Local Lore
Do you know your Sun Valley Trivia?

by Greg Stahl

Walk into a local coffee shop or bar and you’ll undoubtedly hear tales about epic snow winters or tidbits about Sun Valley’s history. Due to the resort’s roots in the 1930s, there are a lot of stories to tell. And with the ever-growing and changing face of the valley, the stories are growing in number and extravagance.

So if your après-ski conversation is suffering from a tiring day on the hill, give some of the following tidbits a try.

Before Baldy
Sun Valley’s original ski area was not on Bald or Dollar mountains—the two lift-serviced mountain playgrounds open today. The original ski area was on Proctor and Ruud mountains, east of Sun Valley resort. They offered skiers the luxury of sitting down between runs on the world’s first two chairlifts, both singles, built in 1936.

The one on Proctor Mountain still stands, near the end of Fairway Road. Beginning ski school students of the early days hiked up Penny Hill, now 
a popular sled riding area at the intersection of Sun Valley and Saddle roads near Sun Valley resort, preferring the hill’s moderate terrain to the steeper ski runs on Proctor and Ruud mountains.

Skiing Bear
Sun Valley’s Bald Mountain is home to a variety of wildlife, including black bears. Last spring Baldy’s Old Olympic ski run was closed for a morning as a black bear, awakened and dazed from winter hibernation, meandered among the run’s moguls. According to local Fish and Game officials, many black bears hibernate on Bald Mountain each winter, perhaps as many as 10. And no, no one has ever had a skiing conflict with Baldy’s bears.

Ski Racing
Sun Valley no longer hosts major ski races, but it was a haven for the world’s speedsters in its early days. The valley still consistently produces some of the top ski racers in the country through youth ski programs.

Averell Harriman, the resort’s founder, financially supported ski racing by offering room and board to talented skiers in exchange for working at the resort in the early years. He even established an international race, the Sun Valley International Open.

The first race was held in 1937, the same winter the resort opened. It later came to be known as the Harriman Cup, so named for the silver cup Harriman awarded to the winner.

American skiing legend Dick Durrance won the first race, which consisted of a slalom and giant slalom, scored separately and then averaged together. The Harriman Cup continued until the winter of 1957-1958.

Sun Valley has not hosted a major international ski race since current owner Earl Holding bought the resort in 1977. Management does not desire to set aside large portions of the mountain for extended periods of time. The mountain is for recreational (rather than racing) purposes, management says. 

Earl Holding
Billionaire Earl Holding bought Sun Valley Co. from prior owner Bill Janss in 1977 for about $12 million. 

The resort’s estimated value in 1998 was $300 million, which, some say, is a testament to Holding’s vision. During his ownership of Sun Valley, Holding has poured money into facilities, lifts and snowmaking, resulting in what many call the finest ski destination in the world.

Internet Search
Think Sun Valley lacks exposure? Punch “Sun Valley” into an Internet search engine and you’ll get over 100,000 hits in less than half a second.

No Snow
 When America’s first winter destination resort opened in December 1936, all the elements were in place except for one—snow. Only one minor storm hit Sun Valley that December, and rain pelted Sun Valley Lodge on its opening night, dissolving what little snow had actually accumulated.

Resort founder Averell Harriman chose not to charge guests for board or lodging until it snowed enough to ski, and trips were arranged to Galena, 30 miles north, for guests who really had an itch for snow. On December 27, five inches of snow finally fell, and another major storm hit on New Year’s Eve. Sun Valley skiing was born.

Snowmaking
Sun Valley has the largest computerized snowmaking system in the world, covering over 650 acres of Bald Mountain with more than 29 miles of underground piping, 87 miles of underground wires and over 500 snow guns. Since 1989, Sun Valley owner Holding has poured over $12.8 million into the snowmaking system.

Assistant mountain manager Peter Stearns says the snowmaking system can blanket 70 to 100 acres of terrain overnight. Water for the system is drawn from a well at River Run and from Warm Springs Creek at the Warm Springs base of the mountain. The water is then cooled and pumped around the mountain to various circuits of the snowmaking system.

Ski Jumping
Though ski jumping is no longer an activity in Sun Valley, it was popular in the resort’s early years. In fact, the remains from the resort’s first ski jump—designed by champion ski jumper Sigmund Ruud—can still be seen on the lowest flank of Ruud Mountain, east of Sun Valley resort. In 1942, Ruud Mountain was the site of the all-around interstate ski jumping meet. The popularity of jumping declined, however, as skiing went mainstream and lost some of its Norwegian roots.

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