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Backcountry crowd works for unblemished powder

Benjamin Read works with a group of splitboarders to break trail up the Pack River drainage for powder rides on Selkirk Mountains slopes. (Jason Hershey)
By Rich Landers richl@spokesman.com(509) 459-5508

WINTERSPORTS — Backcountry skiers and snowboarders have been reaping big rewards for their muscle-powered efforts in Idaho’s Selkirk Mountains.

A group of five splitboarders, for example, have been taking advantage of the Pack River Road being plowed up into the drainage farther than normal because of a timber sale.

That left them with a mere 5.7-mile trail-breaking slog on skins up to the slopes above Caribou Lake.

No people, and no tracks except for theirs.

* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "Outdoors Blog." Read all stories from this blog