6 miles with an elevation gain of 1800 ft., but we will avail ourselves of a 4.5-mile snowmobile tow before putting on skins for the last 1.5 miles. The terrain is suited for experienced intermediate to advanced backcountry skiers with avalanche education.
Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to
inspire and empower people to protect America’s wild snowscapes.
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