Sun Valley, Idaho
Encyclopedia
Sun Valley is a resort city in Blaine County
in the central part of the U.S. state
of Idaho
, adjacent to the city of Ketchum
, lying within the greater Wood River
valley. Tourists from around the world enjoy its skiing
, hiking
, ice skating
, trail riding
, tennis
, and cycling. The population was 1,427 at the 2000 census
. Few of its residents stay year-round, and most come from major west coast cities like Seattle, Los Angeles
, San Francisco, and more distantly Chicago
and New York
. The elevation
of Sun Valley (at the Lodge) is 5920 feet (1804 m) above sea level. The area is served by Friedman Memorial Airport
in Hailey
, approximately 15 miles (24 km) south. Visitors to Sun Valley are relatively close to the Sawtooth National Recreation Area
, accessed over Galena Summit
on Highway 75
, the Sawtooth Scenic Byway.
Among skiers, the term "Sun Valley" refers to the alpine
ski area, which consists of Bald Mountain, the main ski mountain, and Dollar Mountain
, which is geared toward novice and lower intermediate skiers. Bald Mountain, or "Baldy," has a summit of 9150 feet (2789 m) and a vertical drop of 3400 feet (1036 m). With its abundance of constant-pitch terrain, at varying degrees of difficulty, coupled with its substantial vertical drop and absence of wind, Baldy has often been referred to as the best single ski mountain in the world. The treeless "Dollar"
at 6638 feet (2023 m) has a moderate vertical drop of 628 feet (191 m).
The term "Sun Valley" is used more generally to speak of the region surrounding the city, including the neighboring city of Ketchum
and the valley area winding south to Hailey
. The region has been a seasonal home to the rich, famous, and powerful, including Arnold Schwarzenegger
, Mats Wilander
, Walter Annenberg
, Adam West
, Ernest Hemingway
, Tom Hanks
, Steve Miller
, Demi Moore
, Peter Cetera
, Clint Eastwood
, Bruce Willis
, Ashton Kutcher
, Richard Dreyfuss
, Jamie Lee Curtis
, Steve Wynn, Mohamed al-Fayed
, Barbara Kent
, and Tony Robbins
.
, the chairman of the Union Pacific Railroad
, primarily to increase ridership on U.P. passenger trains in the West
. The success of the 1932 Winter Olympics
in Lake Placid, New York
, spurred an increase in participation in winter sports (and alpine skiing
in particular). A lifelong skier, Harriman determined that America would embrace a destination mountain resort, similar to those he enjoyed in the Swiss
Alps
, such as St. Moritz
and Davos
. During the winter of 1935–36, Harriman enlisted the services of an Austria
n count, Felix Schaffgotsch, to travel across the western U.S.
to locate an ideal site for a winter resort. The Count toured Mount Rainier
, Mount Hood
, Yosemite
, the San Bernardino Mountains
, Zion
, Rocky Mountain National Park
, the Wasatch Mountains, Pocatello
, Jackson Hole, and Grand Targhee
areas. Late in his trip and on the verge of abandoning his search for an ideal location for a mountain resort development, he backtracked toward the Ketchum
area in central Idaho
. A U.P.
employee in Boise
had casually mentioned that the rail spur to Ketchum
cost the company more money for snow removal than any other branch line and the Count went to explore.
Schaffgotsch was impressed by the combination of Bald Mountain and its surrounding mountains, adequate snowfall, abundant sunshine, moderate elevation, and absence of wind, and selected it as the site. Harriman visited several weeks later and agreed. The 3888 acres (15.7 km²) Brass Ranch was purchased for about $4 per acre and construction commenced that spring; it was built in seven months for $1.5 million.
Pioneering publicist Steve Hannigan, who had successfully promoted Miami Beach, Florida
, was hired and named the resort
"Sun Valley." (Count Schaffgotsch returned to Austria
and was killed on the Eastern Front
during World War II
.)
The centerpiece of the new resort was the Sun Valley Lodge, which opened in December 1936. The 220-room, X-shaped lodge's exterior was constructed of concrete, poured inside rough-sawn forms. The wood grain was impressed on the concrete finish, which was acid-stained brown to imitate wood.
The Swiss-style Challenger Inn (now the "Sun Valley Inn") and village were also part of the initial resort, opening in 1937. Hannigan wanted swimming pools at the resort, "so people won't think skiing is too cold." Both the Lodge and the Inn had heated outdoor swimming pools, circular in shape. Hannigan had the pools designed this way, unique at the time, in the hope they would be widely photographed, providing free publicity, and it worked.
s were installed on the resort's Proctor and Dollar Mountains
in the fall of 1936. (Proctor Mountain is northeast of Dollar Mountain). The U.P. chairlift design was adapted by an engineer recalling banana
loading conveyor equipment used for tropical fruit ships' cargo. Single-seat chairlifts were developed at the U.P.
headquarters in Omaha
in the summer of 1936. The chairlift went on to replace primitive rope tow
and other adaptations seen at ski areas at the time. The original Proctor Mountain Ski Lift is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
was still in its infancy in America, and it was believed by management that there were not enough accomplished skiers to justify its development in 1936. But it was quickly realized by the resort's restless Austria
n ski instructors that this fantastic mountain needed to be opened to the skiing public (and promoted) as soon as possible. The instructors had hiked up and skied down Baldy on their off days during the resort's first few seasons. These men were among the best skiers in the world, and had fled Austria
just before it had come under control of the Nazis in 1938 (Anschluss
).
For Sun Valley's fourth season, three chairlifts (in series) were installed on Bald Mountain during the summer of 1939, in the River Run area, the northeast face of the mountain overlooking Ketchum and Sun Valley. Ski runs had been cut out of the forest during the summers of 1938 and 1939. Friedl Pfeiffer, the new head of the ski school from St. Anton, Austria
, wanted the lifts to go to the very top of the mountain, something that had yet to be done anywhere, even in Europe
.
The loading point of the lowest chairlift (River) was on the Ketchum side of the Big Wood River
, at an elevation of 5750 feet (1752 m). The single chairs loaded near the parking lot, then horizontally crossed the river (about eight feet (2.5 m) above the water) before ascending the mountain, gaining 600 vertical feet (183 m). The middle lift (Canyon) gained over 1300 vertical feet and unloaded at the Roundhouse (a day lodge at 7700' (2347 m), built in 1939). The upper lift (Ridge) also climbed over 1,300 vertical feet (396 m), unloading at just above 9000 feet (2743 m) AMSL. Its lift capacity was a mere 426 skiers per hour (7 per minute). The three chairlifts that are in approximately the same lines today (2006) are: River Run (quad), Exhibition (triple), and Christmas (quad). The original lower single chairlift was replaced in the 1960s and the loading base was moved across the river; a footbridge
provides walking access from the parking lot to the River Run base area.
completed For Whom the Bell Tolls
while staying in suite 206 of the Lodge in the fall of 1939. Averell Harriman had invited Hemingway and other celebrities, primarily from Hollywood, to the resort to help promote it. Gary Cooper
was a frequent visitor and hunting/fishing partner, as were Clark Gable
, Errol Flynn
, Lucille Ball
, Marilyn Monroe
, and several members of the Kennedy family
. Hemingway was a part-time resident over the next twenty years, eventually relocating to Ketchum
("Papa" and his fourth wife are buried in the Ketchum Cemetery). The Hemingway Memorial, dedicated in 1966, is just off Trail Creek Road, about a mile northeast of the Sun Valley Lodge.
