As the President of the Stanley/Sawtooth Chamber of Commerce I am very excited to announce the new Stanley, Idaho Chamber website. This new and powerful site will serve as a useful tool for visitors planning an adventure in this magical valley.

The new Stanley Idaho Blog will offer area businesses a great opportunity to highlight special events, sales and promotions.

Stanley, Idaho is an amazingly unique, off-the-beaten path Rocky Mountain destination that should be on every persons list who seeks out beautiful and wild places.

The Salmon River and the Sawtooth Mountains merge in this vast valley to create one of the most picturesque mountain towns in the West.

Remember, the absolute best view of the Sawtooths and Stanley is from a raft on our scenic float trips through the valley.

While we are loving Stanley, Idaho’s cool, wet spring conditions. SAC guides have been taking advantage of Utah’s warm desert canyons. Cataract Canyon is a great way to kick it off the rafting season. Some of the largest rapids on the entire Colorado River are found deep within Cataract. Now add 30,000 cfs (cubic feet per second) of water and you have some stomping whitewater.

Photos: Beach-front accommodations at the Rio Colorado, SAC guides Jenna and Johnny keep’n it real, Thomas, Matt & Greg.

This week the SAC Crew will head north to join me on Sawtooth Adventure Company’s Annual Training Trip. We will run Idaho’s Salmon River of No Return at what could be very high flows. During this 6-day training course SAC guides will receive a refresher on River Rescue, Wilderness First Aid, Emergency Protocol, Area History, and all of the SAC systems. The entire week is a team building experience and an invaluable tool towards employing hard working, happy, fun, smart and safe guides for the 2009 rafting season

The season kicks off this week. Stay tuned for regular updates, announcements, and a glimpse of what its like to live, work & play in Stanley, Idaho and on Idaho’s Main Salmon River

Unlike the economy, the snow pack and weather conditions could not be better. It is going to be a great summer for rafting on the Salmon River