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Sun Valley: this classic winter resort, snuggled into Idaho's Rockies, offers a good time all year
Travel America, Nov-Dec, 2004 by Susan Bayer Ward
SUN VALLEY IS A NAME TO CONJURE WITH. Who hasn't heard of this resort Valhalla opened in 1936 and nestled in the Northern Rockies region of south-central Idaho. The pet project of Union Pacific Railroad chairman Averell Harriman (a governor, ambassador, and diplomat in later years), Sun Valley Resort--built to resemble an Austrian mountain ski village--was to offer a "roughing it in luxury" experience to all its guests. It managed that with great aplomb and still does today.
Sun Valley also has the distinction of being America's first destination ski resort; it boasts the country's first ski school; and it invented the world's first chairlift. Quite a heady list of claims to fame, yet there is a sense of refined style here, and a timeless appeal that keeps it on top of so many resort "best" lists.
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Still and always a winter sports mecca, Sun Valley has, in recent years, developed into a glorious summer resort destination as well.
Though there are a number of top-drawer cottages and condominiums dotting the resort grounds, as well as the charming Tyrolean-style Sun Valley Inn (the entire inn was expanded and remodeled recently), it's that grande dame of resort hostelries--the Sun Valley Lodge--that holds pride of place. All its just-renovated 148 guest rooms still feature their trademark French country-style furnishings and marble bathrooms. and there's a visible patina of history gracing the oak-paneled walls of the public rooms.
The lodge's lobby, with plush "handmade carpets displaying Idaho's wild-flowers and often warmed by a crackling fire, sports a fleet of black-and-white photos of the "glitterati on skis" who vacationed here in the past, including Mary Pickford, Gary Cooper, Lucille Ball, and Marilyn Monroe. Polished silver cups, trophies, and treasured mementos of the lodge's history decorate cozy nooks and alcoves.
Ernest Hemingway wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls in room 206. (He eventually moved to the Sun Valley area, built a home, and is buried in nearby Ketchum cemetery.) The lodge appeared in 19 movies, including the classic Sonja Henie ice-skating extravaganza Sun Valley Serenade, produced in 1941 and shown continuously on a TV channel in guest rooms. In the Lodge Dining Room, the elegance of an earlier era is evident in the white-glove service and romantic dancing to live music.
The adjacent outdoor ice rink hosts Shows--in summer--starring such Olympic talents as Sasha Cohen, Alexei Yagudin, Surya Bonaly, and Jamie Sale and David Pelletier. Open daily year-round, the rink is a prime place in winter for visitors to lace up skates and glide along while fat white flakes trickle down.
The area boasts 250 days of annual sunshine, so winter gets its share of golden light as 150 to 200 inches of snow fall on the resort's two prime downhill ski mountains. Bald Mountain, at 9,150 feet, is the big time, with 3,400 vertical feet and 64 runs. Dollar Mountain (6,638 feet) provides a leisurely set of slopes just right for beginners.
But there's so much more to a Sun Valley Resort winter experience. How about Nordic ski touring from hut to hut in the rugged reaches of the surrounding mountains. Other adventures include dog sledding through the pristine wilderness; winter fly-fishing (really) for hardy rainbow trout in the Big Wood River; paragliding off Bald Mountain (fondly known as "Baldy"); snowmobiling over groomed and ungroomed trails in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area; and--if you choose a slower and more peaceful mode of locomotion--snowshoeing over pre-packed trails with a Forest Service ranger.
Dinner Sleigh Rides to an old historic hunting lodge are popular as are Full Moon/Stargazing Dinners at Galena Lodge, a day lodge located some 25 miles north of Sun Valley, where four-course, family-style meals are accompanied--on nights with a full moon--by skiing before and after dinner. Guests can also stargaze, with the aid of a telescope, into an infinite black velvet and diamond-studded sky with a visiting astronomer at their elbow.
The attractive and swank little town of Ketchum, a mile from the resort, hosts once-a-month evening Gallery Walks exposing visitors to the many fine arts and crafts emporiums in town. Wine and hors d'oeuvres are usually served.
But summer in Sun Valley is fast catching up to the popularity of the winter months. Outdoor activities rank high on due list of things to do, as is the case during snow season. After all, the American Alps, as the Idaho Rockies are often called, are all around you, itching to be enjoyed.
Llama trekking offers a quirky adventure and takes the load off your back, as these sturdy, long-lashed South American critters carry your gear and a picnic lunch during a day hike in the glorious Idaho mountains.
A drive north along the Sawtooth Scenic Byway to the funky, tiny town of Stanley--once a thriving mining community--brings you to the fabled Salmon River, where a number of river-running companies are based. A gentle float trip or a more rock-and-roll whitewater ratting expedition gives you another opportunity to drink in the stunning scenery of the Sawtooth and White Cloud mountain ranges.
