BY KAREN BOSSICK
A few years ago, Jeffrey Lubeck swung a pack holding 50 pounds of camera gear over his shoulders. Then he took off on skis from his cabin on Goat Creek near Stanley to the saddle between Thompson and Williams peaks.
He climbed 4,200 vertical feet, then skied a 420-foot drop down the 22-foot wide Garbage Chute. At 51 to 62 degrees, the chute is way steeper than Upper Canyon which, at 39 degrees, is the steepest named run on Baldy. Mission accomplished, he then skied 6 and a half hour miles back to his cabin.
“It was absolutely exhausting. But I loved it. This is our home—something that’s part of our lives every day,” he said.
Lubeck has memorialized that journey and countless others in his new coffee table book “Capturing the Valley Too.” Lubeck will showcase the book and photos from it from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 29, during the Giving Walk at MESH Art Gallery at 4th and Leadville streets.
The hardcover book of fine art photography is the result of four years of backcountry photo shoots taken of iconic and extraordinary places within the six mountain ranges that surround the Wood River Valley. Among them, the Finger of Fate, Birthday Cake and The Arrowhead in the Sawtooth Mountains, as well as Railroad Ridge, which sports Idaho’s highest jeep trail amidst the White Cloud mountains.
There’s even a dramatic sunrise on the Oregon Trail.
Lubeck returned to many of the places to reflect the same spots taken during different seasons of the year, even shooting some after winter’s first snow before access was closed off.
“The book is a collection of what we think are the best images taken over the last four years,” he said.
As with the first book—“Capturing the Valley,” which was released in 2015--the new book is an art piece in itself, said MESH Art Co-owner Kyle Lubeck.
“The book is printed using the highest quality materials in a large format lay-flat hinged paper configuration. This allows for the best results in terms of viewing and longevity,” Kyle Lubeck added.
Lubeck provides narrative for each photo in the book.
One is fun to read not because of the beautiful image it accompanies but because of the story related to the place.
“Lunch in Lower Stanley” was taken from the Woolley cabin—one of several Woolley family cabins along the Salmon River between Stanley and Clayton. Its former owner--David Mason Woolley—found his way back in the news after his alleged murderer was captured in late October 2019 in Rising Star, Texas.
Walter James Mason was accused of murdering Woolley in 1980 after accusing Woolley of having an affair with his wife, Lubeck said. The fight moved from the bar to the street where Mason shot Woodley in the head. Mason returned to the bar, firing three shots. Then he popped into a nearby bar for a drink before disappearing, leaving his family behind. Now 86, he was caught after 40 years a fugitive and returned to Idaho for prosecution last month.
The book will be available for $99.95 through Saturday, Dec. 8. Afterwards, the price will go to $150.