Sun Valley was featured (and promoted) in the 1941
movie Sun Valley Serenade
, starring Sonja Henie
, John Payne
, Milton Berle
, and bandleader Glenn Miller
. Scenes were shot at the resort in March 1941. Sun Valley transfer local and future gold medalist
Gretchen Fraser
was the skiing stand-in for Henie
. The film is shown continuously on television in the resort's guest rooms and nightly at the Opera House
during the winter season.
Sun Valley's oldest resident was former actress and silent movie
star Barbara Kent
.
, the resort was closed in 1942 and converted to a convalescent hospital for the U.S. Navy
(Pacific Theater).
It re-opened to the public in December 1946.
After the war, the resort's clinic operated on the third floor of the northern wing of the Sun Valley Lodge (wing closest to the Trail Creek Rd.) until the Sun Valley Community Hospital was built in 1961. That facility was named after Dr. John Moritz when he retired in 1973; the Nebraska
-born surgeon
had served as the resort's year-round physician for 33 years. The Moritz Hospital was closed shortly after the new St. Luke's branch hospital opened (south of Ketchum) in November 2000 and the Moritz building now serves as employee housing.
, while in his early twenties wintered in Sun Valley from 1946–49, first living in a car and small teardrop trailer
in the River Run parking lot. Miller would later rent an unheated garage for five dollars per month and sublet floor space to friends to pitch their sleeping bags (at fifty cents per night). One of these friends was Edward Scott, the future inventor of the lightweight aluminum ski pole. This extra cash helped Miller purchase his first rolls of 16 mm movie film, jump-starting his motion picture career. During this time he evolved from ski bum, to ski instructor, to ski filmmaker.
Miller has since traveled and filmed all over the world, but until recent years he continued to return to Sun Valley virtually every year. He has featured Sun Valley in dozens of his annual films, which has helped publicize the Sun Valley region worldwide. His movies still play around the country today.
, Harriman focused on his career in government service and the Union Pacific gradually lost interest in the resort. Rail service was discontinued to Ketchum in 1964 and that November the resort was sold to the Janss Investment Company
, a major Southern California
real estate developer headed by a former Olympic
ski team member, Bill Janss, founder of Snowmass. (Janss was selected to the 1940
team, but the games were cancelled due to the war
). Janss gained full control of Sun Valley in 1968. During this Janss era of ownership, the north-facing Warm Springs area was developed, as well as Seattle Ridge, and condominium and home construction increased significantly. Seven chairlifts were added, and the number of trails increased from 33 to 62. The original Seattle Ridge double chairlift was installed in 1976, but due to a very poor snow year in 1976–77 it was not operated until December 20, 1977, christened by local legend Gretchen Fraser
. Janss also has a ski run named after him, called "Janss Pass", formerly known as "Silver Fox", to the right of the Frenchman's chairlift.
businessman, learned of the situation through a small article in The Wall Street Journal
and contacted Janss and arranged for a meeting. For about $12 million, Holding purchased Sun Valley through his company, Sinclair Oil
, which operates the Little America Hotels & Resorts
. Holding was initially distrusted by many locals: "Earl is a Four Letter Word" was a popular bumper sticker in the late 1970s in Blaine County. But time proved that Holding did not buy the resort for property speculation; like his other assets he meant to operate and improve for the long-term.
Under Holding's ownership there have been substantial improvements on the mountain: extensive snowmaking
and grooming, high-capacity chairlifts, and the construction of three impressive day lodges, a gondola
, and the renovation of the classic Roundhouse restaurant.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, significant snowmaking
was introduced
on Bald Mountain. Three high-speed quad
chairlifts were installed during the summer of 1988 (Christmas, Challenger & Greyhawk). An impressive day lodge, constructed of logs, river rock, and glass, opened at the base of Warm Springs in the fall of 1992, replacing the 1960s "Northface Hut" cafeteria. Similar day lodges were later opened at the Seattle Ridge summit (1993), and the River Run base (1995).
An older cafeteria, the modest one-floor "Lookout Restaurant," is 120 feet (36.6 m) below the summit at 9030 ft (2752 m), at the top of three chairlifts. Built in 1973, it is the ground floor of a multi-story building that was never completed, resulting in its "basement-like" atmosphere. Nevertheless, the mountain views from this near-summit lodge are quite impressive. However, the resort's recently approved master plan has the facility slated for eventual replacement.
Four additional high-speed quads were installed in the 1990s. Two of these replaced older chairlifts on River Run (1992) and Seattle Ridge (1993), and two cut brand new paths: Lookout Express (1993) and Frenchman's (1994). Baldy's 13 chairlifts have a capacity of over 23,000 skiers per hour. With an average of 3500 skiers per day (& less than 6000 skiers per day during peak periods), Sun Valley has kept the lift lines to a minimum, a rarity among major resorts.
The Dollar Mountain
Lodge opened in November 2004. This day lodge replaces the Dollar Cabin, and also serves as the headquarters for the Sun Valley Ski School. It is similar in construction to the newer day lodges at the big mountain.
The interior of the original Sun Valley Lodge has been remodeled twice during Holding's ownership, in 1985 for the golden anniversary and again in 2004. The Sun Valley Inn was also remodeled recently.
The Sun Valley golf course saw significant improvement in the summer of 2008, with the opening of the new "White Cloud Nine" course on the site of the old Gun Club (relocated further down along Trail Creek road), as well as the opening of the "Sun Valley Club", a full service golf course club house built in the style of the resort's mountain day lodges, replacing a much smaller and older facility.
2008 also saw the opening of the "Sun Valley Pavilion", built in partnership with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony as a permanent home for the orchestra's annual tree and a half week series of free concerts. The Pavilion is a one of a kind state of the art performing arts facility that has already hosted several well known musical artists and more slated to perform in the near future.
In 2009, the resort installed the "Roundhouse Express Gondola
" on Bald mountain, which runs from the mountain's River Run Base to the Roundhouse Restaurant (located midway up the mountain, at 7700 feet (2350 m)). The Exhibition triple chairlift, originally as a single chair in 1939, was removed with the addition of the new 8-passenger lift. The new gondola carries both skiers and non-skiers to the restaurant for lunch and eventually dinner year-round. The Roundhouse Restaurant was built in 1939 and was finished being remodeled to accommodate its new year round role in 2010.
In 2006, Forbes magazine estimated that Sun Valley was worth in the range of $300 million.
circuit, the Harriman Cup at Sun Valley was one of the major ski races held in North America
, along with the "Snow Cup" at Alta
, the "Roach Cup" at Aspen Mountain
, and the "Silver Belt" races at Sugar Bowl
, north of Lake Tahoe
. Originally known as the "Sun Valley International Open," the Harriman Cup races were the first major international ski competitions held in North America
, beginning in 1937. The first three competitions of 1937–39 were held in the Boulder Mountains north of Sun Valley. Beginning in 1940, the Harriman Cup was held on the Warm Springs side of Bald Mountain, decades before chairlifts were installed on that north face of the mountain. American Dick Durrance
won three of the first four Harriman Cups, stunning the over-confident Europeans.
In March 1975
and 1977
, Sun Valley hosted World Cup
ski races, with slalom
and giant slalom
events for both men and women, run on the Warm Springs side of the mountain.
