Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route - Spring 2016

[JHamelman]

Beginning in March 2016, we started hearing from locals that this year's snowpack was heavy, perhaps the highest in 10 years. While some has begun melting, there is still a lot of snow up there.

As of 5/25 Dollarhide Summit, west of Ketchum on the Main Route, is still snowed in. It is predicted it won't be open until late June. It is advised that trips begin no earlier than the 3rd or 4th week in June and even then expect to encounter snow on the ground.

This is directly from the local source:

And to be clear I don't mean it would be difficult, I mean it would be a dangerous, wet, cold snow shoe hike for miles and miles. The danger part is from an unstable snow pack (snow that is moving and sliding as it melts) , isothermic snow pack that is bottomless (even with snow shoes you would sink to your waist).    As the snow continues to melt the creeks and rivers are running deep and they too are dangerous.  That also means that many of the hot springs are underwater and inaccessible.

While the online 'snotel' websites may be good for reporting overall conditions in the region, they may not be representative of what the road conditions are specifically.

If you have further information, please post it here.

Thanks,
Jennifer

[vermontgal]

You can use this site: https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/ to get a general sense of snowpack.  This is a satellite image on which you can see the earth in the last day or two, depending on cloud cover.  It does not show to the level of detail of roads, but you can certainly see whether a given mountain range still has snow on the peaks, and how much snow.  Try a date that's back a few weeks and you can see the changes. 

To find IHSMBR, I would probably zoom in on the Great Salt Lake (easy to see at national scale), then track north to find Craters of the Moon (you can see the lava flows) and then west to IHSMBR area.  You'll be able to pick out the White Clouds and other mountain ranges.  To use this tool, you do need to have a knowledge of the local topography.

[JHamelman]

This looks like an interesting tool. Thanks for the tip!

Jennifer

[Pilotpeat]

I emailed the FS through the Sawtooth National Forest website yesterday (June 16th) about Dollarhide Summit.  Julie Thomas, Public Affairs Officer replied:

"I am told that Dollarhide is open as of today"


Pete