The slopes at Sun Valley rise right from town, and are known for their sustained pitch.
SUN VALLEY
RECOMMENDED BY Reggie Crist
If Sun Valley were to launch a new ad campaign, the slogan might be “Come for the history, stay for the skiing.”
At least that’s how two-time Skier X winner Reggie Crist might write it.
“You have to start with the history of the place,” he began. “Sun Valley was America’s first destination ski resort. It was home to the first ski lift in North America, and was the epicenter of downhill skiing for many years. When you visit the Sun Valley Lodge and see all the old photos, you get a feeling for the history of the place. That history adds to the allure. From a skiing perspective, many have the perception that Sun Valley is a fairly easy mountain. It’s true that it’s always had lots of big runs that are groomed to a fault. But with the better, lighter equipment that’s come along in the last few decades, more people are venturing off-piste, and there’s a lot to explore on Baldy [Bald Mountain]. It gives you a lot of vertical in a short amount of time. The lifts go straight up the fall line and the runs come straight down. There’s a sustained, consistent pitch. When you ski Sun Valley, you’re going to get tired, as you’re always making turns. Local skiers are very strong thanks to all those turns—that’s why you get so many good racers coming out of here.”
Sun Valley owes its existence in large part to the vision of Averell Harriman and the Union Pacific Railroad. Harriman, who had developed a passion for skiing while traveling through Austria and Switzerland, wanted to develop a winter resort in the West—at least in part to drive traffic to his railroad. In 1935, he retained Count Felix Schaffgotsch, scion of an Austrian banking family who Harriman had met in his European travels, to scout out potential sites. After nearly a year of searching, Schaffgotsch came upon the old mining town of Ketchum in the Wood River Valley of central Idaho. Upon arrival, he wired Harriman: “This combines more delightful features than any place I have ever seen in Switzerland, Austria, or the U.S. for a winter resort.” Acreage was soon purchased, and by the winter of 1936, Sun Valley had opened its doors. Harriman and his team had a flair for public relations, and they quickly put the new resort on the map by inviting Hollywood royalty—the likes of Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, and Bing Crosby—to be guests of the lodge. They came, they skied, and the place that was marketed as “the American Shangri-La” was on the map.
Geopolitical conditions at the time of Sun Valley’s inception conspired to quickly make Sun Valley the epicenter of American skiing. “With Germany invading Austria and the general unrest in Europe in the late thirties, many of the ski instructors were fleeing Europe,” Reggie explained. “Harriman was sparing no expense in building Sun Valley into a world-class resort—as good or better than anything in Europe—and he hired the Europeans as instructors. You had many of the world’s best skiers in Sun Valley mixing with Hollywood’s elite, who were coming in on the overnight train from Los Angeles. It must have been interesting to see those colliding cultures.”
Many celebrities still come. A partial list of the rich and famous who regularly pass through the Sun Valley region includes Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey, Bruce Willis, Tom Hanks, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The chance to rub shoulders with glitterati may be enough of an allure for some, but most come for the hill. Most agree that Count Schaffgotsch did well. Bald Mountain (“Baldy” among regulars) is the core of Sun Valley, with 2,054 acres of inbounds terrain and 3,400 vertical feet accessed through sixty-six trails. (The other hill at Sun Valley, Dollar Mountain, has historically been geared toward beginners, though its freestyle amenities—including a twenty-two-foot super pipe and seventy-six rails spread over four parks—are making it “Park Central” for boarders and free skiers.) Harriman’s branding concept proved more than wishful thinking; Baldy and its surroundings are bathed in sunshine much of the ski season, which doesn’t hurt the resort’s appeal. How does an X Games champion ski Sun Valley? Reggie shared some of his strategies.
“I don’t necessarily have a favorite run at Baldy,” he opined, “but I’ll head for where I can find the best conditions … and this is often off the map. One on-the-map run that’s tough to beat, though, is a top-to-bottom high-speed run down Warm Springs—3,100 vertical feet of sustained pitch that is wide open and perfectly groomed. This run is guaranteed to make your eyes water and your legs burn. If I’m trying to find powder, I head for The Bowls [along the top of Baldy]. This is wide-open powder skiing for hard-charging skiers who like to let it run. This is my training grounds and the best place to strengthen my legs for big-mountain skiing in places like Alaska. As I mentioned earlier, Sun Valley doesn’t get recognition for its out-of-bounds skiing. You can drop off the mountain 360 degrees around and end up at your car. If conditions are right, I like the Castle Rock Burn. In 2007, a fire took down almost fifty thousand acres of forest on the north-facing slopes of Baldy. Now it’s a naked forest you can ski through.”
Where might you find Reggie at the end of the day, if he happens to be skiing Baldy? There’s a decent chance he’ll be at Apples Bar and Grill. “It’s at the base of the Warm Springs Lift,” Reggie added, “and it’s one of Sun Valley’s iconic watering holes. After a day of long runs, beer and a burger never tasted so good.”
REGGIE CRIST’S career goal is to ski as much powder as humanly possible. He was a member of the U.S. Ski Team for ten years and is one of the most accomplished X Games athletes of all time, having won the Skier X competition twice. When not on the race course, Reggie and his brother Zach are staple big-mountain skiers with production companies such as Warren Miller and Rage Films. They have also been featured in several adventure films, claiming first descents on the polar ice cap of Greenland, the Himalayas of Nepal, the Alps of New Zealand, and the coastal giants of Alaska. In the summer months, look for Reggie in the whitewater, riding big waves or kayaking Class 5 rapids.
If You Go
Getting There: Sun Valley is served by Alaska Airlines (800-252-7522; www.alaskaair.com) and SkyWest (800-221-1212; www.delta.com).
Season: Sun Valley is open Thanksgiving through mid-April.
Lift Tickets: Day tickets during the regular season at Sun Valley are $95; multi-day tickets are available.
Level of Difficulty: Sun Valley offers terrain for skiers of all ability levels. Its eighty runs are classified as 36 percent easy; 42 percent more difficult; 22 percent most difficult.
Accommodations: Sun Valley Resort (800-786-8259; www.sunvalley.com) offers a wide range of lodging options.