The 1975
slalom
was won by Gustavo Thoeni
, the dominant World Cup skier of the early 1970s (which turned out to be his last win in the slalom
discipline). A young Ingemar Stenmark
of Sweden
, perhaps the greatest technical ski racer ever, took the giant slalom
title both years. Phil Mahre
of White Pass
, Washington, age 19, won the 1977
slalom
race over Stenmark, with twin brother Steve
placing third. It was Phil's second win (he had won a GS
in France
in December), but his first victory in the slalom
and first in the U.S., and being from the Northwest
, very close to home.
The present ownership has declined to host any World Cup
races since, as it involves closing off runs for a significant time. But during the 2002 Winter Olympics
in Salt Lake
(300 miles to the southeast), Sun Valley was used as a training site for many nations' alpine and Nordic ski teams. The alpine speed events for the Olympics were held at a sister resort, Snowbasin
, outside of Ogden
, Utah
.
Olympic medalists from Sun Valley include Gretchen Fraser
, Christin Cooper
, Picabo Street
, and disabled skier Muffy Davis. Muffy Davis is also a founding and honorary board member of Sun Valley Adaptive Sports. All four have runs named after them on Bald Mountain: three are on Seattle Ridge (Gretchen's Gold, Christin's Silver (ex-Silver Fox), and Muffy's Medals (ex-Southern Comfort)), and Picabo's Street (ex-Plaza) on Warm Springs.
"At an elevation of 5945 feet, the air in Sun Valley is rarefied- and so is the clientele of the area's top-flight art galleries. Serving the valley's plethora of well-heeled and well-educated art collections are art galleries that could hold their own in Manhattan, Berlin, London or Los Angeles." – Art Ltd Magazine
The non-profit Sun Valley Center for the Arts and Humanities was founded in 1971 by Glenn and Bill Janss. The original 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) campus was located off Dollar Road in Sun Valley. Studios and workshops were open to the public and focused on Ceramics, founded by James Romberg; Photography, founded by Sheri Heiser and Peter deLory; and Fine Arts, founded by David W. Wharton. The SVC offered year-round workshops, lectures, and exhibitions by nationally recognized artists and craft persons to both residents and tourists to Blaine County
.
Today the Sun Valley Center for the Arts has its main building in nearby Ketchum
as well as a historic house and classroom in Hailey
, and continues to present an impressive list of guest artists in the visual and performing arts.
The southern area, called Elkhorn, has its own shopping/hotel/condo complex and 18-hole golf course (now private), and is in many ways quite distinct and separate (including a drier "sagebrush" appearance). This area, near Dollar Mountain, was initially developed during the late 1960s and 1970s. In July 2011 the Sun Valley Company took over day to day operations of the Elkhorn Golf Course and named Rick Hickman director of Golf Operations for the Sun Valley Company.
Adjacent to Sun Valley is the older city of Ketchum
, which is just a mile downstream of the Sun Valley Lodge (along Trail Creek). Ketchum comprises primarily the 19th century town center (with its limited grid system) and lands adjacent to Bald Mountain: along the Big Wood River
and Warm Springs Creek.
The Sun Valley/Ketchum CVB offers area wide information on events, vacation planning information and area resources.
On September 11, 2005, the Dalai Lama
visited Wood River High School in Hailey
to give a speech on understanding and friendship in remembrance of the September 11, 2001 Attacks
and offered condolences to the many thousands affected by the recent Hurricane Katrina
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 9.9 square miles (25.6 km²), of which 9.9 square miles (25.6 km²) of it is land and 0.10% is water.
of 2000, there were 1,427 people, 594 households, and 343 families residing in the city. The population density
was 144.6 people per square mile (55.8/km²). There were 2,339 housing units at an average density of 237.1 per square mile (91.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.43% White, 0.35% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.77% Asian, 4.20% from other races
, and 1.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.15% of the population.
There were 594 households out of which 16.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples
living together, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.1% were non-families. 34.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.97 and the average family size was 2.50.
In the city the population was spread out with 11.9% under the age of 18, 12.2% from 18 to 24, 21.9% from 25 to 44, 36.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 104.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $71,000, and the median income for a family was $85,000. Males had a median income of $31,979 versus $27,143 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $50,563. About 2.7% of families and 14.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.7% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.
Blaine County, Idaho
Blaine County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 Census the county had a population of 21,376. The county seat and largest city is Hailey. The county is home to the Sun Valley ski resort....
in the central part of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, adjacent to the city of Ketchum
Ketchum, Idaho
Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, United States, in the central part of the state. The population was 3,003 at the 2000 census. It is in the Wood River Valley, adjacent to Sun Valley; the two communities share many resources and both sit in the same valley beneath Bald Mountain, with its...
, lying within the greater Wood River
Big Wood River
The Big Wood River is a river in central Idaho. It is a tributary of the Malad River, which in turn is tributary to the Snake River and Columbia River.-Course:...
valley. Tourists from around the world enjoy its skiing
Alpine skiing
Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...
, hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, ice skating
Ice skating
Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
, trail riding
Trail riding
Trail riding sometimes called horse or pony trekking is riding outdoors on natural trails and roads as opposed to riding in an enclosed area such as a riding arena. The term may encompass those who travel on horses, on mountain bikes, or on motorcycles and other motorized all-terrain vehicles...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, and cycling. The population was 1,427 at the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
. Few of its residents stay year-round, and most come from major west coast cities like Seattle, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, San Francisco, and more distantly Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The elevation
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of Sun Valley (at the Lodge) is 5920 feet (1804 m) above sea level. The area is served by Friedman Memorial Airport
Friedman Memorial Airport
Friedman Memorial Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located one nautical mile southeast of the central business district of Hailey, a city in Blaine County, Idaho, United States. The airport is operated by the Friedman Memorial Airport Authority under a Joint Powers Agreement between the...
in Hailey
Hailey, Idaho
Hailey is a city in and the county seat of Blaine County, in the Wood River Valley of the central part of the U.S. state of Idaho. The population was 6,200 at the 2000 census. Hailey is the site of Friedman Memorial Airport , the airport for the resort area of Sun Valley/Ketchum, north. The town...
, approximately 15 miles (24 km) south. Visitors to Sun Valley are relatively close to the Sawtooth National Recreation Area
Sawtooth National Recreation Area
The Sawtooth National Recreation Area is a National Recreation Area located in central Idaho, within the Boise, Challis, and Sawtooth National Forests. The recreation area is managed by the U.S. Forest Service and includes the Sawtooth Wilderness...
, accessed over Galena Summit
Galena Summit
Galena Summit is a high mountain pass in central Idaho, United States, at an elevation of above sea level. The pass is located in the Boulder Mountains, in the northwest corner of Blaine County, within the Sawtooth National Recreation Area of the Sawtooth National Forest.The summit is on State...
on Highway 75
Idaho State Highway 75
State Highway 75 is a two-lane highway that travels through the Sawtooth Range of central Idaho from Shoshone to Challis. The road is designated as one of Idaho's scenic byways and provides access to Sawtooth National Recreation Area...
, the Sawtooth Scenic Byway.
Among skiers, the term "Sun Valley" refers to the alpine
Alpine skiing
Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...
ski area, which consists of Bald Mountain, the main ski mountain, and Dollar Mountain
Dollar mountain
Dollar Mountain is a ski hill in south central Idaho, part of the Sun Valley ski resort. The treeless Dollar caters primarily to beginner and lower intermediate skiers; the primary mountain for advanced skiers is Bald Mountain, or "Baldy", adjacent to the city of Ketchum.Dollar Mountain is served...
