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.

This time of year I answer hundreds of phone calls asking about our family rafting trips on the Salmon River north of Sun Valley, Idaho. In an effort to best serve our clients I have included a list of frequently asked questions.

1. Q: Do you have trips that are safe for kids?
A: I am a parent of an 8 year old daughter and fully understand and appreciate this question. Both our Scenic Float and Half Day Rafting Trips are great for kids. Our class III whitewater trip is a great introduction to river rafting for kids 4 years and older. For the moms out there… We take special precautions when boating with young children, give us a call for further explanation.

2. Q: How long have you been in business?
A: This is our 9th season on the Salmon River, the longest tenure amongst our competitors. Since 2001 we have hosted more than 20,000 guests and run the most Class IV trips on the Salmon. Our Salmon River guides are professional, mature (ages 24-33), intelligent(all college grads)characters that return year after year. We take your safety very seriously. Yes, on occasion guests might fall in the river, but your trained guides will have you back in the boat in no time.

3. Q: Do you offer group discounts and will you match your competitions price?
A: Yes, we offer a group discount for groups of 6+ and will always match our competitor’s price for a similar service. That being said, I will only match their price if I can afford to offer a very safe, fun and high quality trip.
Give us a call, or start your adventure at sawtoothadventure.com.

Hope to see you on the river!

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

Last week I headed up to Stanley to attend the Stanley/Sawtooth Chamber of Commerce meeting and check out the Salmon River snow pack. Spring has been slow to return to the valley, but came with a vengeance last week. Temperatures approached 70 degrees and spiked the river to 5.5 ft. on the Yankee Fork gauge. Downstream the Salmon River of No Return swelled to 35,000 cfs at the Whitebird gauge. Current estimates have the Salmon River Snowpack at 93% of normal. Don’t worry, the current forecast calls for cold weather and snow for the next week. Great news for the river community and could swing us back towards 100% . The season for rafting the Salmon River is just around the corner. Are you ready?

Photos (clockwise): Shotgun Rapid (Class IV) at 4.5 feet (medium low level)
on the Salmon River near Stanley, A few of Stanley’s year-round residents relax and take in the sun, spring sunset, Top of Galena Summit looking north towards Stanley.