What you need when you come to the mountains depends on the nature of the trip. Please use our equipment lists below as a general guideline when packing for a backcountry excursion.

What We Provide

You don’t need to own specialized mountain equipment to head into the backcountry with Sawtooth Mountain Guides. We can either provide or rent all the gear necessary for a comfortable trip, including backpacks, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, and climbing equipment such as ropes, harnesses, shoes, ice axes and crampons. Of course, it’s always best to have your own gear. Stores in the area we recommend include Idaho Mountain Touring in Boise, Backwoods Mountain Sports, Elephant’s Perch in Ketchum. Tell them you’re shopping for a Sawtooth Mountain Guides trip and they’ll take care of the rest.

Layering

In the mountains, the layering system is the model by which to dress. The layering system consists of a base layer, such as long underwear, an insulating layer, such as wool, fleece, or softshell and an outer layer hardshell, such as a Gore-tex jacket. Synthetic and wool fabrics are key for dressing in the mountains