, which is geared toward novice and lower intermediate skiers. Bald Mountain, or "Baldy," has a summit of 9150 feet (2789 m) and a vertical drop of 3400 feet (1036 m). With its abundance of constant-pitch terrain, at varying degrees of difficulty, coupled with its substantial vertical drop and absence of wind, Baldy has often been referred to as the best single ski mountain in the world. The treeless "Dollar"
Dollar mountain
Dollar Mountain is a ski hill in south central Idaho, part of the Sun Valley ski resort. The treeless Dollar caters primarily to beginner and lower intermediate skiers; the primary mountain for advanced skiers is Bald Mountain, or "Baldy", adjacent to the city of Ketchum.Dollar Mountain is served...
at 6638 feet (2023 m) has a moderate vertical drop of 628 feet (191 m).
The term "Sun Valley" is used more generally to speak of the region surrounding the city, including the neighboring city of Ketchum
Ketchum, Idaho
Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, United States, in the central part of the state. The population was 3,003 at the 2000 census. It is in the Wood River Valley, adjacent to Sun Valley; the two communities share many resources and both sit in the same valley beneath Bald Mountain, with its...
and the valley area winding south to Hailey
Hailey, Idaho
Hailey is a city in and the county seat of Blaine County, in the Wood River Valley of the central part of the U.S. state of Idaho. The population was 6,200 at the 2000 census. Hailey is the site of Friedman Memorial Airport , the airport for the resort area of Sun Valley/Ketchum, north. The town...
. The region has been a seasonal home to the rich, famous, and powerful, including Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
, Mats Wilander
Mats Wilander
Mats Wilander is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Sweden. From 1982 through 1988, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles , and one Grand Slam men's doubles title...
, Walter Annenberg
Walter Annenberg
Walter Hubert Annenberg was an American publisher, philanthropist, and diplomat.-Early life:Walter Annenberg was born to a Jewish family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on March 13, 1908. He was the son of Sarah and Moses "Moe" Annenberg, who published The Daily Racing Form and purchased The Philadelphia...
, Adam West
Adam West
William West Anderson , better known by the stage name Adam West, is an American actor best known for his lead role in the Batman TV series and the film of the same name...
, Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
, Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
, Steve Miller
Steve Miller (musician)
Steven H. "Steve" Miller is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who began his career in blues and blues rock and evolved to a more popular-oriented sound which, from the mid 1970s through the early 1980s, resulted in a series of successful singles and albums.-Early years:Born in Milwaukee,...
, Demi Moore
Demi Moore
Demi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
, Peter Cetera
Peter Cetera
Peter Paul Cetera is an American singer, songwriter, bassist and producer best known for being an original member of the rock band Chicago, before launching a successful solo career...
, Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
, Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
, Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher
Christopher Ashton Kutcher , best known as Ashton Kutcher, is an American actor, producer, former fashion model and comedian, best known for his portrayal of Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show...
, Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
, Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis is an American actress and author. Although she was initially known as a "scream queen" because of her starring roles in several horror films early in her career, such as Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train, Curtis has since compiled a body of work that spans many...
, Steve Wynn, Mohamed al-Fayed
Mohamed Al-Fayed
Mohamed Abdel Moneim Al-Fayed is an Egyptian businessman and billionaire. Amongst his business interests are ownership of the English Premiership football team Fulham Football Club, Hôtel Ritz Paris and formerly Harrods Department Store, Knightsbridge...
, Barbara Kent
Barbara Kent
Barbara Kent was a Canadian-born U.S.-based silent film actress. Following the death of Miriam Seegar, she was the last North American actor still alive to have achieved substantial fame during the silent film era as an adult.-Career:Born as Barbara Cloutman in Gadsby, Alberta, to Jullion Curtis...
, and Tony Robbins
Tony Robbins
Anthony "Tony" Robbins is an American self-help author and motivational speaker. He became well known through his infomercials and self-help books, Unlimited Power: The New Science Of Personal Achievement and Awaken The Giant Within...
.
Union Pacific Railroad (1936–64)
The first destination winter resort in the U.S. was developed by W. Averell HarrimanW. Averell Harriman
William Averell Harriman was an American Democratic Party politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was the son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman. He served as Secretary of Commerce under President Harry S. Truman and later as the 48th Governor of New York...
, the chairman of the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
, primarily to increase ridership on U.P. passenger trains in the West
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
. The success of the 1932 Winter Olympics
1932 Winter Olympics
The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1932 in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February 4 and closed on February 15. It would be the first winter olympics held in the United...
in Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....
, spurred an increase in participation in winter sports (and alpine skiing
Alpine skiing
Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...
in particular). A lifelong skier, Harriman determined that America would embrace a destination mountain resort, similar to those he enjoyed in the Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
, such as St. Moritz
St. Moritz
St. Moritz is a resort town in the Engadine valley in Switzerland. It is a municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden...
and Davos
Davos
Davos is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of 11,248 . Davos is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Range...
. During the winter of 1935–36, Harriman enlisted the services of an Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n count, Felix Schaffgotsch, to travel across the western U.S.
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
to locate an ideal site for a winter resort. The Count toured Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier is a massive stratovolcano located southeast of Seattle in the state of Washington, United States. It is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States and the Cascade Volcanic Arc, with a summit elevation of . Mt. Rainier is considered one of the most...
, Mount Hood
Mount Hood
Mount Hood, called Wy'east by the Multnomah tribe, is a stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc of northern Oregon. It was formed by a subduction zone and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States...
, Yosemite
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
, the San Bernardino Mountains
San Bernardino Mountains
The San Bernardino Mountains are a short transverse mountain range north and east of San Bernardino in Southern California in the United States. The mountains run for approximately 60 miles east-west on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert in southwestern San Bernardino County, north of the...
, Zion
Zion National Park
Zion National Park is located in the Southwestern United States, near Springdale, Utah. A prominent feature of the park is Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles long and up to half a mile deep, cut through the reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone by the North Fork of the Virgin River...
, Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park is a national park located in the north-central region of the U.S. state of Colorado.It features majestic mountain views, a variety of wildlife, varied climates and environments—from wooded forests to mountain tundra—and easy access to back-country trails...
, the Wasatch Mountains, Pocatello
Pocatello, Idaho
Pocatello is the county seat and largest city of Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the Pocatello metropolitan area, which encompasses all of Bannock...
, Jackson Hole, and Grand Targhee
Grand Targhee Resort
Grand Targhee Resort is a ski resort located in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest in Alta, Wyoming. It is northwest of Jackson, Wyoming, accessible by road only by way of Driggs, Idaho. The resort has lodging, a spa, retail stores, and conference facilities...
areas. Late in his trip and on the verge of abandoning his search for an ideal location for a mountain resort development, he backtracked toward the Ketchum
Ketchum, Idaho
Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, United States, in the central part of the state. The population was 3,003 at the 2000 census. It is in the Wood River Valley, adjacent to Sun Valley; the two communities share many resources and both sit in the same valley beneath Bald Mountain, with its...
area in central Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
. A U.P.
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
employee in Boise
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
had casually mentioned that the rail spur to Ketchum
Ketchum, Idaho
Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, United States, in the central part of the state. The population was 3,003 at the 2000 census. It is in the Wood River Valley, adjacent to Sun Valley; the two communities share many resources and both sit in the same valley beneath Bald Mountain, with its...
cost the company more money for snow removal than any other branch line and the Count went to explore.
Schaffgotsch was impressed by the combination of Bald Mountain and its surrounding mountains, adequate snowfall, abundant sunshine, moderate elevation, and absence of wind, and selected it as the site. Harriman visited several weeks later and agreed. The 3888 acres (15.7 km²) Brass Ranch was purchased for about $4 per acre and construction commenced that spring; it was built in seven months for $1.5 million.
