Inside Line: Sun Valley, ID
Sun Valley oozes history. In 1936, it debuted the world’s first chairlift and became a full-fledged destination resort, drawing visitors like Marilyn Monroe, Ernest Hemingway, and Louis Armstrong. And in 1946, Warren Miller started making ski movies there. Today, Sun Valley’s the home of ski-film stars Zach and Reggie Crist and the premier heli-ski outfitter in Idaho. But the real reason it’s a resort for the ages: Sun Valley’s terrain—ranging from high-speed rippers to wide-open bowls—never gets old.
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Powder Day: The Bowls will be packed. Instead, head down Flying Squirrel to a track through the trees on skier’s right to reach Frenchman’s South Slopes. A 10-minute hike up the ridge will get you to low-angle, gladed powder.
Three Days Later: Fire Trail, a steep shot through the trees, is camouflaged in the intermediate terrain off the Seattle Ridge chair. For stashes, hit the trees just skier’s right of Gretchen’s Gold.
Park and Pipe: With no true park, Sun Valley tries its damnedest with an immaculately groomed superpipe on Lower Warm Springs. Or try the flat, open area flanked by old storage trailers, nature-made rails, and skier-made hits at the top of I-80 nicknamed Grandma’s House.
Backcountry Access: Drop off the back of 9,150-foot Baldy into the 2,000-vertical-foot out-of-bounds Turkey Bowl. The 2007 Castle Rock Fire burned almost 50,000 acres in the area—and opened up new glades. Check avy conditions or hire a guide online at svtrek.com.
Weather: They don’t call it Sun Valley for nothing. The sun shines 80 percent of the time. The other 20 percent, it dumps. Last year, the mountain received 232 inches.
Après: At Apple’s, next to Warm Springs Lodge, beer flows and most skiers wear ski gear into the early evening. Less than two miles away in Ketchum, Lefty’s has burgers, hand-cut fries, drafts from the local River Bend Brewery, and personalized mugs hanging from the ceiling.
Fuel: Start your day with java from the Coffee Grinder, on East 4th Street, or crab-cake eggs Benedict and cheesy home fries from the Rustic Moose, on Highway 75 north of Ketchum. For lunch, get a chili dog with the works from Irving’s Red Hots, the stand at the base of Warm Springs.
Up All Night: The oldest and boldest bar in town, Whiskey Jacques, burned down this fall. So your best bets are shuffleboard at The Cellar or old-timers’ tall tales at the saloon-like Casino.
Digs: Rent a condo slopeside at Edelweiss, which has a heated pool with views of the lifts, full kitchens, and a free downtown shuttle that stops outside the front door (from $146; premier-sunvalley.com). Or get a room in Ketchum at the Tamarack Lodge for better access to the restaurants and bars (from $89; tamaracksunvalley.com).
Elevation: 9,150 feet
Vertical Drop: 3,400 feet
Snowfall: 219 inches
Acres: 2,045
Info: sunvalley.com
