SMA ON TRAINING FLT DSNDS PREMATURELY ON A PRACTICE APCH IN DESIGNATED MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN.

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WHILE FLYING AN INST TRAINING FLT AT 12000 FT ON VICTOR AIRWAY 21 N; WE REQUESTED A PRACTICE APCH AT POCATELLO ARPT. (WE WERE FILED TO WYS.) SLC CENTER CLRED US TO WYS ARPT VIA THE VOR AND RWY 3 POCATELLO APCH. WE ASKED CENTER IF WE WERE CLRED TO DSND AND WERE TOLD WE WERE CLRED. WE DSNDED TO 7000 MSL AND CROSSED THE POCATELLO VOR FOR THE PROC TURN OUTBOUND. CENTER THEN CALLED US AND ASKED OUR ALT AND ADVISED US THAT WE WERE CLRED TO DSND; BUT NOT BELOW THE MEA OF 9000 (10000 PUBLISHED). WE DID NOT PAY CLOSE ENOUGH ATTN TO OUR MEA ON THE VICTOR AIRWAY AND CENTER COULD HAVE BEEN MORE CLR ABOUT ALT THAT WE COULD DSND TO; AND BEING CLRED FOR THE APCH (I.E.; CLRED FOR THE POCATELLO VOR RWY 3 APCH; MAINTAIN 10000 UNTIL XING THE POC VOR). CONDITIONS WERE TERMINAL VMC AND IT WAS A GOOD LEARNING EXPERIENCE. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR WAS COUNSELED REF MEA'S AND MRA'S VERSUS INITIAL APCH ALTS. RPTR CONCURRED WITH ANALYST THAT A REVIEW OF THE PLATE AND THE ENRTE AIRWAYS FOR RESTR ALTS IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE; PARTICULARLY IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. RPTR FELT THAT THE VMC WX CONDITIONS WERE CONDUCIVE TO DSNDING WITHOUT CLOSER SCRUTINY OF ALTS. ANALYST REMINDED HIM THAT HE WAS STILL ON AN IFR CLRNC AND THAT CTLR EXPECTED THOSE ALTS TO BE OBSERVED BY THE PIC.