Pioneering publicist Steve Hannigan, who had successfully promoted Miami Beach, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, was hired and named the resort
"Sun Valley." (Count Schaffgotsch returned to Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and was killed on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.)
The centerpiece of the new resort was the Sun Valley Lodge, which opened in December 1936. The 220-room, X-shaped lodge's exterior was constructed of concrete, poured inside rough-sawn forms. The wood grain was impressed on the concrete finish, which was acid-stained brown to imitate wood.
The Swiss-style Challenger Inn (now the "Sun Valley Inn") and village were also part of the initial resort, opening in 1937. Hannigan wanted swimming pools at the resort, "so people won't think skiing is too cold." Both the Lodge and the Inn had heated outdoor swimming pools, circular in shape. Hannigan had the pools designed this way, unique at the time, in the hope they would be widely photographed, providing free publicity, and it worked.
Chairlifts
The world's first chairliftChairlift
An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs...
s were installed on the resort's Proctor and Dollar Mountains
Dollar mountain
Dollar Mountain is a ski hill in south central Idaho, part of the Sun Valley ski resort. The treeless Dollar caters primarily to beginner and lower intermediate skiers; the primary mountain for advanced skiers is Bald Mountain, or "Baldy", adjacent to the city of Ketchum.Dollar Mountain is served...
in the fall of 1936. (Proctor Mountain is northeast of Dollar Mountain). The U.P. chairlift design was adapted by an engineer recalling banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
loading conveyor equipment used for tropical fruit ships' cargo. Single-seat chairlifts were developed at the U.P.
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
headquarters in Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
in the summer of 1936. The chairlift went on to replace primitive rope tow
Ski tow
thumb|right|A rope tow or ski tow.A ski tow, also called rope tow or handle tow, is a mechanised system for pulling skiers and snowboarders uphill....
and other adaptations seen at ski areas at the time. The original Proctor Mountain Ski Lift is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Bald Mountain
While Bald Mountain was one of the reasons for the selection of the site, it was not initially part of the resort. The plan was to eventually develop it as a ski mountain, but sometime in the future. Alpine skiingAlpine skiing
Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...
was still in its infancy in America, and it was believed by management that there were not enough accomplished skiers to justify its development in 1936. But it was quickly realized by the resort's restless Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n ski instructors that this fantastic mountain needed to be opened to the skiing public (and promoted) as soon as possible. The instructors had hiked up and skied down Baldy on their off days during the resort's first few seasons. These men were among the best skiers in the world, and had fled Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
just before it had come under control of the Nazis in 1938 (Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
).
For Sun Valley's fourth season, three chairlifts (in series) were installed on Bald Mountain during the summer of 1939, in the River Run area, the northeast face of the mountain overlooking Ketchum and Sun Valley. Ski runs had been cut out of the forest during the summers of 1938 and 1939. Friedl Pfeiffer, the new head of the ski school from St. Anton, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, wanted the lifts to go to the very top of the mountain, something that had yet to be done anywhere, even in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
The loading point of the lowest chairlift (River) was on the Ketchum side of the Big Wood River
Big Wood River
The Big Wood River is a river in central Idaho. It is a tributary of the Malad River, which in turn is tributary to the Snake River and Columbia River.-Course:...
, at an elevation of 5750 feet (1752 m). The single chairs loaded near the parking lot, then horizontally crossed the river (about eight feet (2.5 m) above the water) before ascending the mountain, gaining 600 vertical feet (183 m). The middle lift (Canyon) gained over 1300 vertical feet and unloaded at the Roundhouse (a day lodge at 7700' (2347 m), built in 1939). The upper lift (Ridge) also climbed over 1,300 vertical feet (396 m), unloading at just above 9000 feet (2743 m) AMSL. Its lift capacity was a mere 426 skiers per hour (7 per minute). The three chairlifts that are in approximately the same lines today (2006) are: River Run (quad), Exhibition (triple), and Christmas (quad). The original lower single chairlift was replaced in the 1960s and the loading base was moved across the river; a footbridge
Footbridge
A footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. Footbridges complement the landscape and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas or to signal a transaction...
provides walking access from the parking lot to the River Run base area.
Celebrities
Author Ernest HemingwayErnest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
completed For Whom the Bell Tolls
For Whom the Bell Tolls
For Whom the Bell Tolls is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to a republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As an expert in the use of explosives, he is assigned to blow up a...
while staying in suite 206 of the Lodge in the fall of 1939. Averell Harriman had invited Hemingway and other celebrities, primarily from Hollywood, to the resort to help promote it. Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
was a frequent visitor and hunting/fishing partner, as were Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
, Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
, Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
, Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
, and several members of the Kennedy family
Kennedy family
In the United States, the phrase Kennedy family commonly refers to the family descending from the marriage of the Irish-Americans Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald that was prominent in American politics and government. Their political involvement has revolved around the...
. Hemingway was a part-time resident over the next twenty years, eventually relocating to Ketchum
Ketchum, Idaho
Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, United States, in the central part of the state. The population was 3,003 at the 2000 census. It is in the Wood River Valley, adjacent to Sun Valley; the two communities share many resources and both sit in the same valley beneath Bald Mountain, with its...
("Papa" and his fourth wife are buried in the Ketchum Cemetery). The Hemingway Memorial, dedicated in 1966, is just off Trail Creek Road, about a mile northeast of the Sun Valley Lodge.
Sun Valley was featured (and promoted) in the 1941
1941 in film
The year 1941 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.-Top grossing films :-Academy Awards:...
movie Sun Valley Serenade
Sun Valley Serenade
Sun Valley Serenade is a 1941 musical film starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, and Lynn Bari. It features The Glenn Miller Orchestra as well as dancing by The Nicholas Brothers and Dorothy Dandridge, performing "Chattanooga Choo Choo", which was nominated for an Academy...
, starring Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic Champion in Ladies Singles, a ten-time World Champion and a six-time European Champion . Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies figure skater...
, John Payne
John Payne (actor)
John Payne was an American film actor who is mainly remembered as a singer in 20th Century Fox musical films, and for his leading roles in Miracle on 34th Street and the NBC western television series The Restless Gun.-Background:Payne was born in Roanoke, Virginia...
, Milton Berle
Milton Berle
Milton Berlinger , better known as Milton Berle, was an American comedian and actor. As the manic host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater , in 1948 he was the first major star of U.S. television and as such became known as Uncle Miltie and Mr...
, and bandleader Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
. Scenes were shot at the resort in March 1941. Sun Valley transfer local and future gold medalist
Alpine skiing at the 1948 Winter Olympics
At the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland, the six alpine skiing events were held from Monday, February 2 to Thursday February 5, 1948.After these games, the combined event was dropped as an Olympic medal event for four decades, until 1988...
Gretchen Fraser
Gretchen Fraser
Gretchen Kunigk Fraser was an alpine ski racer. She was the first American to win an Olympic gold medal for skiing....
was the skiing stand-in for Henie
Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic Champion in Ladies Singles, a ten-time World Champion and a six-time European Champion . Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies figure skater...
. The film is shown continuously on television in the resort's guest rooms and nightly at the Opera House
Sun Valley Opera House
The Sun Valley Opera House was built in 1937 in Sun Valley, Idaho, as a movie theater. The picturesque Opera House has a 344-seat capacity and a state-of-the-art sound system . It is the site for special events and as well as nightly showing of first-run movies...
during the winter season.
Sun Valley's oldest resident was former actress and silent movie
Silent Movie
Silent Movie is a 1976 satirical comedy film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks, and released by 20th Century Fox on June 17, 1976...
star Barbara Kent
Barbara Kent
Barbara Kent was a Canadian-born U.S.-based silent film actress. Following the death of Miriam Seegar, she was the last North American actor still alive to have achieved substantial fame during the silent film era as an adult.-Career:Born as Barbara Cloutman in Gadsby, Alberta, to Jullion Curtis...
.
World War II
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the resort was closed in 1942 and converted to a convalescent hospital for the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
(Pacific Theater).
It re-opened to the public in December 1946.
After the war, the resort's clinic operated on the third floor of the northern wing of the Sun Valley Lodge (wing closest to the Trail Creek Rd.) until the Sun Valley Community Hospital was built in 1961. That facility was named after Dr. John Moritz when he retired in 1973; the Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
-born surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
had served as the resort's year-round physician for 33 years. The Moritz Hospital was closed shortly after the new St. Luke's branch hospital opened (south of Ketchum) in November 2000 and the Moritz building now serves as employee housing.
Warren Miller
Noted ski film producer Warren MillerWarren Miller (director)
Warren Miller is an American ski and snowboarding filmmaker. He is the founder of Warren Miller Entertainment and produced, directed and narrated his films until 1988. His credits include over 750 sports films, several books and hundreds of published non-fiction stories...
, while in his early twenties wintered in Sun Valley from 1946–49, first living in a car and small teardrop trailer
Teardrop trailer
A teardrop trailer, also known as a teardrop camper trailer, is a streamlined, compact, lightweight travel trailer, which gets its name from its teardrop profile. They usually only have sleeping space for two adults and often have a basic kitchen in the rear....
in the River Run parking lot. Miller would later rent an unheated garage for five dollars per month and sublet floor space to friends to pitch their sleeping bags (at fifty cents per night). One of these friends was Edward Scott, the future inventor of the lightweight aluminum ski pole. This extra cash helped Miller purchase his first rolls of 16 mm movie film, jump-starting his motion picture career. During this time he evolved from ski bum, to ski instructor, to ski filmmaker.
Miller has since traveled and filmed all over the world, but until recent years he continued to return to Sun Valley virtually every year. He has featured Sun Valley in dozens of his annual films, which has helped publicize the Sun Valley region worldwide. His movies still play around the country today.
Bill Janss (1964–77)
After World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Harriman focused on his career in government service and the Union Pacific gradually lost interest in the resort. Rail service was discontinued to Ketchum in 1964 and that November the resort was sold to the Janss Investment Company
Janss Investment Company
The Janss Investment Company was a family run, Los Angeles, California, real estate development company that operated from 1895 to 1995.-First generation:...
, a major Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
real estate developer headed by a former Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
ski team member, Bill Janss, founder of Snowmass. (Janss was selected to the 1940
1940 Winter Olympics
The anticipated 1940 Winter Olympics, which would have been officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games, were to be celebrated in 1940 in Sapporo, Japan.The games were cancelled due to the onset of World War II...
team, but the games were cancelled due to the war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
). Janss gained full control of Sun Valley in 1968. During this Janss era of ownership, the north-facing Warm Springs area was developed, as well as Seattle Ridge, and condominium and home construction increased significantly. Seven chairlifts were added, and the number of trails increased from 33 to 62. The original Seattle Ridge double chairlift was installed in 1976, but due to a very poor snow year in 1976–77 it was not operated until December 20, 1977, christened by local legend Gretchen Fraser
Gretchen Fraser
Gretchen Kunigk Fraser was an alpine ski racer. She was the first American to win an Olympic gold medal for skiing....
. Janss also has a ski run named after him, called "Janss Pass", formerly known as "Silver Fox", to the right of the Frenchman's chairlift.
Earl Holding (1977–present)
In 1977 Janss was running low on funds and had entered into negotiations to sell the resort to the Walt Disney Company. While the negotiations were strung out by Disney, Earl Holding, a UtahUtah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
businessman, learned of the situation through a small article in The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
and contacted Janss and arranged for a meeting. For about $12 million, Holding purchased Sun Valley through his company, Sinclair Oil
Sinclair Oil
Sinclair Oil Corporation is an American petroleum corporation, founded by Harry F. Sinclair on May 1, 1916 as the Sinclair Oil & Refining Corporation by combining the assets of 11 small petroleum companies. Originally a New York corporation, Sinclair Oil reincorporated in Wyoming in 1976...
, which operates the Little America Hotels & Resorts
Little America Hotels
The Little America chain of hotels consists of 4 hotels in the western United States. The very first Little America, called Little America Wyoming, is west of Green River, Wyoming, and west of Rock Springs, Wyoming on Interstate 80. Built in 1934, the property began with 12 guest rooms, 2 gas...
. Holding was initially distrusted by many locals: "Earl is a Four Letter Word" was a popular bumper sticker in the late 1970s in Blaine County. But time proved that Holding did not buy the resort for property speculation; like his other assets he meant to operate and improve for the long-term.
Under Holding's ownership there have been substantial improvements on the mountain: extensive snowmaking
Snowmaking
Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun" or "snow cannon", on ski slopes. Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliability of their snow cover and to extend their ski...
and grooming, high-capacity chairlifts, and the construction of three impressive day lodges, a gondola
Gondola lift
A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,...
, and the renovation of the classic Roundhouse restaurant.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, significant snowmaking
Snowmaking
Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun" or "snow cannon", on ski slopes. Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliability of their snow cover and to extend their ski...
was introduced
on Bald Mountain. Three high-speed quad
Detachable chairlift
A detachable chairlift or high-speed chairlift is a type of passenger aerial lift, which, like a fixed-grip chairlift, consists of numerous chairs attached to a constantly moving wire rope that is strung between two terminals over intermediate towers. They are now commonplace at all but the...
chairlifts were installed during the summer of 1988 (Christmas, Challenger & Greyhawk). An impressive day lodge, constructed of logs, river rock, and glass, opened at the base of Warm Springs in the fall of 1992, replacing the 1960s "Northface Hut" cafeteria. Similar day lodges were later opened at the Seattle Ridge summit (1993), and the River Run base (1995).
An older cafeteria, the modest one-floor "Lookout Restaurant," is 120 feet (36.6 m) below the summit at 9030 ft (2752 m), at the top of three chairlifts. Built in 1973, it is the ground floor of a multi-story building that was never completed, resulting in its "basement-like" atmosphere. Nevertheless, the mountain views from this near-summit lodge are quite impressive. However, the resort's recently approved master plan has the facility slated for eventual replacement.
Four additional high-speed quads were installed in the 1990s. Two of these replaced older chairlifts on River Run (1992) and Seattle Ridge (1993), and two cut brand new paths: Lookout Express (1993) and Frenchman's (1994). Baldy's 13 chairlifts have a capacity of over 23,000 skiers per hour. With an average of 3500 skiers per day (& less than 6000 skiers per day during peak periods), Sun Valley has kept the lift lines to a minimum, a rarity among major resorts.
The Dollar Mountain
Dollar mountain
Dollar Mountain is a ski hill in south central Idaho, part of the Sun Valley ski resort. The treeless Dollar caters primarily to beginner and lower intermediate skiers; the primary mountain for advanced skiers is Bald Mountain, or "Baldy", adjacent to the city of Ketchum.Dollar Mountain is served...
Lodge opened in November 2004. This day lodge replaces the Dollar Cabin, and also serves as the headquarters for the Sun Valley Ski School. It is similar in construction to the newer day lodges at the big mountain.
The interior of the original Sun Valley Lodge has been remodeled twice during Holding's ownership, in 1985 for the golden anniversary and again in 2004. The Sun Valley Inn was also remodeled recently.
The Sun Valley golf course saw significant improvement in the summer of 2008, with the opening of the new "White Cloud Nine" course on the site of the old Gun Club (relocated further down along Trail Creek road), as well as the opening of the "Sun Valley Club", a full service golf course club house built in the style of the resort's mountain day lodges, replacing a much smaller and older facility.
2008 also saw the opening of the "Sun Valley Pavilion", built in partnership with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony as a permanent home for the orchestra's annual tree and a half week series of free concerts. The Pavilion is a one of a kind state of the art performing arts facility that has already hosted several well known musical artists and more slated to perform in the near future.
In 2009, the resort installed the "Roundhouse Express Gondola
Gondola lift
A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,...
" on Bald mountain, which runs from the mountain's River Run Base to the Roundhouse Restaurant (located midway up the mountain, at 7700 feet (2350 m)). The Exhibition triple chairlift, originally as a single chair in 1939, was removed with the addition of the new 8-passenger lift. The new gondola carries both skiers and non-skiers to the restaurant for lunch and eventually dinner year-round. The Roundhouse Restaurant was built in 1939 and was finished being remodeled to accommodate its new year round role in 2010.
In 2006, Forbes magazine estimated that Sun Valley was worth in the range of $300 million.
Ski racing
In the years before the World CupAlpine skiing World Cup
The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France and the USA...
circuit, the Harriman Cup at Sun Valley was one of the major ski races held in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, along with the "Snow Cup" at Alta
Alta Ski Area
Alta is a ski area located in the Wasatch Mountains, just east of Salt Lake City, Utah. With a skiable area of 2200 acres , beginning at a base elevation of 8530 ft and rising to 10,550 ft for a vertical gain of 2020 ft . Alta is one of the oldest ski resorts in the country,...
, the "Roach Cup" at Aspen Mountain
Aspen Mountain (ski area)
Aspen Mountain is a ski area located in Pitkin County, Colorado, just outside and above the city of Aspen. It is situated on the north flank of Aspen Mountain and the higher Bell Mountain at an elevation of 11,212 ft just to the south of Aspen Mountain...
, and the "Silver Belt" races at Sugar Bowl
Sugar Bowl Ski Resort
Sugar Bowl is a ski and snowboard area in northern Placer County near Norden, California along the Donner Pass of the Sierra Nevada, approximately west of Reno, Nevada on Interstate 80, that opened on December 15, 1939...
, north of Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. At a surface elevation of , it is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is , making it the USA's second-deepest...
. Originally known as the "Sun Valley International Open," the Harriman Cup races were the first major international ski competitions held in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, beginning in 1937. The first three competitions of 1937–39 were held in the Boulder Mountains north of Sun Valley. Beginning in 1940, the Harriman Cup was held on the Warm Springs side of Bald Mountain, decades before chairlifts were installed on that north face of the mountain. American Dick Durrance
Dick Durrance
Richard "Dick" Henry Durrance, Jr. was a 17-time national championship skier and one of the first American skiers to compete successfully with European skiers....
won three of the first four Harriman Cups, stunning the over-confident Europeans.
In March 1975
1975 Alpine Skiing World Cup
The 9th World Cup season began in December 1974 in France and concluded in March 1975 in Italy. Gustav Thöni of Italy would regain the overall title, his fourth overall title in five seasons...
and 1977
1977 Alpine Skiing World Cup
The 11th World Cup season began in December 1976 in France and concluded in March 1977 in Spain. Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden won his second of three consecutive overall titles. Lise-Marie Morerod of Switzerland won the women's overall title.-Calendar:...
, Sun Valley hosted World Cup
Alpine skiing World Cup
The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France and the USA...
ski races, with slalom
Slalom skiing
Slalom is an alpine skiing discipline, involving skiing between poles spaced much closer together than in Giant Slalom, Super-G or Downhill, thereby causing quicker and shorter turns.- Origins :...
and giant slalom
Giant Slalom skiing
Giant slalom is an alpine skiing discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles spaced at a greater distance to each other than in slalom but less than in super G....
events for both men and women, run on the Warm Springs side of the mountain.
The 1975
1975 Alpine Skiing World Cup
The 9th World Cup season began in December 1974 in France and concluded in March 1975 in Italy. Gustav Thöni of Italy would regain the overall title, his fourth overall title in five seasons...
slalom
Slalom skiing
Slalom is an alpine skiing discipline, involving skiing between poles spaced much closer together than in Giant Slalom, Super-G or Downhill, thereby causing quicker and shorter turns.- Origins :...
was won by Gustavo Thoeni
Gustav Thöni
Gustav Thöni is a former champion alpine ski racer from northern Italy.-Career:...
, the dominant World Cup skier of the early 1970s (which turned out to be his last win in the slalom
Slalom skiing
Slalom is an alpine skiing discipline, involving skiing between poles spaced much closer together than in Giant Slalom, Super-G or Downhill, thereby causing quicker and shorter turns.- Origins :...
discipline). A young Ingemar Stenmark
Ingemar Stenmark
Jan Ingemar Stenmark is a Swedish former skier, active during the 1970s and 1980s. He is regarded as one of the most prominent Swedish sportsmen, and as the greatest slalom and giant slalom specialist of all time. He competed for Fjällvinden Tärnaby.Stenmark was born in the province of Lappland...
of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, perhaps the greatest technical ski racer ever, took the giant slalom
Giant Slalom skiing
Giant slalom is an alpine skiing discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles spaced at a greater distance to each other than in slalom but less than in super G....
title both years. Phil Mahre
Phil Mahre
Philip Mahre is a former champion alpine ski racer, widely regarded as one of the greatest American skiers of all time...
of White Pass
White Pass (Washington)
White Pass is a mountain pass in the Cascade Range south of Mount Rainier and north of Goat Rocks in Washington, USA. U.S. Highway 12 passes over White Pass, connecting Yakima County with Lewis County....
, Washington, age 19, won the 1977
1977 Alpine Skiing World Cup
The 11th World Cup season began in December 1976 in France and concluded in March 1977 in Spain. Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden won his second of three consecutive overall titles. Lise-Marie Morerod of Switzerland won the women's overall title.-Calendar:...
slalom
Slalom skiing
Slalom is an alpine skiing discipline, involving skiing between poles spaced much closer together than in Giant Slalom, Super-G or Downhill, thereby causing quicker and shorter turns.- Origins :...
race over Stenmark, with twin brother Steve
Steve Mahre
Steven Mahre is a former alpine ski racer and younger twin brother of ski racer Phil Mahre....
placing third. It was Phil's second win (he had won a GS
Giant Slalom skiing
Giant slalom is an alpine skiing discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles spaced at a greater distance to each other than in slalom but less than in super G....
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in December), but his first victory in the slalom
Slalom skiing
Slalom is an alpine skiing discipline, involving skiing between poles spaced much closer together than in Giant Slalom, Super-G or Downhill, thereby causing quicker and shorter turns.- Origins :...
and first in the U.S., and being from the Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
, very close to home.
The present ownership has declined to host any World Cup
Alpine skiing World Cup
The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France and the USA...
races since, as it involves closing off runs for a significant time. But during the 2002 Winter Olympics
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
in Salt Lake
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
(300 miles to the southeast), Sun Valley was used as a training site for many nations' alpine and Nordic ski teams. The alpine speed events for the Olympics were held at a sister resort, Snowbasin
Snowbasin
Snowbasin Resort is located northeast of Salt Lake City, in Weber County, Utah. Opened in 1939, as part of an effort by the city of Ogden, Utah to restore the Wheeler Creek watershed, it is one of the oldest ski resorts in the United States. Over the next 50 years Snowbasin grew slowly...
, outside of Ogden
Ogden, Utah
Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
.
Olympic medalists from Sun Valley include Gretchen Fraser
Gretchen Fraser
Gretchen Kunigk Fraser was an alpine ski racer. She was the first American to win an Olympic gold medal for skiing....
, Christin Cooper
Christin Cooper
Christin Elizabeth Cooper is a former alpine ski racer and Olympic medalist from Ketchum, Idaho.-Racing career:...
, Picabo Street
Picabo Street
Picabo Street is a retired American alpine ski racer. She won gold medals in super G at the 1998 Winter Olympics and in downhill at 1996 World Championships, along with three other Olympic and World Championship medals. She also won World Cup downhill season titles in 1995 and 1996, the first...
, and disabled skier Muffy Davis. Muffy Davis is also a founding and honorary board member of Sun Valley Adaptive Sports. All four have runs named after them on Bald Mountain: three are on Seattle Ridge (Gretchen's Gold, Christin's Silver (ex-Silver Fox), and Muffy's Medals (ex-Southern Comfort)), and Picabo's Street (ex-Plaza) on Warm Springs.
Culture
Sun Valley has a lively arts community offering a variety of opportunities through over thirty presenting organizations. Local, regional and nationally known artists are represented through gallery exhibitions, concerts, theater productions, dance productions, film festivals, lectures, opera and symphonic performances."At an elevation of 5945 feet, the air in Sun Valley is rarefied- and so is the clientele of the area's top-flight art galleries. Serving the valley's plethora of well-heeled and well-educated art collections are art galleries that could hold their own in Manhattan, Berlin, London or Los Angeles." – Art Ltd Magazine
The non-profit Sun Valley Center for the Arts and Humanities was founded in 1971 by Glenn and Bill Janss. The original 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) campus was located off Dollar Road in Sun Valley. Studios and workshops were open to the public and focused on Ceramics, founded by James Romberg; Photography, founded by Sheri Heiser and Peter deLory; and Fine Arts, founded by David W. Wharton. The SVC offered year-round workshops, lectures, and exhibitions by nationally recognized artists and craft persons to both residents and tourists to Blaine County
Blaine County, Idaho
Blaine County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 Census the county had a population of 21,376. The county seat and largest city is Hailey. The county is home to the Sun Valley ski resort....
.
Today the Sun Valley Center for the Arts has its main building in nearby Ketchum
Ketchum, Idaho
Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, United States, in the central part of the state. The population was 3,003 at the 2000 census. It is in the Wood River Valley, adjacent to Sun Valley; the two communities share many resources and both sit in the same valley beneath Bald Mountain, with its...
as well as a historic house and classroom in Hailey
Hailey, Idaho
Hailey is a city in and the county seat of Blaine County, in the Wood River Valley of the central part of the U.S. state of Idaho. The population was 6,200 at the 2000 census. Hailey is the site of Friedman Memorial Airport , the airport for the resort area of Sun Valley/Ketchum, north. The town...
, and continues to present an impressive list of guest artists in the visual and performing arts.
Adaptive Sports for the Disabled
The Sun Valley region boasts a wide variety of year round adaptive sports program's for the disabled including the local DSUSA Chapter; Sun Valley Adaptive Sports, Wood River Ability Program, Sage Brush Equine Training Center for the Handicapped and Camp Rainbow Gold, a youth cancer program.Two sections
A small mountain saddle splits the city of Sun Valley into two sections. The northern section is centered around the famous Sun Valley Lodge, Inn, and the "village" complex of shops, condominiums, and original 18-hole golf course (27 holes by 2008), which winds its way up the Trail Creek valley to the northeast. This area is referred to as simply "Sun Valley."The southern area, called Elkhorn, has its own shopping/hotel/condo complex and 18-hole golf course (now private), and is in many ways quite distinct and separate (including a drier "sagebrush" appearance). This area, near Dollar Mountain, was initially developed during the late 1960s and 1970s. In July 2011 the Sun Valley Company took over day to day operations of the Elkhorn Golf Course and named Rick Hickman director of Golf Operations for the Sun Valley Company.
Adjacent to Sun Valley is the older city of Ketchum
Ketchum, Idaho
Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, United States, in the central part of the state. The population was 3,003 at the 2000 census. It is in the Wood River Valley, adjacent to Sun Valley; the two communities share many resources and both sit in the same valley beneath Bald Mountain, with its...
, which is just a mile downstream of the Sun Valley Lodge (along Trail Creek). Ketchum comprises primarily the 19th century town center (with its limited grid system) and lands adjacent to Bald Mountain: along the Big Wood River
Big Wood River
The Big Wood River is a river in central Idaho. It is a tributary of the Malad River, which in turn is tributary to the Snake River and Columbia River.-Course:...
and Warm Springs Creek.
The Sun Valley/Ketchum CVB offers area wide information on events, vacation planning information and area resources.
On September 11, 2005, the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
visited Wood River High School in Hailey
Hailey, Idaho
Hailey is a city in and the county seat of Blaine County, in the Wood River Valley of the central part of the U.S. state of Idaho. The population was 6,200 at the 2000 census. Hailey is the site of Friedman Memorial Airport , the airport for the resort area of Sun Valley/Ketchum, north. The town...
to give a speech on understanding and friendship in remembrance of the September 11, 2001 Attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
and offered condolences to the many thousands affected by the recent Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
.
Geography
Sun Valley is located at 43°40′50"N 114°20′34"W (43.680491, −114.342711).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 9.9 square miles (25.6 km²), of which 9.9 square miles (25.6 km²) of it is land and 0.10% is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 1,427 people, 594 households, and 343 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 144.6 people per square mile (55.8/km²). There were 2,339 housing units at an average density of 237.1 per square mile (91.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.43% White, 0.35% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.77% Asian, 4.20% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.15% of the population.
There were 594 households out of which 16.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.1% were non-families. 34.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.97 and the average family size was 2.50.
In the city the population was spread out with 11.9% under the age of 18, 12.2% from 18 to 24, 21.9% from 25 to 44, 36.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 104.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $71,000, and the median income for a family was $85,000. Males had a median income of $31,979 versus $27,143 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $50,563. About 2.7% of families and 14.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.7% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.
Further reading
- "Idaho for the Curious", by Cort Conley, ©1982, ISBN 0-9603566-3-0, p. 348–355
- "Ski & Snow Country, The Golden Years of Skiing in the West 1930s–1950s", photos by Ray Atkeson, text by Warren Miller, ©2000, ISBN 1-55868-538-3
- "Idaho", photos by John Marshall, text by Cort Conley, ©1985, ISBN 0-912856-93-9,
- SKI Magazine "Sun Valley Refrain," by Stu Campbell, October 2000, p. 128–134
- SKI Magazine, "The Sun Rises Again," by Jamie Marshall, December 1996, p. 108–112
- The Idaho Statesman, 21-Dec-1977